Name of the dark money organization that received this contribution

Name of the individual donor or donor organization that contributed this money

Issue One classified all identified donors into several categories — namely whether the donor or donor organization was an individual, company, labor union, nonprofit organization or political committee. See "Donor Type categories" below for more information.

Certain contributions identified by Issue One came later than the end date of the beneficiary's most recent fiscal year. These contributions were flagged in this column with the letter "A" and omitted from calculations about the percentages of receipts connected to donors to ensure apples-to-apples comparisons.

Amount contributed

In some cases, primary source documents did not disclose the exact amount contributed, but rather stated that at least a certain amount was given

Exact date, or date range, of the contribution. Some primary source documents listed the exact date of the contribution, while others listed only the fiscal year during which the contribution occurred.

Issue One classified all the primary source documents into several categories — including corporate filings, FEC filings, IRS Form 990 filings, filings with the Department of Labor, etc. See "Source Data categories" below for more inofrmation.

Link to the primary source document, which typically is a link to the primary source document that Issue One uploaded to DocumentCloud.org

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the tax code as a private foundation

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(3) of the tax code as a public charity

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the tax code as a social welfare organization

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(5) of the tax code as an agricultural organization

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(6) of the tax code as a trade association

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(7) of the tax code as a social club

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 527 of the tax code that files reports about the money it raises and spends with the IRS

An individual human being

An organization registered with the IRS under Sec. 501(c)(5) of the tax code as a labor union

An organization registered with the Federal Election Commission as a political committee that files reports about the money it raises and spends with the FEC

In one case, it was unclear whether the money described in a corporate press release came from the company or its individual owners. A corporate spokesperson declined to confirm the source of this contribution, so the donor type category for this contribution was described as "uncertain."

The primary source document is a Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service

The primary source document is a Form 8872 filed with the Internal Revenue Service

The primary source document is a document that was obtained by, and released by, the California Fair Political Practices Commission

The primary source document is a corporate filing

The primary source document is a corporate press release

The primary source document is a Form LM-2 filed with the Department of Labor

The primary source document is a form filed with the Federal Election Commission

The primary source document is a Form LD-203 filed with Congress by a registered lobbyist

The primary source document is a publication of the National Rifle Association

The primary source document is a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission

https://www.issueone.org/dark-money-methodology/

Read the full "Dark Money Illuminated" report from Issue One here:

https://www.issueone.org/dark-money/