Data Provider Terms of Service

Last Updated: April 28, 2026

Purpose

This document provides the complete terms of service, usage policies, and attribution requirements for all third-party data providers used by Open Navigator. Users of our Service must comply with all applicable provider terms.

Overview

Open Navigator aggregates data from multiple sources. Each source has its own terms of service, usage policies, and attribution requirements. This document consolidates all provider terms to help you stay compliant.

🏛️ U.S. Government Data Sources (Public Domain)

1. IRS (Exempt Organizations Business Master File & Form 990)

Data Type: Tax-exempt organization records, Form 990 filings
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Terms of Use: IRS.gov Copyright and Reuse Policy

Usage Rights:

✅ Free to download and redistribute
✅ No restrictions on commercial or non-commercial use
✅ No API key required
✅ Attribution recommended but not required

Restrictions:

❌ Must not claim IRS endorsement
❌ Must not use for unauthorized commercial solicitation

Attribution (Recommended):

Data source: Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EO-BMF)
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-business-master-file-extract-eo-bmf

2. U.S. Census Bureau

Data Type: Geographic boundaries, demographics, government entities
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Terms of Use: Census Bureau Data Policy
API Documentation: Census Bureau API

Usage Rights:

✅ Public domain data
✅ Free API access (API key recommended but not required)
✅ No restrictions on use or redistribution
✅ Attribution appreciated

Restrictions:

❌ Must not claim U.S. Census Bureau endorsement

Rate Limits:

Without API key: 500 requests per IP address per day
With free API key: Higher limits (no specific quota published, typically 500 requests per second burst)
Best practice: Get a free API key from api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html

Attribution (Recommended):

Data source: U.S. Census Bureau
https://www.census.gov/

3. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Data Type: School district boundaries, demographics, enrollment
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Terms of Use: NCES Privacy Policy
Data Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Usage Rights:

✅ Public domain educational data
✅ No API key required
✅ Free download and redistribution
✅ No personal student information

Restrictions:

❌ Must not claim NCES endorsement

Attribution (Recommended):

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
U.S. Department of Education
https://nces.ed.gov/

4. FEC / OpenFEC API

Data Type: Campaign finance, political contributions
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Terms of Use: FEC.gov Terms of Use
API Documentation: OpenFEC API

Usage Rights:

✅ FEC data is public domain
✅ Free API access with API key

Rate Limits:

With API key: 1,000 requests/hour
Demo key: 30 requests/hour

CRITICAL RESTRICTIONS:

❌ CANNOT use contributor information for commercial solicitation or fundraising
❌ CANNOT sell contributor lists
❌ Must not violate federal campaign finance laws

Attribution (Required):

Data source: Federal Election Commission (FEC)
https://www.fec.gov/

API Key: Free at api.data.gov

5. Grants.gov API

Data Type: Federal grant opportunities
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Terms of Use: Grants.gov Terms of Use
API Documentation: Grants.gov API

Usage Rights:

✅ Public government data
✅ No API key required
✅ Free unlimited access

Restrictions:

❌ Must not misrepresent grant opportunities
❌ Must not alter grant information

Attribution (Recommended):

Data source: Grants.gov
https://www.grants.gov/

💼 Google Services

8. Google BigQuery IRS 990 Public Dataset

Data Type: IRS Form 990 filings
License: IRS data is Public Domain; BigQuery access subject to Google Cloud Terms
Terms of Use: Google Cloud Terms of Service
Dataset: bigquery-public-data.irs_990
Documentation: Google Cloud Marketplace

Usage Rights:

✅ IRS data is public domain
✅ BigQuery provides fast SQL-based access
✅ First 1 TB of queries per month is FREE

Requirements:

✅ MUST comply with Google Cloud Terms of Service
✅ Google Cloud account required
✅ Must provide attribution to IRS and Google Cloud

Restrictions:

❌ Subject to BigQuery quotas and pricing (beyond free tier)
❌ Must not use for unauthorized commercial solicitation

Attribution (Required):

Data source: IRS Form 990 Data
Provided by: Google Cloud Public Datasets
https://console.cloud.google.com/marketplace/product/internal-revenue-service/irs-990

9. Google Civic Information API

Data Type: Elected officials, polling locations, election information
License: Google APIs Terms of Service
API Documentation: Google Civic Information API
Usage Limits: Google Civic API Policies

