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Center for Public Integrity

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Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity 2025.png
Basic facts
Location:Washington, D.C.
Type:501(c)(3)
Affiliation:Nonpartisan
Founder(s):Charlie Lewis
Year founded:1989
Website:Official website

The Center for Public Integrity was a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization based in Washington, D.C.[1] Founded by Charles Lewis in 1989, CPI was an investigative news source concerned with, according to its website, "investigating the systems and circumstances that contribute to inequality in labor, housing, health care, education and access to democracy."[1] In 2014, the center won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism, and in 2023, it won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence.[2][3]

In March 2025, the organization announced it had ceased publication.[4]

Background

The Center for Public Integrity was founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis, an investigative reporter for ABC News and producer of the CBS News program "60 Minutes."[1] Under his executive direction until 2005, the center published 300 investigative reports, including 14 books.[1] The center said it was one of the “country’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news sources.”[1]

CPI's website provided the following mission statement as of August 2025:[1]

“ Public Integrity seeks to counter the corrosive effects of inequality by holding powerful interests accountable and equipping the public with knowledge to drive change. We are an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigating systems and circumstances that contribute to inequality in our country.[5] ”

Leadership

The CPI website said the following individuals were in leadership as of August 2025:[6]

Board of directors

  • Jamaal Glenn
  • Olivier Kamanda
  • Jennifer Lee
  • Sue Suh
  • Daniel Suleiman
  • Andres Torres

Work and activities

The Center for Public Integrity's coverage fell under five major categories: Democracy, Economic Well-Being, Education, Environment, and Health. These projects were largely found on publicintegrity.org. Some of the largest projects at the center are listed below:

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

The CPI founded the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which is an international platform for investigative journalism.[7] This program includes "290 of the best investigative reporters from more than 100 countries."[7] The primary goal of ICIJ is to uncover problems across national frontiers, including cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power.[7] In 2016, the ICIJ split from the CPI to become its own organization.[8]

Consider the Source

Consider the Source sought to uncover any "shadowy political organizations that have flourished in the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling."[9] This work informed readers on how new spending correlated with professional politicking. This project was located on CPI's Primary Source blog, which focused on governmental issues after the Citizens United ruling in 2010.[10]

Pentagon Travel

In this series, the CPI investigated who paid for the travel expenses of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) employees. The center examined the involvement of foreign countries and private businesses with the DOD over a 10-year period by analyzing Pentagon Disclosure Records.[11]

Hard Labor

This research on the American working class investigated abuse of employees in the workplace. In this project, the CPI attempted to uncover work-related deaths, injuries, illnesses, and injustices pertaining to wages. The series covers personal stories from workers and occupational threats from corporations and regulations.[12]

Finances

The Center for Public Integrity received donations from various individuals and foundations, including the Open Society Foundations—a George Soros entity.[13] CPI disclosed many of its donors on its website. The top five donors for 2015 are listed below:[13]

  • Laura and John Arnold Foundation
  • Omidyar Network
  • W.K. Kellogg Foundation
  • Rita Allen Foundation
  • Fred and Alice Stanback

Below is a breakdown of CPI's annual revenue and expenses for 2012 and 2013:

Annual revenue and expenses for The Center for Public Integrity, 2012-13
Tax Year Total Revenue Total Expenses
2013[14] $7,841,268 $6,802,135
2012[15] $9,114,429 $7,633,950

Tax status

The Center for Public Integrity is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Its 501(c) designation refers to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning charitable, religious, and educational organizations.[16] Section 501(c) of the U.S. tax code has 29 sections that list specific conditions particular organizations must meet in order to be considered tax-exempt under the section. Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax.[17] This exemption requires that any political activity by the charitable organization be nonpartisan in nature.[18]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Center for Public Integrity. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Center for Public Integrity - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Center for Public Integrity, “About,” accessed June 16, 2015
  2. ↑ Pulitzer, "The 2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners," accessed June 18, 2015
  3. ↑ Center for Public Integrity, "Public Integrity wins Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence," August 16, 2023
  4. ↑ Columbia Center for Journalism, "Center for Public Integrity Is Shutting Down," March 31, 2025
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ Center for Public Integrity, “Board of Directors,” accessed August 5, 2025
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, "About," accessed August 5, 2025
  8. ↑ Nonprofit Quarterly, "ICIJ to Separate from Center for Public Integrity," October 24, 2016
  9. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "Consider the Source," accessed August 5, 2025
  10. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "Primary Source," accessed August 5, 2025
  11. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "Pentagon Travel," accessed August 5, 2025
  12. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "Hard Labor," accessed August 5, 2025
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Center for Public Integrity, "Supporters," accessed June 17, 2015
  14. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "2013 Annual Report," accessed June 17, 2015
  15. ↑ The Center for Public Integrity, "2012 Annual Report," accessed June 17, 2015
  16. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)," accessed January 13, 2014
  17. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Life Cycle of a Public Charity/Private Foundation," accessed July 10, 2015
  18. ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Exemption Requirements - 501(c)(3) Organizations," accessed January 13, 2014
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