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Americans for Public Trust says its new database has tracked more than $5 billion from foreign governments, individuals and charities into U.S.-based nonprofits since 2002, much of it flowing to organizations involved in progressive advocacy, Democrat-aligned voter outreach and liberal policy campaigns. The watchdog is urging governors and congressional leaders to examine whether foreign money is indirectly influencing American elections, Democratic political operations and public policy.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
A government watchdog organization is pressing governors and congressional leaders to investigate how billions of dollars originating overseas have moved into U.S. nonprofit organizations involved in progressive political advocacy, Democrat-aligned voter outreach, policy campaigns and environmental initiatives.
Americans for Public Trust, or APT, has sent letters to officials across the country directing them to a newly created database that the organization says documents more than $5 billion in foreign-linked funding received by American nonprofits since 2002, according to materials reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
APT sent correspondence to governors in all 50 states as well as the leadership of six congressional committees.
The organization is asking officials to use its FollowForeignMoney.org database to evaluate whether existing federal and state laws adequately prevent foreign entities from indirectly influencing U.S. political activity, particularly through nonprofits aligned with Democratic and progressive causes.
“The information is available. The threat is real,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland wrote in the letters.
Federal law generally bars foreign nationals from making contributions, donations, expenditures or disbursements connected to U.S. elections.
APT argues, however, that foreign-origin money can still enter tax-exempt organizations, progressive advocacy groups, voter-registration operations and other entities engaged in public-policy activity that falls outside the direct contribution prohibitions governing candidate elections.
The organization is urging lawmakers to examine whether those pathways create gaps in existing campaign-finance and nonprofit rules that could benefit Democrat political operations and liberal advocacy campaigns.
One proposal already before Congress could expand federal restrictions.
The House approved the Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act in July, and the legislation could next be considered by the Senate.
The measure would extend the federal prohibition on contributions and donations from foreign nationals to ballot initiatives and referenda.
Federal lobbying disclosures show that Common Cause, which describes itself as a nonpartisan government watchdog and democracy advocacy organization, has lobbied on the legislation.
The AFL-CIO has also reported lobbying activity involving the bill.
The disclosures cited in the report do not state whether either organization supported or opposed the legislation.
Neither organization responded to a request for comment.
APT’s database traces foreign-origin funding through a range of foundations, charities and philanthropic networks that support progressive and Democratic-aligned causes.
An earlier analysis by the watchdog identified six major funding sources that it said collectively directed more than $2.65 billion into U.S. advocacy organizations.
Among the individuals highlighted by APT is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, whose associated nonprofit organizations accounted for approximately $673 million in funding tracked by the watchdog, according to an APT report.
Wyss is a major donor to liberal and progressive advocacy organizations in the United States, many of which promote policies associated with the Democratic Party.
APT says the Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund together have directed more than $372 million into nonprofits associated with the Arabella Advisors network.
That network includes a collection of large nonprofit funding organizations active in progressive causes and Democratic-aligned policy campaigns.
Of that amount, nearly $305 million came from the Berger Action Fund and went to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, according to APT.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a nonprofit advocacy organization involved in issues including voting access, health care, climate policy and racial equity, all major priorities of Democratic candidates and progressive activists.
The organization rejected APT’s characterization of its funding practices.
“Americans for Public Trust is a right-wing organization bought and paid for by Leonard Leo that has repeatedly targeted Sixteen Thirty Fund because of our support for progressive causes,” a Sixteen Thirty spokesperson told the DCNF. “If the group were genuinely concerned about our campaign finance system, it would join us in supporting meaningful reforms that would increase transparency rather than selectively attacking organizations it ideologically opposes. We are proud of our work and operate in full compliance with the laws and regulations governing 501(c)(4) organizations. We strictly follow legal requirements regarding use of foreign funding.”
The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund did not respond to requests for comment.
APT also identified major international climate philanthropies among the sources of money entering U.S.-based organizations that advocate policies favored by Democrats.
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, founded by British billionaire Christopher Hohn, accounted for approximately $638.2 million in the watchdog’s foreign-funding analysis.
The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
APT’s database lists the ClimateWorks Foundation as having received approximately $582 million in foreign funding.
ClimateWorks is a U.S.-based public charity that connects philanthropic donors with climate-related programs around the world.
According to the organization’s website, ClimateWorks has distributed more than $2 billion to more than 850 grantees in 50 countries since 2008.
ClimateWorks did not respond to a request for comment.
Another organization identified in the database is Energy Foundation China, which APT says received $104 million from the U.K.-based Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and Quadrature Climate Foundation, as well as the Switzerland-based Oak Foundation.
Energy Foundation China is registered as a California grantmaking charity and has operated in China since 1999.
