Web Site Provides New Way to Track Campaign Funds

By: E&P Staff Reporters covering political races have long been able to tap into online records of campaign contributions, but it's a laborious process, searching for names alphabetically, by date, by profession, or by candidate. But now, at Fundrace.org, they can get down to the micro level -- searching by neighborhood.

For the average person this might provide little more than a voyeuristic thrill. But for the political reporter, anywhere in the Unites States, it can shake out donors in a limited or very targeted area, for research or stories.

New York City is far from typical, of course, but going to www.fundrace.org and typing in an address near Times Square, with zip code, quickly yielded this donation record for the Democratic presidential race from well known people such as: Sean Combs, listed as "entrepreneur," who gave $2000 to Al Sharpton, as did Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone; Madonna Ciccone Ritchie ("entertainer") who dropped $2000 on Wesley Clark, as did John Hess, chairman of Amerada Hess Corp., and former Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorenson.

Actress Meg Ryan gave $2000 to Howard Dean, as did famed screenwriter William Goldman and actor Alan Alda. John Kluge, the chairman and president of Metromedia, laid $2000 on Joe Leiberman. And to show the '60s are still alive, James Rado, one of the creators of the musical "Hair," gave $500 to Dennis Kucinich. Investor George Soros spread it around, with $2000 going to John Kerry and Bob Graham and $1000 to Dean. Wenner also gave $2000 to Dean -- and Kerry.

And that's all from a five-minute search.

Trying another search, this time in area code 90210, for Beverly Hills, Calif., one finds the expected dominance of celebrity Democrats, with Pierce Brosnan, Melanie Griffith, Owen Wilson and Michael Eisner all chipping in $2000 for Kerry. But who says there are no Bush funders in Hollywood? Ernest Borgnine contributed $2000 to the President, as did Dino DeLaurentis, Maury Povich and Richard D. Zanuck. And that just skims the surface in one neighborhood.

According to its New York-based creator, Eyebeam, the six-month-site is now attracting over 150,000 visitors a day. All data comes from public records and the Federal Election Commission. The site also features donations overlaid on street maps, as well as a FatCats Index and GrassRoots Index.

Other popular sites in this vein (which do not have the same neighborhood function) include www.politicalmoneyline.com and www.opensecrets.org.