Free Tier:

✅ 25,000 requests per day
✅ API key required (free from Google Cloud Console)

Requirements:

✅ MUST comply with Google APIs Terms of Service
✅ MUST display attribution: "Data provided by Google"
✅ MUST NOT cache data beyond 30 days

Restrictions:

❌ Subject to Google API quotas
❌ Cannot cache data longer than 30 days
❌ Must respect rate limits

Attribution (Required):

Data provided by Google Civic Information API
https://developers.google.com/civic-information

API Key: Free from Google Cloud Console

10. Google Data Commons

Data Type: Demographics, economics, health statistics
License: Data Commons Terms
API Documentation: Data Commons API

Usage Rights:

✅ Free access to aggregated statistical data
✅ No API key required for most endpoints

Requirements:

✅ MUST provide attribution to Google and original data sources
✅ MUST comply with Google Terms of Service

Attribution (Required):

Data source: Google Data Commons
https://datacommons.org/
[Also cite original data sources as specified]

🏢 Nonprofit Data Providers

11. Charity Navigator

Organization: Charity Navigator, Inc.
Principal Office: 299 Market Street, Suite 250, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
API Terms: Charity Navigator API Terms of Use
Last Updated: March 2025

Rate Limit:

❌ MAXIMUM: 1,000 API calls per day (strictly enforced)

MANDATORY Attribution Requirements:

Text Credit (on ALL pages using CN data):
```
Powered by Charity Navigator
```
Source Citation:
```
Data provided by Charity Navigator
```

Linkback (REQUIRED for all charity names):

<a href="https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/[EIN]">
  [Organization Name]
</a>

Trademark Notice (once per page or in footer/credits):

CHARITY NAVIGATOR and the CHARITY NAVIGATOR logo are registered trademarks 
of Charity Navigator. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

CRITICAL Restrictions:

❌ CANNOT redistribute Charity Navigator data
❌ CANNOT create competing rating systems using CN data
❌ CANNOT exceed 1,000 API calls per day
❌ Caching permitted for performance ONLY (not for redistribution)
❌ No ownership rights to cached data
❌ CN can terminate access for violations

Intellectual Property:

All Charity Navigator data and ratings are proprietary
API and database owned by Charity Navigator, Inc.
Users have NO ownership rights to CN data
Feedback/suggestions become CN property

Termination:

Charity Navigator may terminate API access at any time for violations
Upon termination, must cease all use of CN data

Full Terms: https://www.charitynavigator.org/partner/api-terms

12. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API

Organization: ProPublica, Inc.
API Documentation: Nonprofit Explorer API
Data Store Terms: ProPublica Data Store Terms

Usage Rights:

✅ Free unlimited API access
✅ IRS data is public domain
✅ Commercial and non-commercial use allowed

Requirements:

✅ MUST provide attribution to ProPublica
✅ Respectful rate limiting recommended (~1 request/second)

Restrictions:

❌ ProPublica's analysis may have separate copyright (distinct from IRS data)

Attribution (Required):

Data source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/

Note: API returns maximum 25 results per request with no pagination. For bulk data, use IRS EO-BMF downloads.

13. ProPublica Congress API

Organization: ProPublica, Inc.
API Documentation: Congress API
Coverage: 102nd Congress (1991) to present

Rate Limit:

5,000 requests per day

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free at https://www.propublica.org/datastore/api/propublica-congress-api)
✅ MUST provide attribution to ProPublica
✅ Include as HTTP header: X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

Attribution (Required):

Data source: ProPublica Congress API
https://projects.propublica.org/api-docs/congress-api/

14. ProPublica Campaign Finance API

Organization: ProPublica, Inc.
API Documentation: Campaign Finance API
Coverage: FEC data from 2000 to present

Rate Limit:

5,000 requests per day

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free at https://www.propublica.org/datastore/api/campaign-finance-api)
✅ MUST provide attribution to ProPublica
✅ Include as HTTP header: X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

CRITICAL RESTRICTIONS:

❌ CANNOT use contributor information for commercial solicitation
❌ CANNOT use for fundraising purposes
❌ Must comply with FEC regulations

Attribution (Required):

Data source: ProPublica Campaign Finance API
Federal Election Commission (FEC) data
https://projects.propublica.org/api-docs/campaign-finance/

