Sunlight Foundation

How We're Funded

The Sunlight Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Sunlight was launched in April 2006 with a $3.5 million contribution from co-founder Michael Klein (Click here to read a Washington Post story about the launch of Sunlight).

Contributions

2012

$544,224.00 Omidyar Network
For general support, with a portion contingent upon a "matching funds" challenge. ($6,000,000 awarded over three years starting in 2009, with an additional $3,000,000 available via "matching funds")
$300,000.00 Ford Foundation
For support of a Transparency Training Program to equip journalists, advocates and others with the tools to effectively access and use government data to increase transparency and government accountability. (Grant awarded over one year)
$50,000.00 Robert R. McCormick Foundation
For the development and promotion of Open States: Illinois, an Illinois legislative database and web platform (part of our Open States project) that will make publicly available data sources more accessible to journalists and citizens.
$41,000.00 Poynter Institute
For support of a McCormick Specialized Reporting Institute (SRI) and related training on the topic of investigating Super PACs. (Grant administered by Poynter in partnership with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation)
$2,500.00 Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Marilyn and Michael Glosserman Community Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Marilyn & Michael Glosserman.
$1,000.00 Brian and Lucy Conboy
For general support.

2011

$2,983,592.00 Omidyar Network
For general support, with a portion contingent upon a "matching funds" challenge. ($6,000,000 awarded over three years starting in 2009, with an additional $3,000,000 available via "matching funds")
$1,000,000.00 Michael R. Klein
For general support.
$1,000,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
For general support.
$599,132.00 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
To create a suite of National Data Apps - platforms and tools for delivering federal data to the public. ($1,216,678 awarded over two years)
$300,000.00 Open Society Foundations
To advance transparency and open government through reporting, tools and policies that will further expose for public scrutiny the influence of lobbying in Washington and will promote the full implementation, codification and expansion of the Open Government Directive. ($300,000 awarded over 15 months)
$300,000.00 Rita Allen Foundation
To fully develop and implement the Open States Project which will provide a new resource for identifying and tracking activity within state legislatures. ($500,000 awarded over two years)
$228,750.00 Pew Charitable Trusts
Contract for development of the Subsidyscope website (http://subsidyscope.org).
$110,000.00 Kaphan Foundation
For general support.
$100,000.00 Atlantic Philanthropies
To establish a new pilot, post-graduate journalism fellowship program, the "John E. Moss Fellowship," at Sunlight which will intensively train journalism post-graduates in new techniques and technologies. ($200,000 awarded over two years)
$100,000.00 Mark Cuban
For general support.
$93,077.00 Stanton Foundation
To create a national, legislative alert system on the basis of issue or keyword – a Google Alerts for public policy.
$75,000.00 SRA International, Inc.
For general support.
$60,000.00 William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
For development of open-source software that reveals the patterns of influence behind public comments.
$50,000.00 Chang K. Park Foundation
For general support.
$40,000.00 Open Society Foundations
To expand and diversify a coalition of groups that will publicly demand transparency from the "Super Committee" and to coordinate action among the coalition.
$40,000.00 Rockefeller Brothers Fund
To ensure greater transparency of the effects that corporations have on American public policy.
$37,000.00 Minnesota Historical Society
Contract to develop a website to provide access to digital legislative content.
$27,525.00 OSI-ZUG
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.
$25,000.00 Alan A. Fischer
For general support.
$25,000.00 craigslist Charitable Fund
For general support.
$25,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Anonymous
For general support, at the recommendation of Anonymous.
$25,000.00 Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation
For general support.
$23,245.87 Omidyar Network
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.
$5,000.00 Elbaz Family Foundation
For general support.
$5,000.00 Esther Dyson
For general support.
$5,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Helianthus Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Marjorie B. Roswell.
$5,000.00 Google, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.
$5,000.00 James and Theodore Pedas Family Foundation, Inc.
For general support.
$5,000.00 M & M Foundation
For general support.
$5,000.00 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.
$5,000.00 Raymond C. Clevenger, III
For general support.
$4,423.23 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Royalties from the book Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions, 1st Edition (Published July 2009).
$2,500.00 Adobe Systems Incorporated
For support of TransparencyCamp 2011.
$2,500.00 David Bonderman
For general support.
$2,500.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Andrew C. Florance Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Andrew C. Florance.
$1,000.00 Lederer Foundation, Inc.
For general support.
$600.00 Scott Crabtree
For general support.
$500.00 Warren H. Haber
For general support.

