Follow the Money Back
How much does a corporation spend on politics—and how much comes back in government contracts and grants?
Search for an entity to begin
Enter a corporation, PAC, or organization name above to calculate their political spending ROI.
How the ROI Calculator Works
The ROI multiplier is calculated as: Total Government Returns (federal contracts + grants) divided by Total Political Spending (PAC donations + individual contributions + lobbying expenditures). For example, if a company spends $5M on donations and lobbying and receives $2B in government contracts, their ROI is 400x.
This does not imply direct causation or corruption. Many factors determine contract awards, including technical capability, past performance, and competitive bidding. The calculator highlights the statistical correlation between political spending and government returns as a starting point for further investigation.
Data sources include FEC contribution records, Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, and USASpending.gov federal award data.