15. ProPublica Vital Signs API

Organization: ProPublica, Inc.
API Documentation: Vital Signs API
Coverage: 1,000,000+ healthcare providers

Rate Limit:

5,000 requests per day

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free at https://www.propublica.org/datastore/api/vital-signs-api)
✅ MUST provide attribution to ProPublica
✅ Include as HTTP header: X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY

Attribution (Required):

Data source: ProPublica Vital Signs
https://projects.propublica.org/vital-signs/

16. Every.org Charity API

Organization: Every.org (Public Benefit Corporation)
API Documentation: Every.org Nonprofit API
Coverage: 1,000,000+ verified nonprofits

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free tier available)
✅ Must comply with Every.org API Terms of Service

Attribution (Required):

Data source: Every.org
https://www.every.org/

Note: API authentication required. Contact Every.org for API access.

17. Logo.dev API

Organization: Logo.dev
Website: Logo.dev
API Documentation: Logo.dev API Docs

Free Tier:

1,000 requests per month

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free tier available)
✅ Must comply with Logo.dev Terms of Service

Usage:

Fetches high-quality organization logos based on domain names
Multiple size options (32px, 128px, 200px, 400px)
Automatic format optimization (WebP, PNG, SVG)

Attribution (Recommended):

Logos provided by Logo.dev
https://www.logo.dev/

API Key: Sign up at Logo.dev

18. GivingTuesday 990 Data Lake

Organization: GivingTuesday
Source: GivingTuesday 990 Data Infrastructure
Storage: AWS S3 Public Bucket
License: Public Domain (IRS data)
AWS Registry: OpenData on AWS

Usage Rights:

✅ Free access via AWS S3
✅ No AWS credentials required (--no-sign-request)
✅ IRS data is public domain

Requirements:

✅ MUST attribute to GivingTuesday and IRS

Costs:

Standard AWS data egress charges may apply

Attribution (Required):

Data source: GivingTuesday 990 Data Infrastructure
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 XML Filings
https://990data.givingtuesday.org/

6. GSA .gov Domains List

Organization: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
Data Source: .gov Domain Data
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
Format: CSV published weekly on GitHub

Usage Rights:

✅ Public domain government data
✅ No API key required
✅ Free download and redistribution
✅ Updated weekly

Requirements:

✅ Attribution appreciated (not required)

Attribution (Recommended):

Data source: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
.gov Internet Domain Data
https://github.com/cisagov/dotgov-data

7. YouTube Data API v3

Organization: Google LLC
API Documentation: YouTube Data API
Terms of Service: YouTube API Terms of Service

Quota:

10,000 units per day (free tier)
Different operations cost different units (e.g., search = 100 units, list = 1 unit)

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free from Google Cloud Console)
✅ MUST comply with YouTube API Terms of Service
✅ MUST display attribution: "Powered by YouTube Data API"
✅ MUST NOT cache video metadata longer than allowed

Restrictions:

❌ Cannot create competing video platform
❌ Must respect quota limits (10,000 units/day)
❌ Must comply with YouTube Community Guidelines
❌ Subject to Google API Terms of Service

Attribution (Required):

Video data provided by YouTube Data API
https://www.youtube.com/

API Key: Free from Google Cloud Console

Cost Calculation:

Search operation: 100 units
List videos: 1 unit
10,000 units = ~100 searches or 10,000 video metadata requests per day

🗳️ Civic & Government APIs

19. Open States API & Bulk Data

Organization: Open States Foundation (part of Plural)
API Documentation: Open States API v3
Bulk Data: Plural Policy Bulk Downloads ⭐ Recommended
Terms of Service: Open States ToS

Bulk Download Options (No API Key Required):

CSV Files - Complete legislative sessions
- URL: https://data.openstates.org/session/csv/{state}/{session_id}.csv
- License: Public Domain (encouraged for bulk analysis)
- No rate limits, no API key required
- Attribution appreciated but not required
JSON Files - Bills with full text
- URL: https://data.openstates.org/session/json/{state}/{session_id}.json.zip
- License: Public Domain
- Includes complete bill text and metadata
PostgreSQL Dumps - Complete database
- URL: https://data.openstates.org/postgres/monthly/YYYY-MM-public.pgdump
- Monthly snapshots, ~5GB compressed
- License: Public Domain

