Funding principles

How we plan to be funded

• Members and donors. People who believe in public accountability can support our work monthly or annually.
• Grants. Funding from organizations that support investigative journalism, transparency, civil liberties, and worker and environmental protection. We prefer unrestricted grants, and we disclose the terms of any restricted ones.
• Research and syndication. Licensing completed investigations and public-record datasets, never confidential material.
• Training. Workshops on ethical reporting, evidence preservation, and investigative methods.

What we will never do

• Sell priority placement for accusations.
• Accept payment to suppress or remove a substantiated report.
• Sell whistleblower identities, confidential submissions, or raw evidence.
• Charge whistleblowers to submit reports or receive basic case updates.
• Let a company sponsor, control, or veto an investigation into itself.
• Publish paid allegations, or apply a lower standard of verification to anyone.

Transparency

If we ever accept corporate donations, we will disclose them, and we will recuse anyone involved from investigations that touch those donors. Our annual report will list our major sources of funding.