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Media Fact Sheet

MEDIA CONTACT:
Pamela Heisey
Office: 510-868-0894
Cell: 415-299-0898
Email: pamela@maplight.org

“Every taxpayer should take a hard look at this site. Never before have citizens been able to so easily track the influences on their elected officials.”
- Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism

WHO WE ARE:
MapLight is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) research organization that reveals money’s influence on politics. We provide journalists with transparency tools that connect data on campaign contributions, politicians, votes, industries, companies, and more to show patterns of influence never before possible to see.

WHAT WE DO:
We’re political money trackers. Money, in the form of campaign contributions, influences legislation that affects people’s lives. This influence is pervasive throughout our government, affecting what legislation is introduced, what issues are considered and what ultimately becomes law.

MapLight’s database of 14 million + records allows users to gain unique insights into how campaign contributions affect policy so they can draw their own conclusions about how money influences our political system.

FUNDING SOURCES:
http://www.maplight.org/funding

BUDGET:
http://www.maplight.org/budget
http://maplight.org/irs-form-990s

BOARD MEMBERS:
http://www.maplight.org/board

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:
http://maplight.org/advisory_board

STAFF:
http://maplight.org/staff

ADDRESS:
2223 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704

AWARDS:

  • Best of Free Reference 2008 from Library Journal - April, 2009
  • James Madison Freedom of Information Award from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists - March, 2009
  • Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism, 2008 – Honorable Mention 
  • Webby Award Nomination for Best Politics Website, 2008
  • Stockholm Challenge Award, 2008 – Finalist
  • U.N. World Summit Award for e.Government, 2007 – Winner 
  • NetSquared Innovation Award, 2007 – First Prize

Editor/Producer Note: Campaign contributions are only one factor affecting legislator behavior. The correlations we highlight between industry and union giving and legislative outcomes do not show that one caused the other, and we do not make this claim. We do make the claim, however, that campaign contributions bias our legislative system. Simply put, candidates who take positions contrary to industry interests are unlikely to receive industry funds and thus have fewer resources for their election campaigns than those whose votes favor industry interests.

ABOUT MapLight:
MapLight is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) research organization based in Berkeley, California. Its database and transparency tools reveal money's influence of money on politics. Data sources include: GovTrack.us; Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org); Federal Election Commission (FEC); and National Institute on Money in State Politics (NIMSP). Support and opposition data is obtained through testimony at public hearings, proprietary news databases and public statements on the websites of trade associations and other groups.