Bulk Data Terms:

✅ Free to download and redistribute
✅ No API key required
✅ No rate limits
✅ Attribution appreciated: "Data from Open States"
✅ Encouraged for research and analysis

API Access (Real-time updates):

Free Tier:

50,000 requests per month

Requirements:

✅ API key required (free at https://openstates.org/accounts/signup/)
✅ MUST display attribution: "Powered by Open States"
✅ Must comply with API rate limits

Restrictions:

❌ Data licenses vary by state jurisdiction
❌ Must respect 50,000 requests/month limit on free tier

Attribution (API Usage):

Powered by Open States
https://openstates.org/

Attribution (Bulk Data Usage - Recommended):

Data source: Open States (Plural Policy)
https://open.pluralpolicy.com/data/

Data Licensing:

Bulk downloads: Public Domain (no restrictions)
API data: Licenses vary by state jurisdiction
Check specific state terms for commercial use

Recommendation:
Use bulk downloads for analysis and map generation (faster, no limits).
Use API for real-time bill tracking and search.

🌐 Linked Open Data Sources

20. Wikidata

Organization: Wikimedia Foundation
SPARQL Endpoint: Wikidata Query Service
License: CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication
Terms of Use: Wikimedia Terms of Use

Usage Rights:

✅ CC0 Public Domain - no restrictions
✅ No API key required
✅ Free unlimited access
✅ Attribution appreciated but not required

Requirements:

✅ MUST respect rate limits (1 request/second recommended)
✅ MUST set descriptive User-Agent header

User-Agent Format:

User-Agent: YourApp/1.0 (https://yoursite.com/; contact@example.com)

Attribution (Appreciated):

Data source: Wikidata
https://www.wikidata.org/
License: CC0 Public Domain

21. DBpedia

Organization: DBpedia Association
Lookup API: DBpedia Lookup Service
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL
Terms of Use: DBpedia Usage Policies

Usage Rights:

✅ Free to use with attribution
✅ No API key required

Requirements:

✅ MUST provide attribution to DBpedia and Wikipedia
✅ MUST respect rate limits (1-2 requests/second recommended)
✅ MUST set descriptive User-Agent header
✅ Share-alike license applies (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Attribution (Required):

Data source: DBpedia and Wikipedia
https://www.dbpedia.org/
License: CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

Share-Alike Requirement:

If you create derivative works, you must license them under CC BY-SA 3.0 or compatible license

🎓 Academic & Research Datasets

22. MeetingBank Dataset

Organization: Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL)
Dataset: MeetingBank on HuggingFace
Paper: ACL 2023 Proceedings

Citation Required:

@inproceedings{hu-etal-2023-meetingbank,
    title = "MeetingBank: A Benchmark Dataset for Meeting Summarization",
    author = "Yebowen Hu and Tim Ganter and Hanieh Deilamsalehy and 
              Franck Dernoncourt and Hassan Foroosh and Fei Liu",
    booktitle = "Proceedings of the 61st Annual Meeting of the 
                 Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL)",
    month = July,
    year = "2023",
    address = "Toronto, Canada",
    publisher = "Association for Computational Linguistics",
}

Attribution (Required):

Dataset: MeetingBank
Authors: Hu et al. (2023)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.17529

23. LocalView Dataset (Harvard Dataverse)

Organization: Harvard University Mellon Urbanism Lab
Dataverse: Harvard Dataverse
Website: LocalView.net

License: Research use (Harvard Dataverse terms apply)

Citation Required:

@dataset{localview_2024,
  author = {{Harvard Mellon Urbanism Lab}},
  title = {LocalView: Municipal Meeting Videos and Transcripts},
  year = {2024},
  publisher = {Harvard Dataverse},
  doi = {10.7910/DVN/NJTBEM},
  url = {https://www.localview.net/}
}

Requirements:

✅ Must cite original research
✅ Research use license applies
❌ Cannot redistribute without permission

Attribution (Required):

Data source: LocalView Dataset
Harvard Mellon Urbanism Lab
https://www.localview.net/

24. Council Data Project (CDP)

Organization: Open-source civic tech collaboration
GitHub: CouncilDataProject
Website: CouncilDataProject.org
License: Open source (MIT)

Usage Rights:

