How do I read Forms 990? [closed]

Question

I want to start learning about weird political nonprofits I keep seeing on the internet.

Some context: As a teenager,I grew up during the recession and Trump's campaign. I was a bit nervous about our big parties and reluctantly joined the Libertarians before settling on the Greens.

I like educational YouTube channels and the Foundation of Economic Education made a lot of fun, interesting content. But they misinterpreted arguments e.g., giving Jeff Bezos' wealth to Congress lump-sum rather than taxing land. In hindsight, I'm terrified of teens being tricked by shady interest groups and I want to read into their finances.

Answer 1

It is a little unclear what you are asking, but non-profit entities have to file a form with the IRS every year called Form 990 which is similar to a tax return, except that in the usual case, no actual taxes are due. There is a mechanism to get this information, but I'm not very familiar with it and have never used it.

Entities that support candidates in federal elections also have to file forms on a regular basis with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that are a matter of public record, most often accessed through intermediary good government groups like "Open Secrets".

Disclosure requirements vary considerably between states in non-federal political campaigns.