2010

$1,750,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
For general support.
$1,472,184.00 Omidyar Network
For general support, with a portion contingent upon a "matching funds" challenge. ($6,000,000 awarded over three years starting in 2009, with an additional $3,000,000 available via "matching funds")
$1,000,000.00 Michael R. Klein
For general support.
$607,546.00 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
To create a suite of National Data Apps - platforms and tools for delivering federal data to the public. ($1,216,678 awarded over two years)
$376,250.00 Pew Charitable Trusts
Contract for development of the Subsidyscope website (http://subsidyscope.org).
$300,000.00 Ford Foundation
To support the Data Commons Project to develop a repository of publicly available information on corporate lobbying and campaign contributions and better track governmental involvement with the private sector.
$75,000.00 Kaphan Foundation
For general support.
$50,000.00 Adobe Systems Incorporated
For support of Design for America.
$50,000.00 craigslist Charitable Fund
For general support.
$50,000.00 Reid Hoffman
For general support.
$40,000.00 Blum Family Foundation
For general support.
$40,000.00 David Bonderman
For general support.
$37,800.00 The National Priorities Project Inc.
Contract to provide consulting services to audit existing data and build a relational database, API and basic web search utility.
$28,776.60 1674 gifts under $250
$25,000.00 Alan A. Fischer
For general support.
$25,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Anonymous
For general support, at the recommendation of Anonymous.
$20,000.00 Fuller Foundation, Volgenau Family Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Sara and Ernst Volgenau.
$20,000.00 Google, Inc.
For support of Design for America.
$10,000.00 Cutts Foundation
For general support.
$10,000.00 Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
For general support.
$10,000.00 Google, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2010.
$10,000.00 Harnisch Family Foundation
To support the 180 Degrees: Citizen Meet the Lobbyists Project.
$10,000.00 Knight-Batten Award for Innovation in Journalism
Grand Prize Award for Sunlight Live: our interactive, real-time investigative reporting platform.
$10,000.00 Palantir Technologies Inc.
For support of Design for America.
$5,285.71 Minnesota Historical Society
Contract to develop a website to provide access to digital legislative content.
$5,000.00 Anita M. Antenucci
For general support.
$5,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Helianthus Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Marjorie B. Roswell.
$5,000.00 James and Theodore Pedas Family Foundation, Inc.
For general support.
$5,000.00 Raymond C. Clevenger, III
For general support.
$5,000.00 Stuart M. Bloch
For general support.
$4,844.18 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Royalties from the book Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions, 1st Edition (Published July 2009).
$2,500.00 Esther Dyson
For general support.
$2,500.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Andrew C. Florance Charitable Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Andrew C. Florance.
$2,500.00 Schwab Charitable Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Bunny and Charles Burson.
$2,000.00 NIHCM Foundation Journalism and Research Award
Honorable Mention for Print Journalism awarded for "The Heart of the Matter: How Congress and Special Interests Kept Crucial Clinical Trial Data Secret." This article investigates how former congressional staffers went to work for medical device manufacturers. (http://sunlightfoundation.com/projects/2009/heart_of_the_matter/)
$1,500.00 Springcreek Foundation
For general support.
$1,000.00 Bernie Loves CeCe Trust
For general support.
$1,000.00 Christopher Halligan
$1,000.00 Eleanore Leavitt De Sole
$1,000.00 Stanton and Susan Sloane
For general support.
$1,000.00 Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, Brian and Lucy Conboy Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Lucy and Brian Conboy.
$500.00 Amanda Milstein
$500.00 Land and Ping Wayland
$500.00 Lawrence Lessig
$500.00 Lederer Foundation, Inc.
For general support.
$500.00 May Family Foundation
For general support.
$500.00 Online Searches, LLC
For general support.
$500.00 Randall Leeds
$500.00 W. Robert Grafton
For general support.

