The Committee of Seventy
| The Committee of Seventy | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Top official: | Lauren Cristella, President and CEO |
| Year founded: | 1904 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1904 as a group against political corruption, the committee's mission as of December 2025 was to advance "representative, ethical and effective government in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania through citizen engagement and public policy advocacy."[1][2]
Background
A group of business and civic leaders founded the Committee of Seventy in Philadelphia in 1904. The committee's founding principle was to "keep watch and ward over the public interests."[3] With an initial focus on civic and election reform, the committee had since expanded its scope.[4] As of December 2025, the committee said, "In the last 20 years, we have led the fight to defend campaign financing limits, established a city Board of Ethics and made lobbying (and the spending associated with it) a matter of public record. Our wars against pay-to-play politics and officeholder pension grabs helped to turn the ideas of better government and fair elections into a movement. We continue to be the go-to organization for trustworthy background and analysis on issues related to Philadelphia’s political culture and its government."[3]
Leadership
As of December 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Committee of Seventy:[5]
- Lauren Cristella, president and CEO
- Dan Bright, chief financial officer
- Andrew McGinley, vice president of External Affairs
Work and activities
As of December 2025, the Committee of Seventy offered election resources on its website. Resources included topics such as elections and voting, city council redistricting, money in politics, ethics and transparency, open primaries, and a democracy agenda. The committee also offered memberships, which included access to policy briefings and special events, a How Philly Works guide to city government, and youth civic engagement programs. The committee said it was holding its 250th Summit in 2026 in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The summit was "designed to celebrate American democracy while facilitating a necessary dialogue about strengthening it for the future."[1]
During the 2024 general election, the Committee of Seventy collaborated with 211 partners, educated 450,000 people through its WeVote partnerships, reached 23,000 students via its civic engagement programs, and helped train and educate over 8,500 poll workers.[6]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of the Committee of Seventy's revenues and expenses from 2015 to 2022. The information comes from the Internal Revenue Service.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $1.0 million | $927,013 |
| 2016 | $1.1 million | $1.0 million |
| 2017 | $1.1 million | $1.0 million |
| 2018 | $1.9 million | $1.5 million |
| 2019 | $1.5 million | $1.5 million |
| 2020 | $1.9 million | $1.6 million |
| 2021 | $1.9 million | $1.6 million |
| 2022 | $2.8 million | $2.1 million |
See also
External links
- Committee of Seventy website
- Committee of Seventy on Facebook
- Committee of Seventy on X
- Committee of Seventy on YouTube
- Committee of Seventy on LinkedIn
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Committee of Seventy, "Home," accessed December 7, 2025
- ↑ Committee of Seventy, "About Us," accessed December 7, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Committee of Seventy, "Our History," accessed December 7, 2025
- ↑ Committee of Seventy, "Original Mission Statement," accessed December 7, 2025
- ↑ Committee of Seventy, "Staff & Board," accessed December 7, 2025
- ↑ Issuu, "The Power of US: Charting the Path to a Stronger PA," May 8, 2025 (page 4)
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