💰 FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper

🚀 Comprehensive FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper that extracts detailed campaign finance contribution data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) OpenFEC API. Perfect for researchers, journalists, transparency advocates, political analysts, and compliance professionals who need complete, accurate campaign finance data for analysis, reporting, and research purposes.

Target Audience: Researchers, journalists, transparency advocates, political analysts, compliance professionals, and campaign finance researchers
Primary Use Cases: Campaign finance research, transparency reporting, political analysis, compliance monitoring, investigative journalism, and academic research

What Does FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper Do?

This tool extracts comprehensive campaign finance contribution data from the FEC OpenFEC API, delivering detailed information about political contributions including:

💵 Contribution Information

• Contribution Amount - The dollar amount of each contribution
• Contribution Date - When the contribution was received
• Transaction Details - Transaction IDs, filing forms, line numbers, and receipt types
• PDF Documents - Direct links to original FEC filing documents

👤 Contributor Details

• Contributor Information - Full name, first name, last name, middle name, prefix, suffix
• Contributor Address - Complete address including street, city, state, and ZIP code
• Employment Information - Employer name and occupation
• Aggregate Contributions - Year-to-date contribution totals

🏛️ Committee Information

• Committee Details - Committee ID, name, type, party affiliation
• Committee Location - Address, city, state, ZIP code
• Committee Organization - Organization type, designation, treasurer name
• Committee Status - Filing frequency, active status, file dates

🗳️ Election & Filing Details

• Election Information - Election type, two-year transaction period
• Filing Information - Filing form, report type, report year, schedule type
• Document References - Image numbers, file numbers, PDF URLs, contribution URLs

📊 Additional Data

• Candidate Information - Candidate names, offices, districts, states (when applicable)
• Conduit Committee Data - Information about conduit committees (when applicable)
• Donor Committee Data - Information about donor committees (when applicable)
• Amendment Tracking - Amendment indicators and descriptions

Business Value: Access comprehensive campaign finance data for transparency, research, compliance monitoring, and political analysis. Track contributions, analyze donation patterns, monitor committee activities, and ensure regulatory compliance with authoritative FEC data.

How to use the FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper - Full Demo

[YouTube video embed or link]

Watch this 3-minute demo to see how easy it is to get started!

Input

To start FEC Campaign Finance Contributions scraping, simply fill in the input form. The input is organized into logical groups for easier configuration:

🔑 Required Fields

• API Key - Your FEC OpenFEC API key. Get a free API key from https://api.open.fec.gov/developers/. Demo key: DEMO_KEY (limited functionality)
• Max Items - Maximum number of contributions to collect (default: 10). Free users: Limited to 100. Paid users: Optional, max 1,000,000

👤 Contributor Search

• Contributor Name - Search by contributor name (partial match supported). Default: Smith (prefill value that returns results)

📋 Committee Search

• Committee ID - Enter a specific FEC committee ID (e.g., C00034157). At least one search parameter (committee ID or any contributor parameter) is required.

📍 Contributor Location

• Contributor City - Filter by contributor city
• Contributor State - Filter by contributor state (2-letter code, e.g., CA, NY)
• Contributor ZIP Code - Filter by contributor ZIP code

💼 Contributor Employment

• Contributor Employer - Search by contributor employer (partial match supported)
• Contributor Occupation - Search by contributor occupation (partial match supported)

📅 Date Filters

• Minimum Date - Filter contributions from this date forward (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• Maximum Date - Filter contributions up to this date (YYYY-MM-DD format)

💰 Amount Filters

• Minimum Amount - Filter contributions by minimum amount in USD
• Maximum Amount - Filter contributions by maximum amount in USD

🗳️ Election Cycle

• Two Year Transaction Period - Filter contributions by two-year transaction period (e.g., 2024 for 2023-2024 cycle)

Here's what the filled-out input schema looks like:

{
    "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY",
    "maxItems": 10,
    "committeeId": "C00034157",
    "contributorName": "Smith",
    "contributorCity": "Jackson",
    "contributorState": "MS",
    "minAmount": 100,
    "maxAmount": 1000,
    "minDate": "2023-01-01",
    "maxDate": "2024-12-31"
}

Pro Tip: Combine multiple search parameters to get more targeted results. For example, search by contributor name and state to find specific contributors in a particular location.

Output

After the Actor finishes its run, you'll get a dataset with comprehensive contribution data. The length of the dataset depends on the amount of results you've set. You can download those results as an Excel, HTML, XML, JSON, and CSV document.

Here's an example of scraped FEC Campaign Finance contribution data you'll get:

{
    "contributionReceiptAmount": 250,
    "contributionReceiptDate": "2024-01-15",
    "contributorFullName": "SMITH, D P",
    "contributorFirstName": "D P",
    "contributorLastName": "SMITH",
    "contributorAddress": "PO BOX 16671, JACKSON, MS, 39236",
    "contributorStreet1": "PO BOX 16671",
    "contributorCity": "JACKSON",
    "contributorState": "MS",
    "contributorZip": "39236",
    "contributorEmployer": "AFLAC",
    "contributorOccupation": "ASSOCIATE",
    "contributorAggregateYtd": 2750,
    "committeeId": "C00034157",
    "committeeName": "AFLAC INCORPORATED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE AFLACPAC",
    "committeeType": "Q",
    "committeeTypeFull": "PAC - Qualified",
    "committeeParty": "UNK",
    "committeePartyFull": "UNKNOWN",
    "committeeState": "GA",
    "committeeAddress": "1932 WYNNTON ROAD, COLUMBUS, GA, 31999",
    "committeeTreasurerName": "MR JOEY M LOUDERMILK",
    "receiptType": "IND",
    "receiptTypeFull": "Individual",
    "electionType": "G",
    "electionTypeFull": "General",
    "twoYearTransactionPeriod": 2024,
    "transactionId": "4122320071083099365",
    "pdfUrl": "http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?27991076151",
    "contributionUrl": "https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?data_type=processed&transaction_id=4122320071083099365",
    "filingForm": "F3X",
    "reportType": "M",
    "reportYear": 2024,
    "imageNumber": "27991076151",
    "fileNumber": 313863,
    "scrapedTimestamp": "2024-12-10T17:30:00Z"
}

What You Get: Complete contribution records with contributor details, committee information, transaction data, filing references, and direct links to original FEC documents

Download Options: CSV, Excel, or JSON formats for easy analysis in your research tools

Why Choose the FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper?