2009

$4,000,000.00 Omidyar Network
For general support, with a portion contingent upon a "matching funds" challenge. ($6,000,000 awarded over three years starting in 2009, with an additional $3,000,000 available via "matching funds")
$850,000.00 Michael Klein
For general support.
$300,000.00 Foundation to Promote Open Society
To support a journalism training program and the development of transparency tools focused on state legislatures. ($300,000 awarded over 15 months)
$300,000.00 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
To create and launch web tools allowing easily accessible public information on Congress. ($565,000 awarded over two years)
$100,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
For general support.
$66,067.00 Google, Inc.
$25,000.00 Kaphan Foundation
$10,000.00 Cutts Foundation
$10,000.00 Elbaz Family Foundation
For general support.
$10,000.00 Jewish Community Endowment Fund (Craig Newmark Philanthropic Fund)
donation for Apps for America 2: The Data.gov Challenge
$10,000.00 Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation
For support of Code for America. (Sunlight Foundation served as Code for America's fiscal sponsor until 9/30/2010)
$10,000.00 Sage Foundation, Inc.
For general support.
$10,000.00 Stephen Case Foundation
For support of Code for America. (Sunlight Foundation served as Code for America's fiscal sponsor until 9/30/2010)
$5,000.00 Anita M. Antenucci
For general support.
$3,009.58 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Royalties from the book Beautiful Data: The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions, 1st Edition (Published July 2009).
$2,548.76 55 gifts under $250
$2,000.00 Blue State Digital LLC
donation for TransparencyCamp 2009
$2,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Andrew C. Florance Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Andrew C. Florance.
$1,000.00 Armeane M. Choksi
$1,000.00 Dr. & Mrs. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.
$1,000.00 Robert S. Grimes, Esq.
$1,000.00 Ross & Moncure, Inc.
$1,000.00 The San Francisco Foundation
For general support.
$600.00 Leonard Simon Clow
$500.00 Google, Inc.
For support of TransparencyCamp 2009
$500.00 TheCapitol.Net

2008

$2,305,000.00 Pew Charitable Trust
Contract
$2,000,000.00 Omidyar Network
For general support.
$500,000.00 Michael Klein
$500,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
$250,000.00 Open Society Institute
$50,000.00 Blum Family Foundation
$50,000.00 ProPublica
$50,000.00 Shel Kaphan
$25,000.00 Cutts Foundation
$25,000.00 Miles Curtain Laws Robinson
$10,000.00 Elbaz Family Foundation
For support of Watchdog.net.
$10,000.00 Gerson and Barbara Bakar
$10,000.00 Robert L. Miller
$10,000.00 Stuart Marshall Bloch and Julia Chang Bloch
$5,000.00 James and Theodore Pedas Family Foundation, Inc.
$5,000.00 Raymond C. Clevenger, III
$2,925.00 30 gifts $250 or less
$2,000.00 Sunil Pail and Michelle Odom Foundation
$1,125.00 Springcreek Advisors
$1,000.00 Bank of America
$1,000.00 Conrad Cafritz
$1,000.00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Skinner Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Brian D. Skinner.
$1,000.00 Kobayashi Family Foundation
$1,000.00 LaSalle D. Leffall
$1,000.00 Lisa and Gregory Stanger Charitable Foundation
$1,000.00 Matthew Regan and Yoon-Young Lee
$500.00 Chad J. Fitzgerald
$442.00 Kobayashi Family Foundation
$300.00 Anonymous money order

2007

$2,000,000.00 Omidyar Network
For general support.
$1,000,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
$250,000.00 David Bonderman
$50,000.00 Blum Family Foundation
$50,000.00 Sage Foundation
$40,000.00 Fischer & Company, LLC
$25,000.00 Ted and Jim Pedas / Circle Management Company
$20,000.00 Fuller Foundation, Volgenau Family Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Sara and Ernst Volgenau
$10,000.00 Raymond C. Clevenger, III
$6,000.00 Springcreek Foundation
$2,500.00 CRESA Partners of Greater Washington
$2,500.00 Peter Gottesman, CRESA Partners
$2,125.00 Springcreek Advisors, LLC
$1,000.00 Artifex Software, Inc.
$1,000.00 Domenico and Eleanor De Sole
$1,000.00 Schwab Charitable Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Sanford K. Ain.
$555.00 Five gifts of $250 or less

2006

$1,900,000.00 Rockefeller Family Fund
$100,000.00 Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation
$100,000.00 N. Colin Lind
$20,000.00 Fuller Foundation, Volgenau Family Fund
For general support, at the recommendation of Sara and Ernst Volgenau.
$15,000.00 Fischer & Company, LLC
$5,000.00 Philanthropic Collaborative, Inc.
$3,125.00 Springcreek Advisors, LLC
$945.00 Seven gifts $250 or less

2005

$3,500,000.00 Michael Klein

In-Kind Donations

We report any in-kind donations valued over $25.

2011

Microsoft via TechSoup
Software purchased from TechSoup donated by Microsoft.
Governing Magazine
Free advertising for TransparencyCamp 2011

2010

Microsoft
Market value of game consoles given in-kind.

2009

Google, Inc.
In-kind donation.

To see information on our grantees, check out Grants and Grantees page. To apply for a grant from the Sunlight Foundation, contact us for guidelines.

Please read our Gift Acceptance Policy.