About Us
Issue One is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to political reform and government ethics in order to strengthen democracy and return government to the American people.
We are focused on the core civic issue of our time — fixing democracy, for the sake of returning government to the people.
Our name and tagline speak to our mission: We are bringing the two parties together to solve the root cause of the dysfunction crippling Washington. The only way our nation can once again rise to meet the challenges of our times is to fix our democracy first.
Bridging partisan divides.
Founded in 2013, we are the only nonprofit political reform group in Washington with a track record of uniting Republicans and Democrats. We are respected as honest brokers who act from a place of principle. This approach is powering our momentum on Capitol Hill.
Our approach is three-fold:
- Building the premier bipartisan coalition to address the dysfunction in Washington and uphold ethics standards in government.
- Activating targeted “outside-Washington” pressure in congressional districts that matter. We are bringing new voices off the sidelines and into the conversation.
- Reinvigorating ethics and accountability through original reporting and investigative exposés that also highlight policy solutions.
What winning looks like
Ultimately, our goal is to pass and protect federal legislation that strengthens accountability and returns America to a system of self-governance for the common good by:
- Promoting transparency and disclosure
- Increasing participation in elections
- Reducing pay-to-play politics
- Strengthening enforcement of existing laws
- Improving government integrity and accountability
Our policy solutions embrace constitutional principles and promote a more robust marketplace of ideas consistent with the First Amendment.
Our impact
There are multiple efforts and forms of action necessary to create profound change. We are involved in a range of strategic activities to create the environment necessary to pass legislation and fix our broken political system. Here’s a sampling of some of those activities:
- Recruited a politically diverse coalition of more than 180 former members of Congress, governors and Cabinet officials—more than 43 percent of whom are Republican—to join Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus
- Gained national attention for our Price of Power report—a first-of-its-kind, deep-dive analysis into how political parties squeeze influential lawmakers to boost campaign coffers.
- Providing credible, nonpartisan information, analysis and commentary for the media and public regarding ethics, accountability and transparency of political influence
Issue One is leading the way to fix our broken system. Watch to learn more about our work:
Financial Statements and 990s
Issue One is committed to transparency. Below you will find our most recent financial statements and form 990s.