A new political controversy is emerging as the 2026 midterm election cycle enters a critical phase, with a conservative watchdog organization launching a database designed to track foreign-linked money flowing through U.S. nonprofit organizations and political advocacy networks.
Americans for Public Trust (APT) announced Friday the launch of “Follow Foreign Money,” a database intended to help journalists, lawmakers, watchdog organizations, and members of the public examine financial connections between foreign sources and organizations involved in American political and policy debates.
According to APT, its initial research has identified more than $5 billion in foreign-linked spending, spanning more than 520 organizations and more than 12,000 financial records. The organization says the database will continue to grow as researchers identify additional transactions and financial relationships.
APT argues that the findings raise broader questions about the influence of overseas money on American elections, ballot initiatives, lobbying campaigns, advocacy organizations, and public-policy debates.
“As we enter the height of midterm election season, it is critical that the public is aware of the vast sums of foreign funds flowing across our borders to influence the outcomes of our political battles,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told The Center Square.
The watchdog group has highlighted several prominent U.S. nonprofit organizations in its research, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation, and Gates Medical Research Institute. APT characterizes several of these organizations as supportive of progressive or Democratic-aligned policy priorities, though the presence of foreign-linked funding does not by itself establish that foreign donors directly influenced specific political decisions or election outcomes.
APT says its database is intended to expose what it describes as a complicated network of financial relationships that can be difficult for the public to trace.
“Whether through ballot initiatives, issue advocacy, or voter registration, American politics is indisputably being shaped by foreign cash,” Sutherland said, according to The Center Square.
Federal law generally prohibits foreign nationals from making direct contributions or expenditures in connection with U.S. federal elections. However, foreign-linked money can enter the broader political ecosystem through nonprofit organizations and other activities that are subject to different legal restrictions and disclosure requirements, including lobbying, issue advocacy, litigation, protests, and certain state-level ballot campaigns.
One of the foreign donors identified by APT is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, whom the organization says has provided more than $300 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and other groups. Wyss has become a frequent target of conservative criticism because of his substantial philanthropic involvement in U.S. political and policy advocacy.
The issue has also become particularly contentious in state ballot campaigns. In Missouri, for example, critics of foreign-funded political activity raised concerns over overseas contributions connected to campaigns surrounding Amendment 3, a measure concerning abortion rights that voters approved in 2024. Missouri subsequently joined other states in restricting foreign funding for ballot initiative campaigns.
APT says its research extends beyond elections and ballot measures. The organization also points to foreign funding involving American universities, climate-policy organizations, and international advocacy networks.
Among the foreign philanthropic organizations identified by the group are the London-based Arcadia Fund, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation.
APT additionally claims that nearly $12 billion from China and Qatar has entered the U.S. higher-education system over decades, while alleging that foreign charitable organizations have directed nearly $2 billion toward American climate-policy campaigns.
The database’s release is likely to intensify an already heated debate over political influence, transparency, and campaign finance heading into the midterms.
Supporters of greater restrictions on foreign-linked funding argue that Americans should know when overseas wealth is helping finance political campaigns or influence major policy decisions. Critics, meanwhile, are likely to argue that nonprofit funding should not automatically be equated with foreign interference and that legitimate charitable and advocacy activities must be distinguished from prohibited election spending.
For now, APT says its new database is designed to make those financial connections easier to investigate.
With billions of dollars already identified and the 2026 election season accelerating, the fight over who is funding American political advocacy—and how that money is being used—is poised to become an increasingly important issue on the campaign trail.