• Comprehensive Data: Extract all available contribution fields from the FEC OpenFEC API (102+ fields per record)
• Authoritative Source: Direct access to official FEC data with complete accuracy
• Flexible Search: Multiple search parameters including committee ID, contributor name, location, employer, and more
• Document Access: Direct links to original FEC filing PDFs for verification
• Real-time Data: Access the most current contribution data available from the FEC
• Easy Integration: Export to Excel, CSV, or JSON for immediate analysis
• Complete Records: Get contributor details, committee information, transaction data, and filing references in one dataset

Time Savings: Save hours compared to manually searching FEC records through the website
Accuracy: Direct API access ensures data accuracy and completeness
Compliance: Use authoritative FEC data for compliance monitoring and reporting

How to Use

1. Sign Up: Create a free account w/ $5 credit (takes 2 minutes)
2. Get API Key: Get a free FEC OpenFEC API key from https://api.open.fec.gov/developers/
3. Find the Scraper: Visit the FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper page
4. Set Input: Add your API key and at least one search parameter (committee ID, contributor name, etc.)
5. Run: Click "Start" and wait for the scraper to collect data
6. Download: Download results as CSV, Excel, or JSON

Use Cases

📊 Research & Analysis

• Academic research on campaign finance patterns
• Analysis of contribution trends over time
• Research on specific donors or committees
• Study of political spending patterns

📰 Journalism & Transparency

• Investigative journalism on campaign contributions
• Transparency reporting for news organizations
• Public interest research and reporting
• Campaign finance watchdog activities

✅ Compliance & Monitoring

• Compliance monitoring for organizations
• Tracking contributions for regulatory purposes
• Verifying contribution records
• Audit and verification activities

🏛️ Political Analysis

• Analysis of campaign finance data
• Tracking political donor networks
• Research on committee activities
• Political spending analysis

Benefits

✅ Complete Data Extraction

Extract all 102+ fields available from the FEC API, including contributor details, committee information, transaction data, and filing references.

✅ Authoritative Source

Direct access to official FEC data ensures accuracy and reliability for research, reporting, and compliance purposes.

✅ Flexible Search Options

Search by committee ID, contributor name, location, employer, occupation, amount ranges, and date ranges for targeted data collection.

✅ Document Access

Direct links to original FEC filing PDFs allow you to verify and reference source documents.

✅ Easy Export

Download data in CSV, Excel, or JSON formats for immediate use in your analysis tools.

✅ Real-time Updates

Access the most current contribution data available from the FEC OpenFEC API.

Integration

Connect the FEC Campaign Finance Contributions Scraper with other tools:

🔄 Automation Platforms

• Zapier: Automate campaign finance data collection
• Make (Integromat): Create workflows for regular data updates
• n8n: Build custom automation pipelines

📊 Data Analysis Tools

• Google Sheets: Import data for analysis and visualization
• Microsoft Excel: Use for data analysis and reporting
• Python/R: Use JSON export for data science projects

📈 Business Intelligence

• Tableau: Visualize campaign finance trends
• Power BI: Create dashboards for contribution analysis
• Looker: Build reports on political spending

Recommended Actors

Check out these related actors for comprehensive political and government data:

Actor	Description
FEC Committee Scraper	Extract detailed information about political committees registered with the FEC
FEC Candidate Scraper	Get comprehensive data about candidates running for federal office
FEC Filings Scraper	Access all FEC filing documents and reports
State Campaign Finance Scraper	Collect state-level campaign finance data

FAQ

How do I get an API key?

Get a free API key from https://api.open.fec.gov/developers/. The signup process is quick and free. For testing, you can use DEMO_KEY, but it has rate limits.

What's the difference between free and paid plans?

Free users can collect up to 100 contributions per run. Paid users can collect up to 1,000,000 contributions per run with no rate limits.

Can I search by multiple criteria?

Yes! You can combine multiple search parameters like contributor name and state, or committee ID and date range, to get more targeted results.

How current is the data?

The data comes directly from the FEC OpenFEC API, which is updated regularly as new filings are processed by the FEC.

What if I don't find any results?

Try adjusting your search parameters. You can search by different criteria like contributor name, committee ID, location, or date ranges. The more specific your search, the better your results.

Can I export the data?

Yes! You can download results as CSV, Excel, JSON, HTML, or XML formats directly from the Apify platform.

How accurate is the data?

The data comes directly from the official FEC OpenFEC API, ensuring complete accuracy and reliability.

What fields are included?

Each record includes 102+ fields covering contributor information, committee details, transaction data, filing references, and document links. See the Output section above for a complete example.

Support

Need help? Check out:

• Documentation: FEC OpenFEC API Documentation
• FEC Website: https://www.fec.gov/
• Apify Support: Contact support through your Apify dashboard

---

Ready to get started? Create a free account w/ $5 credit and start collecting FEC campaign finance data today! 🚀