US Chamber mostly funded by small pool of big donors: study

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gets most of its money from a small pool of anonymous donors, raising questions about its claim to represent more than 3 million businesses, a new report found.

The nation’s largest business group raised nearly half of its 2021 revenue from donors giving $1 million or more, according to an analysis of the Chamber’s tax filings from left-leaning watchdog group Public Citizen. Only 18 donors accounted for more than a quarter of the Chamber’s revenue.  

“The narrow donor base casts serious doubts on the Chamber’s repeated claims that it represents such a broad range of business,” Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen, said in a statement. 

It’s no secret in the nation’s capital that the Chamber is primarily a big business lobbying group. The Chamber’s board of directors includes executives at FedEx, Facebook, Microsoft, Chevron, Comcast, Ford, Pfizer and other large multinational firms, in addition to some midsize companies. 

But the Public Citizen report makes the case that the Chamber receives next to no support from small businesses. The Chamber reported 1,300 donations of $5,000 or more, which made up 97 percent of the group’s revenue. The Chamber doesn’t disclose its donors. 

“Whoever the Chamber is truly working for, it’s receiving almost all of its money from a tiny slice of U.S. businesses, assuming its donors are businesses,” Public Citizen wrote in its report.

In response, the Chamber said that it leans on a small business council of 100 small businesses to help guide its policy priorities and noted that it operates a small business platform that assists nearly 20,000 companies every day.  

“As we have for over a century, the Chamber represents the depth and breadth of the American business community. And like America, the vast majority of our members — 90% — are small businesses and state and local Chambers of Commerce,” Chamber spokesperson Kasper Zeuthen said in a statement. 

CNBC first reported the Public Citizen analysis on Wednesday. 

The Chamber is currently pushing for legislation to ease the permitting process for energy and infrastructure projects. It’s also fighting the Federal Trade Commission’s noncompete ban and a slew of other Biden administration rules aimed at boosting workers’ power. 

The group remains largely aligned with Republicans, though Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other House GOP leaders have said they are shunning the Chamber after it endorsed swing-district Democrats in the 2020 election. 

Still, House Republicans’ Lower Energy Costs Act, considered their top priority for this Congress, included many measures backed by the Chamber, including permitting reforms.