The organization says it supports research, policy development and international cooperation intended to transform China’s energy system and help achieve greenhouse gas emissions neutrality.
Energy Foundation China did not respond to a request for comment.
APT’s records also document large transfers into organizations engaged more directly in progressive political and social advocacy.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund received approximately $305 million from the Berger Action Fund, according to the watchdog’s database.
Sixteen Thirty also serves as the fiscal sponsor of Chorus, a program that reportedly contacted dozens of Democratic-aligned social media influencers in June 2025.
Participants were allegedly offered payments of as much as $8,000 per month to promote left-leaning political messaging online.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer later opened an investigation into the program on Nov. 19, 2025.
The inquiry sought information about Chorus contracts, sources of funding and compliance practices amid concerns that foreign-linked money may have supported undisclosed Democratic messaging efforts.
APT’s database shows the Berger Action Fund also contributed $102 million to the Fund for a Better Future.
That organization is a social-welfare nonprofit that funds and fiscally sponsors projects involving elections, immigration, climate policy and other progressive causes.
The Fund for a Better Future has also financially supported organizations aligned with Democratic political priorities.
According to InfluenceWatch, the organization provided nearly $5.1 million between 2021 and 2023 to Building Back Together, which was founded by former Biden campaign staffers to promote the Biden administration’s agenda.
InfluenceWatch also reports that the Fund for a Better Future contributed $1 million in 2017 to Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the political and lobbying arm of Planned Parenthood and a prominent Democratic-aligned organization.
The Fund for a Better Future did not respond to a request for comment.
Foreign-origin philanthropic funding documented by APT extends further into the environmental-policy sector, where many organizations advocate positions central to the Democratic platform.
The watchdog lists the Environmental Defense Fund as receiving approximately $48 million from multiple overseas donors.
The Environmental Defense Fund describes itself as a global environmental nonprofit that uses scientific research, economic analysis, litigation and advocacy to pursue climate and energy policies.
The organization did not respond to a request for comment.
APT separately reports that the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, received approximately $30 million.
NRDC employs lawyers, scientists and policy specialists involved in climate, energy, wildlife and public-health advocacy and litigation.
The organization disputed any suggestion that foreign-origin donations determine its domestic policy positions.
“NRDC is a U.S-based public interest organization that advocates for clean, American-made energy that can power the nation and address the climate crisis,” NRDC spokesperson Mark Drajem told the DCNF. “Our priorities and positions are set by our professional staff and our independent, U.S.-based board of trustees, and no one else. The funds highlighted in this database went to helping reduce pollution and protect wildlife in countries outside the United States.”
Some of the largest funding streams identified by APT originate with overseas climate-focused philanthropies that support policies frequently promoted by Democratic lawmakers and candidates.
Quadrature Climate Foundation, established by the founders of London-based hedge fund Quadrature Capital, has provided more than $568 million to U.S.-based organizations, according to the watchdog’s database.
APT says ClimateWorks received approximately $148 million from Quadrature.
Some of those grants were designated for programs intended to accelerate electric-vehicle adoption and encourage financial regulators to consider climate-related risks, policy goals commonly associated with Democratic climate initiatives, according to the watchdog.
Quadrature Capital did not respond to a request for comment.
APT is seeking action at both the state and federal levels.
The organization pointed to Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio as examples of states that have already adopted measures addressing foreign financial involvement in ballot campaigns.
At the federal level, its letter was sent to leaders of the House Administration Committee, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and House Ways and Means Committee.
The Senate recipients included leaders of the Judiciary Committee, Rules and Administration Committee and Finance Committee.
The watchdog’s central argument is that existing restrictions on direct foreign contributions to candidates and elections may not fully address money that enters the United States through nonprofits and is later used to support progressive advocacy, Democratic-aligned voter engagement or public-policy campaigns.
Organizations identified in the database have pushed back against suggestions that the funding amounts alone demonstrate improper foreign influence or illegal coordination with Democrats.
Sixteen Thirty Fund said it complies with legal restrictions governing foreign funding, while NRDC said money identified by APT was used for activities outside the United States rather than to determine its domestic agenda.
APT is nevertheless asking officials to examine the records and determine whether current disclosure requirements and election laws sufficiently distinguish lawful international philanthropy from foreign financial activity that could influence American political outcomes, including campaigns and causes aligned with the Democratic Party.
With its database now cataloging more than $5 billion in foreign-linked nonprofit funding dating back more than two decades, the group is urging lawmakers and governors to use those records as a starting point for additional scrutiny of how overseas money enters the U.S. advocacy system, how it supports progressive and Democratic-aligned organizations, and where existing legal boundaries should be drawn.
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