Ownership, Funding & Editorial Independence Disclosure
Independence & Zero-Conflict Pledge
Plains Ledger™ is an independent public-records data project operated by Plains Oversight Group LLC (Nebraska; formation pending) tracking campaign finance, ballot question committees, lobbying compensation, federal awards, and tax-exempt foundation grants in Nebraska across 2015–Present.
Plains Ledger accepts no funding, sponsorships, consulting fees, or in-kind support from any candidate committee, political party, PAC, ballot question committee, lobbying firm, or 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4) organization tracked in this database.
Every entity in the database is processed by the same automated ETL pipeline and ranked strictly by dollar volume as reported in official public filings.
Why We Track Foundation & Media Ties
In modern state civic ecosystems, the same private foundations and 501(c)(4) advocacy hubs that fund ballot question committees and lobbying coalitions also fund nonprofit newsrooms and civic intermediaries via IRS Form 990 Schedule I grants.
Our Funder Networks and Media Ties pages map those disclosed 990 grant flows so Nebraska voters and readers can evaluate potential institutional overlaps for themselves. Documenting a Form 990 grant is a factual citation of an IRS filing, not an allegation of editorial impropriety.
Intellectual Property, Copyright & Public Data Notice
1. Public Records & Statutory Limits
Underlying NADC, FEC, IRS Form 990, and USAspending filings are public government records in the public domain. NADC records remain 100% free on Plains Ledger and are subject to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 49-14,132 (which prohibits copying NADC statements for sale or commercial solicitation). Federal FEC records are subject to 52 U.S.C. § 30111(a)(4) (which prohibits selling or using individual contributor information from FEC reports for soliciting contributions or commercial purposes). Plains Ledger never displays, sells, or reconstructs natural-person individual contributor names or street addresses on any tier (Free or Pro).
2. Copyright & Compilation Protection (17 U.S.C. § 103)
While the underlying government facts and filings belong to the public, the Plains Ledger™ software, custom interactive visualizations (including the 3-Stage Money Map and Entity Money Trail Sankeys), original methodology and analytical commentary, logo mark, and original cross-walked compilation, selection, and arrangement of multi-jurisdictional identifiers (pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 103) are © 2026 Plains Oversight Group LLC. All rights reserved.
3. Trademarks
Plains Ledger™, Plains Oversight Group™, and the open-ledger wheat-and-navy emblem are trademarks of Plains Oversight Group LLC (Nebraska; formation pending). Journalists, researchers, and citizens are welcome to cite Plains Ledger™ and embed or screenshot charts with attribution to PlainsLedger.org.
Primary Data Provenance & Statutory Basis
| Jurisdiction / Domain | Primary Agency & Dataset | Forms & Schedules Tracked | Update Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska State & Local | Nebraska Accountability & Disclosure Commission (NADC) | Forms A-1, B-1 (Candidate), B-2 (PAC), B-3 (Party), B-4 (Ballot), B-6 (IE), B-7 (Out-of-State), B-9 (Non-Committee), C-2/C-2A (Lobbying) | Daily movement + full cycle bulk extracts (2015–Present) |
| Federal Elections (NE) | Federal Election Commission (FEC) | Form 3 / 3X / 3P summaries, Schedule A (committee transfers & ActBlue conduits), Schedule B, Schedule E & 24/48-Hour IE Notices | Daily API sync + bulk cycle files (2016–Present) |
| Tax-Exempt Nonprofits | Internal Revenue Service (IRS) & ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer | Form 990, Form 990-PF (Part XIV / Schedule I domestic grants), IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EO BMF) | Electronic 990 XML releases (2015–2025) |
| Federal Grants | U.S. Department of the Treasury (USAspending.gov) | Assistance & prime grant awards to Nebraska-domiciled 501(c) recipient organizations | Cycle snapshots (2015–Present) |