✅ MIT License - permissive use
✅ Commercial and non-commercial use allowed

Attribution (Required):

Data source: Council Data Project
https://councildataproject.org/
License: MIT

25. City Scrapers / Documenters.org

Organization: Documenters Network (civic journalism collaboration)
GitHub: City-Bureau
Website: Documenters.org
License: Open source (MIT)

Usage Rights:

✅ MIT License - permissive use
✅ Commercial and non-commercial use allowed

Attribution (Required):

Data source: City Scrapers / Documenters Network
https://www.documenters.org/
License: MIT

26. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

Organization: Cornell University
Database: iPoll Database
License: Free public search; full data requires institutional membership

Usage Rights:

✅ Metadata and question wording: Free
❌ Full survey data: Requires membership

Citation (Required):

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, Cornell University.
iPoll Databank. https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/ipoll/

27. Datamuse API (Word-Finding Engine)

Organization: Datamuse, Inc.
API Documentation: Datamuse API
Website: Datamuse.com
License: Free tier for most applications; paid tier for high-volume commercial use

Free Tier:

✅ 100,000 requests per day - Generous limit for most applications
✅ Commercial use allowed - Can use in commercial apps under daily limit
✅ No API key required - Simple HTTP GET requests
✅ Fast response times - Optimized for real-time applications

Paid Tier (High-Volume):

Exceeding 100,000 requests/day requires paid tier
Contact Datamuse for custom pricing and SLA
Dedicated support and guaranteed uptime

Attribution Requirements:

✅ Link to Datamuse required (or strongly requested) for free tier users
✅ Credit in documentation: "Powered by Datamuse API"
Example: <a href="https://www.datamuse.com/">Powered by Datamuse API</a>

CRITICAL Restrictions:

❌ NO automated scraping of web interfaces - Use official API only
❌ Rate limiting enforced - Exceeding 100K/day will be throttled
✅ Caching allowed - Can cache results to reduce API calls

Terms of Service Key Points:

Free API Usage: Up to 100,000 requests per day for commercial and non-commercial use
Attribution: Link back to Datamuse.com required for free tier
No Scraping: Prohibited - use the official API endpoints
Data Privacy: No sale of user-uploaded data to third parties
Commercial Solicitation: Not applicable (API provides word data, not personal information)

Attribution (Required for Free Tier):

Powered by Datamuse API
https://www.datamuse.com/api/

Contact: For high-volume commercial licensing or API partnerships, contact Datamuse directly.

Note: Datamuse.ai is a separate SaaS product with different pricing:

Starter: ~$29/month (100 queries/month)
Professional: ~$99/month (unlimited queries + API access)
Free Trial available

28. CivicSearch (School Board Meeting Platform)

Organization: Datamuse, Inc.
Website: schools.civicsearch.org
Platform: Datamuse-powered civic search interface for school board meetings
License: Free public access for search; bulk/API access requires partnership agreement

Free Access:

✅ Public search interface - Free for all users
✅ Public record data - Meeting transcripts are generally public domain
✅ Search functionality - AI-indexed transcripts across school districts
✅ Video access - When available, embedded meeting videos

Bulk Data / API Access:

⚠️ No standard commercial checkout - Handled case-by-case
⚠️ Researcher access - Contact Datamuse for academic partnerships
⚠️ Civic organization partnerships - Available for civic tech collaborators
⚠️ Commercial licensing - Required for commercial applications

Attribution Requirements:

✅ Link to CivicSearch - Required when using data from the platform
✅ Source citation: "Data from CivicSearch (Datamuse, Inc.)"
✅ Attribution for public record data - While transcripts are public record, Datamuse's indexing and presentation are proprietary

CRITICAL Restrictions:

❌ NO automated scraping - Prohibited by terms of service
❌ NO bulk download without permission - Requires partnership agreement
❌ NO redistribution - Cannot redistribute CivicSearch data without license
✅ Use official API when available - Preferred method for data access

Terms of Service Key Points:

Public Search: Free access via web interface for public use
Attribution: Link back to CivicSearch required for data used in projects
No Scraping: Automated scraping prohibited - request API access
Bulk Access: Requires partnership agreement for large-scale data extraction
Data Privacy: No user-uploaded data sold to third parties
Public Records: Meeting transcripts are public record, but indexing/presentation is proprietary
Commercial Use: Requires licensing agreement for commercial applications

