There are a number of independent groups, government boards and commissions who provide information and data on campaign finance and individual political contributions.  The following are just a few of these fantastic resources from the Campaign Finance Research Guide:

• Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov): The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which governs the financing of federal elections. Campaign finance information is available through the Disclosure Data Search tool – http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/disclosure_data_search.shtml.  And be sure to also bookmark the FEC Press Office Backgrounders for Reporters (http://www.fec.gov/press/bkgnd/bkgnd.shtml)!
• New York City Campaign Finance Board (http://www.nyccfb.info/): The NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB), a nonpartisan, independent city agency, administers the Campaign Finance Program, educating voters about candidates and contributions. The CFB database (http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/) lets you to search by election cycle, candidate, contributor name, amount of contribution, etc.
• OpenSecrets.org (http://www.opensecrets.org/): Provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) – a nonpartisan and independent research group, OpenSecrets.org is a clearinghouse of data, including detailed contribution profiles, fund-raising breakdowns for federal party committees, and personal finances of members of Congress, the president and other officials.  See the Politicians & Elections menu to search politicians by specific Congress, going back 10 years – http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.php.

Find these and other resources using the Campaign Finance Research Guide.  Have additional questions?  Ask us!  journalism@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.