The thousands of invitations to congressional fundraisers we have collected since 2008 have allowed us to build a rich database of information on who is holding a fundraiser, where, when, and sometimes—with whom.

Invitations come from trusted sources, many of whom receive dozens of invitations each day. The majority of these invitations are for events in Washington, D.C.—only a small fraction relate to outside-the-beltway events. As a result, the information contained in the database is by no means complete but is the most comprehensive resource available.

Once received, invitations are converted into PDF format and loaded into our database. We then enter key information from the invitations into our database, so that they will be searchable in a variety of ways. For example, viewers can search for a fundraiser by its beneficiary, venue or host. Researchers can download our bulk data to view all of the fundraisers within a certain date range, or all those held by one of the political parties, or even every event involving “coffee” or “cocktails.” We do our best to ensure the quality of the data; however, if you do spot an error, we would appreciate you notifying us at partytime@sunlightfoundation.com. If you a member of the press, please contact us here.