Quid Pro Quo (QPQ) Tracker
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Entity DossierOrganization

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE

DC · US

Tracked direct giving

$0

LDA reported lobbying spend

$557,944

Connections

6

Outside Spending and Dark Money

Dark money is election spending by organizations that do not disclose their donors: 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, 501(c)(6) trade associations, and similar non-committee filers (FEC Form 5 and Form 9). Registered super PACs also make independent expenditures. But they itemize their donors with the FEC, so their spending is not dark money. Figures below are never combined with disclosed-donor totals.

IRS 990 Schedule I Grant Chain

Grants between nonprofits reported on IRS Form 990 Schedule I. Grants between organizations are one route for dark money. A nonprofit may receive a grant from one entity and then spend that money on election ads.

IRS 990 Schedule I grants received

$53,964

GrantorAmountTax YearPurpose
AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION$10,5002024ANIMAL-RELATED
ALASKA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION$6,9502023CONSERVATION
CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA$10,9642023CHARITABLE DONATION
AYCO CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$25,5502023ENVIRONMENT & ANIMAL PROTECTION

Source: IRS Form 990 Schedule I (Grants and Other Assistance to Organizations) via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and IRS 990 XML e-files. Grant amounts represent the most recent filing year available.

IRS 990 data lags a year or more behind filing. Grants shown are for the stated tax year and do not establish current-cycle funding.

Methodology Disclosure

Dark money figures are derived from FEC Form 5 (independent expenditures by non-committee organizations) and Form 9 (electioneering communications). These filings capture spending on ads and election communications but do not reveal the identity of the organization's donors. QPQ totals may differ from benchmarks like the Brennan Center's estimates. QPQ includes all Form 5 filers, while some benchmarks count only a subset of non-disclosing nonprofits. Grant chain data is from IRS Form 990 Schedule I and may not include all years or all grantee organizations.

Lobbying Activity Detail

Disclosed lobbying expenditures from LDA filings where this entity is the client. Dollar amounts represent what was reported to the Senate Office of Public Records.

Top Lobbying Issues

NATNatural Resources
$1.3M
BUDBudget/Appropriations
$1.3M
ANIAnimals
$1.3M
HOMHousing
$1.3M
IMMImmigration
$1.3M
DEFDefense
$841K
ENGENG
$370K
DISDisaster/Emergency Planning
$280K
ENVEnvironment/Superfund
$100K
MARMarine/Maritime/Boating
$100K

Lobbying Firms Retained

In-house lobbyists (filed as its own registrant)$1.3M

Bills Referenced in Lobbying Filings

S. 4753H.R. 1

Lobbying data from Senate LDA filings and the LobbyView dataset (MIT/NSF, CC-BY-4.0). Dollar figures represent disclosed expenditures only and may not capture all influence activity. Issue codes follow the LDA general issue classification.

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Relationships

TypeConnected ToDetailsSource
Lobbied onEnergy Permitting Reform ActLDA filing: lobbied on Energy Permitting Reform Act, period 3rd Quarter (July 1 - Sep 30), reported amount $60,500Source
Lobbied onH.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs ActLDA filing: lobbied on Lower Energy Costs Act, period 1st Quarter (Jan 1 - Mar 31), reported amount $80,000Source
Received money fromAMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATIONIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $10,500 (tax year 2024). Purpose: ANIMAL-RELATEDSource
Received money fromALASKA CONSERVATION FOUNDATIONIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $6,950 (tax year 2023). Purpose: CONSERVATIONSource
Received money fromCHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICAIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $10,964 (tax year 2023). Purpose: CHARITABLE DONATIONSource
Received money fromAYCO CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONIRS 990 Schedule I grant of $25,550 (tax year 2023). Purpose: ENVIRONMENT & ANIMAL PROTECTIONSource