MapLight Competitors

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account. With a team of more than 150 dedicated journalists, ProPublica covers a range of topics including government and politics, business, criminal justice, the environment, education, health care, immigration, and technology. We focus on stories with the potential to spur real-world impact. Among other positive changes, our reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels. Investigative journalism requires a great deal of time and resources, and many newsrooms can no longer afford to take on this kind of deep-dive reporting. As a nonprofit, ProPublica’s work is powered primarily through donations. The vast bulk of the money we spend goes directly into world-class, award-winning journalism. We are committed to uncovering the truth, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs, and we practice transparent financial reporting so donors know how their dollars are spent. ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with the belief that investigative journalism is critical to our democracy. Our staff remains dedicated to carrying forward the important work of exposing corruption, informing the public about complex issues, and using the power of investigative journalism to spur reform.

Ballotpedia is the online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Our goal is to preserve and expand knowledge about politics by providing exceptionally high-quality, accurate, and objective information about local, state, and federal politics and policies. Our content includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, candidates, and the influencers of politics. Headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, Ballotpedia was founded in 2006. It has grown to include over 400,000 professionally authored encyclopedic articles that have garnered more than 1 billion page views.

Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, our mission is to serve as the trusted authority on money in American politics. We pursue our mission by providing comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens. Our vision is for Americans to use data on money in politics to create a more vibrant, representative and responsive democracy. We pursue our mission through our award-winning website OpenSecrets.org, the most comprehensive resource for federal and state campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis. OpenSecrets relies on financial support from a combination of institutional grants, individual contributions and earned income from custom research and licensing data for commercial use. You can support our work directly by making a tax-deductible contribution through OpenSecrets.org.