Public Knowledge receives financial support for its mission from a wide array of sources, to ensure that its funding remains diversified and its mission independent. Funding sources include some supporters who may disagree with our positions on various policies, as well as charitable foundation grants and general support contributions from generous individuals and companies.

However, there are some values that are core to Public Knowledge’s work but not mentioned in our mission, such as equity for traditionally marginalized individuals and groups, and the importance of democratic institutions that preserve free expression and equal justice. Public Knowledge factors these values into its decisions on accepting support.

Foundation support accounts for around two-thirds of Public Knowledge’s budget. The remainder of support comes from companies and individuals through donations and sponsorship of the IP3 Awards. Public Knowledge recognizes individual donors and companies if they wish through the IP3 Awards event materials. Public Knowledge limits contributions from any single corporation to 10 percent of its annual budget to ensure that no funders can attempt to assert undue influence on Public Knowledge.

You may find 2021 funding sources here.

2022 Annual Giving From Major Supporters & Sponsors*

250,000+
Cy Pres Award
Ford Foundation
Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web

100,000+
Dish
Duck Duck Go
Google
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Kahle-Austin Foundation
Microsoft
Netflix
Omidyar 

50,000+
AT&T
Bernard & Audrey Rappaport Foundation
TikTok 
T-Mobile 

25,000+
Amazon
Instructional Telecommunications Foundation (IFT)
Ligado
Mozilla
National Digital Inclusion Alliance
Reis Foundation
SiriusXM 
Verizon 

10,000+
ACA Connects 
AARP
Bloomberg 
Broadcom
Charter Communications  
CTIA
Comcast 
Crown Castle
Shopify 
Walt Disney 
Writers Guild of America West 
Yelp 

5,000+
Al Kramer
Beeper 
Covington & Burling 
CWA
Globalstar 
Glen Echo Group
HWG LLP
iFixit 
INCOMPAS
Jim Thompson and Lisa Macpherson
Lumen
Perry Bayliss
Pinterest   
Spotify 
Sportsfan Coalition Inc 
Sonos 
USTelecom
Vividseats 
Windstream 

1000+
Blair Levin & Patty Friedman
Frontier
Gary Slaiman 
Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright 
Instacart 
Lam Abrams Family
MLC Strategies LLC 
Mike Forscey Household 
NTCA
Steptoe & Johnson  
Wilkinson Barker Knauer 

*Additionally, we were supported by hundreds of individual donors during this period of time.
*This list does not include donors who requested to remain anonymous or donations from the Sherwin Memorial Fund.