For the first time in modern presidential fundraising history, a nominee’s largest funder is a black box designed to mask the identities of its donors.
The largest contributor to Kamala Harris this election cycle is Future Forward USA Action, a nonprofit that has given more than $136 million to her super PACs since the beginning of 2023, according to Federal Election Commission data. The group is an affiliate of the Harris campaign’s premier super PAC, Future Forward, that allows it to shield political donors’ identities while still legally engaging in politics.
Super PACs have only filed their donors through October 16, so it’s possible–though highly unlikely–that another donor could overtake Future Forward USA Action or that the Trump campaign could suddenly have a new major dark money funder during the final stretch of the contest. As of October 16, the next highest contributors this cycle to super PACs that have made independent expenditures for Harris are two other “dark money” groups, AB Foundation (about $32 million) and League of Conservation Voters Inc. (about $42 million), and Trump’s largest dark money funder, Building America’s Future, has contributed just over $25 million.
Two of Future Forward USA Action’s major donors are known. Democratic billionaires Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg have each reportedly given the group $50 million in contributions that were meant to be kept under wraps but were leaked to the New York Times. However, it’s impossible to know how those donations impacted the group’s contributions to its pro-Harris super PAC affiliate. Section 501(c)4 nonprofits like Future Forward USA Action can only spend less than 50% of their money on politics in order to qualify for tax exemption.
