Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc.

What Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc. does

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc. is a Madison, Wisconsin-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and nonpartisan watchdog organization founded in 1995 to track money in Wisconsin state politics and advocate for campaign finance reform, voting rights, and government accountability. The organization maintains Wisconsin's premier searchable public campaign finance database containing over 1.5 million individual contribution records and 88,000+ PAC contribution records dating back to 1993, complemented by a dark money tracker, candidate financial profiles, statements of economic interests, and a citizen reporting "Hijack Hotline" for issue ads. Its content operations include a daily news site, press releases, commentaries, special reports, and the bimonthly Big Money Bulletin newsletter.

The organization serves Wisconsin citizens, journalists and researchers (including reporters from the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, Urban Milwaukee, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal), and coalition partners such as Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, Wisconsin United to Amend, Wisconsin Civic Power Table, and Wisconsin Money in Politics Coalition. All database tools and content are provided free of charge. Revenue is generated through foundation grants from sources including the Joyce Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Tides Foundation, and Brico Fund, individual donations at suggested levels from $50 to $10,000, and workplace giving via Community Shares of Wisconsin. The annual operating budget is $1,586,700 as of December 2024, supporting a small staff of approximately 5-6 led by Executive Director Nick Ramos (appointed August 2023).

Name

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc.

Legal name

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc.

Website

https://wisdc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a Madison-based nonprofit watchdog founded in 1995 that maintains Wisconsin's premier searchable campaign finance database (1.5M+ records) and advocates for transparency, voting rights, and government accountability to citizens, journalists, and coalition partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civic Advocacy and Government Transparency

NAICS

Political Organizations (813940), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Democracy, Voting Rights & Civic Participation Advocacy (BPAGAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electoral Support & Election Observation (BPADAGAA), Democratic Governance & Public Administration Reform (BPADAGAJ)

Keywords

• Campaign finance tracking
• Lobbying disclosure
• Government accountability
• Political transparency
• Civic advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: The organization receives grants from various foundations including All Voting is Local, Bader Philanthropies, Brico Fund, Brookby Foundation, Joyce Foundation, League of Women Voters, Movement Voter Project, Pro-Democracy Center, Proteus Fund, Tides Foundation, and Wisconsin Civic Power Table.
2. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from individual donors at various levels ($50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 suggested amounts). Donations can be one-time or recurring monthly. Accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and PayPal.
3. Membership Program: Annual membership program providing supporters with Big Money Bulletin newsletter six times a year, timely news updates, and action alerts through their E-Lert network.
4. Workplace Giving: Through Community Shares of Wisconsin workplace giving program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that monitors and reports on campaign finance and lobbying activity in Wisconsin. It maintains a publicly accessible database of contributions to state candidates and lobbying expenditures, and conducts public policy advocacy to promote transparency in state government.

Product overview

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign operates as a nonprofit watchdog organization offering a suite of transparency and accountability tools focused on tracking money in Wisconsin politics. The core offering is a searchable campaign finance database containing over 1.5 million individual contribution records and 88,000 PAC contribution records. This database powers complementary tools including candidate campaign finance profiles, statements of economic interests for state officeholders, and an interest group spending (dark money) tracker. The organization also publishes educational resources (Money in Politics 101), maintains a citizen reporting hotline for election ads, and produces regular news content including press releases, commentaries, and the bimonthly Big Money Bulletin newsletter. All tools are publicly accessible and free of charge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wisconsin Campaign Finance Database
• Wisconsin Lobbying Disclosure Tracking
• Public Policy Advocacy Reports
• Membership Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Database contains 1.5+ million individual contribution records and 88,000+ PAC records dating back to 1993
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and supporting.

• Community Shares of WisconsincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWDC is a member of Community Shares of Wisconsin, a nonprofit federation working to build progressive community change. Community Shares hosts workplace giving campaigns and the annual 'Big Share' event. WDC's Operations & Policy Director Beverly Speer serves on the executive committee of Community Shares of Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin Fair Maps CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on demanding nonpartisan redistricting and fair voting maps in Wisconsin. WDC helps lead this coalition and employs the Organizing Director (Iuscely Flores) and Volunteer & Relational Organizer (Nicole Gabrail) for the coalition. 56 of 72 Wisconsin counties passed fair maps resolutions under this effort.
• Wisconsin United to AmendcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition working to amend the U.S. Constitution to proclaim that corporations are not persons and money is not speech. Under their guidance, more than 160 Wisconsin communities have passed referendums supporting this constitutional amendment.
• Wisconsin Civic Power TableimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on voting rights and democratic participation (formerly known as Wisconsin Voting Rights Coalition). WDC participates as a member organization working on shared democracy reform goals.
• Wisconsin Money in Politics CoalitionimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition of organizations working on campaign finance reform and money in politics issues. WDC participates as a member organization bringing its database and research capabilities to the coalition.
• League of Women VoterssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit civic organization that partners with WDC on democracy reform initiatives including voting rights and fair elections.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Issue One: Cross-partisan political reform organization focused on reducing the influence of money in politics and protecting elections. Most directly comparable national reform advocacy peer to WDC's mission.
• RepresentUs: Anti-corruption organization advocating for campaign finance, ethics, and voting reforms at state and federal levels. Comparable in coalition-building and state-level ballot initiatives to WDC's referendum work (160+ communities).
• Demos: National democracy and economic justice think tank working on money in politics, voting rights, and racial equity. Comparable advocacy footprint and overlapping issue areas with WDC's reform agenda.
• Public Citizen: National nonprofit focused on money in politics, regulatory accountability, and democracy reform. Comparable mission around campaign finance and corporate influence, with a stronger national lobbying capacity.
• Common Cause: National nonpartisan democracy reform organization advocating for campaign finance reform, voting rights, and government ethics — directly comparable to WDC's mission, with a state-chapter model that mirrors WDC's Wisconsin-only focus.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Democracy and justice reform organization conducting research, litigation, and advocacy on voting rights, campaign finance, and redistricting — directly comparable to WDC's reform advocacy and research function.
• National Institute on Money in State Politics (FollowTheMoney.org): Nonprofit that tracks campaign finance across all 50 states — directly comparable database product to WDC's Wisconsin database, and the natural national aggregator/partner for WDC's state-level data.
• Wisconsin Civic Power Table: Wisconsin voting rights and democratic participation coalition; WDC is a member and also receives funding support, making it both peer and partner in the state's democracy reform ecosystem.
• Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets): Operates the federal-level equivalent of WDC's campaign finance database (OpenSecrets.org). Closest direct comparator in terms of public-facing data infrastructure, transparency mission, and journalist user base.

Regional players

• League of Women Voters of Wisconsin: Wisconsin state chapter of the League of Women Voters — already a WDC partner, with overlapping voter education, redistricting, and civic engagement work, and prior employer of multiple WDC staff.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wisconsin-democracy-campaign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Inc.