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BackerBase is a political and civic intelligence workspace for researching campaign finance, candidates, contributors, committees, PAC spending, nonprofits, businesses, officials, legislation, races, elections, and related public records.

Use it to move from a research question to supporting records. BackerBase is not an official filing system, a complete copy of every public-record source, or proof of a real-world relationship by itself.

Begin with a research question

Write down a specific question before choosing a tool. Include the subject, time period, geography, or record type when those details matter.

Examples:

• Which contributors gave to this candidate during the selected period?
• Which committees reported payments to this vendor?
• Who is listed in this nonprofit’s filings?
• Which Louisiana businesses list this person in a source record?
• What records support the connection between these two entities?

If you are new to the product, the optional Welcome to BackerBase guide (/onboarding) introduces your assigned role, universal search, and source-backed research. It does not create sample records or block access to the rest of the application.

Choose where to begin

Need	Start with	Product route
Find a known person, organization, committee, nonprofit, vendor, property, or public identifier	Search all records	/search
Ask a multi-part question across supported records	Ask BackerBase	/ask
Review prioritized filings, activity, and saved work	Dashboard	/dashboard
Browse contributors	Contributors	/donors
Compare PAC and committee spending	PAC spending workbench	/spending/pacs
Browse nonprofit profiles	Nonprofit directory	/nonprofits
Review a relationship network	Connections	/connections
Check source periods and known gaps	Data status and methodology	/data-status

Complete a first workflow

1. Open Search all records (/search) or use the search control in the application header.
2. Search for a known name or identifier. Use a complete EIN, FEC ID, SOS charter number, or property identifier when you have one.
3. Compare the result type, identifier, office, location, or other context before opening a record. Do not choose a person or organization by name alone when multiple results are plausible.
4. Open the most likely profile and note the period attached to each figure or section.
5. Follow a contribution, filing, payment, role, source, or evidence link to the supporting record when one is available.
6. Check Data status and methodology (/data-status) if the result depends on freshness or source coverage.
7. Save the search or investigation when the interface offers that action, or submit feedback if the expected record is missing or unclear.

Read results carefully

Source-reported facts

A source-reported fact reflects a filing, report, registration, assessment, or other public record available in BackerBase. It may still contain omissions, amendments, naming variations, or errors from the originating source.

BackerBase-derived connections

A derived connection connects or summarizes source records available in BackerBase. Review its evidence basis and identity status. A possible name match is not the same as an accepted identity, and a graph path does not establish influence, ownership, coordination, or wrongdoing.

Missing and partial data

Missing information is not zero. No result can mean that the source is outside current coverage, an import is incomplete, a name differs, a provider is unavailable, or the relevant record does not exist. Look for coverage and partial-result notices before drawing a conclusion.

Verify important findings

Before quoting, publishing, or using a finding for a consequential decision:

1. Confirm that the profile or record is the intended person or organization.
2. Confirm the source family and covered period.
3. Open the supporting rows, filing, report, PDF, or official source link when available.
4. Check whether the record is amended, partial, unresolved, or based on a possible match.
5. Compare important claims with the originating public agency or source document.

See Data sources and coverage for the coverage model and Ask BackerBase: privacy and verification for AI-assisted research.

Get help or report a problem

Use Feedback in the application to report a missing record, unsupported conclusion, confusing label, failed action, or performance problem. Include:

• the page or product route;
• the name, identifier, report number, or filing involved;
• what you expected;
• what happened instead; and
• a supporting source link when one exists.

Do not include passwords, invitation links, reset links, confidential research, or sensitive personal information in feedback.