Nonprofits Wield Some Serious Campaign Cash

March 8, 2009, Congressional Quarterly — Fueled by anonymous, unlimited contributions, nonprofit organizations have emerged as the latest weapon of choice in political advertising, rivaling congressional campaign committees in the last election cycle.

Nonprofits from the conservative Freedom’s Watch to the liberal Planned Parenthood Action Fund spent a total of nearly $200 million in the 2008 campaign cycle, according to a study by the Campaign Finance Institute, an academic research group affiliated with George Washington University.