Usage Rights:

✅ Public record data (transcripts) generally public domain
❌ Datamuse indexing, search, and presentation technology proprietary
⚠️ Must not claim data as original work

Attribution (Required):

Data source: CivicSearch (Datamuse, Inc.)
https://schools.civicsearch.org/
School board meeting transcripts and agendas

Contact for Partnerships: For bulk data access, API integration, or civic tech collaborations:

Identify as "civic technologist" or research organization
Outline use case and data requirements
Request case-by-case partnership evaluation
No standard commercial checkout - custom agreements only

Example Use Cases:

Academic research on education policy
Civic tech platforms tracking school board decisions
Parent/community engagement applications
Policy analysis and advocacy tools

🗳️ Election Data Sources

29. MIT Election Data + Science Lab

Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Repository: GitHub - MEDSL
Website: MIT Election Lab
License: Free for research and commercial use

Usage Rights:

✅ Free to use and redistribute
✅ Commercial and non-commercial use allowed

Attribution (Required):

Data source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab
https://electionlab.mit.edu/data

30. OpenElections

Organization: OpenElections Project
GitHub: OpenElections
Website: OpenElections.net
License: Open source (varies by state)

Usage Rights:

✅ Free to use with attribution
⚠️ Licensing varies by state

Attribution (Required):

Data source: OpenElections
https://openelections.net/
[Include state-specific attribution as applicable]

💰 Paid/Commercial Services (NOT USED)

31. Ballotpedia API v3.0

Organization: Lucy Burns Institute
API Documentation: Ballotpedia API
License: Paid service - requires commercial license

Status: ⚠️ NOT USED in Open Navigator

Code in discovery/ballotpedia_integration.py is reference only
Web scraping may violate Ballotpedia terms of service
Do not use without paid API license

Free Alternatives:

✅ Google Civic Information API (25k requests/day free)
✅ Open States API (50k requests/month free)
✅ NCES (free for school boards)

If You Have Paid Access:

Must comply with Ballotpedia API Terms of Use
Contact Ballotpedia for licensing: https://ballotpedia.org/API_documentation

⚖️ Compliance Summary Table

Provider	API Key	Rate Limit	Attribution Required	Share-Alike	Commercial Use
1. IRS EO-BMF	No	None	Recommended	No	Yes
2. Census	No*	500 req/IP/day	Recommended	No	Yes
3. NCES	No	None	Recommended	No	Yes
4. FEC/OpenFEC	Yes	1k req/hour	Yes	No	Yes**
5. Grants.gov	No	None	Recommended	No	Yes
6. GSA Domains	No	None	No	No	Yes
7. YouTube	Yes	10k units/day	YES	No	Yes
8. Google BigQuery	Yes	1TB/mo free	Yes	No	Yes
9. Google Civic	Yes	25k req/day	YES	No	Yes
10. Google Data Commons	No	None	YES	No	Yes
11. Charity Navigator	Yes	1k req/day	YES*	No	Yes
12. ProPublica Nonprofit	No	None	YES	No	Yes
13. ProPublica Congress	Yes	5k req/day	YES	No	Yes
14. ProPublica Campaign	Yes	5k req/day	YES	No	Yes**
15. ProPublica Vital Signs	Yes	5k req/day	YES	No	Yes
16. Every.org	Yes	Custom	YES	No	Yes
17. Logo.dev	Yes	1k req/month	Recommended	No	Yes
18. GivingTuesday	No	AWS egress	YES	No	Yes
19. Open States	Yes	50k req/month	YES	No	Yes
20. Wikidata	No	~1 req/sec	No	No	Yes
21. DBpedia	No	~1-2 req/sec	YES	YES	Yes
22. MeetingBank	No	N/A	YES	No	Research
23. LocalView	Yes	Varies	YES	No	Research
24. Council Data	No	N/A	YES	No	Yes
25. City Scrapers	No	N/A	YES	No	Yes
26. Roper Center	No	N/A	YES	No	Research
27. MIT Election Lab	No	N/A	YES	No	Yes
28. OpenElections	No	N/A	YES	Varies	Yes
29. Ballotpedia	Yes	PAID	YES	No	No

Notes:

*Census: API key recommended for higher limits
**FEC: Cannot use contributor data for commercial solicitation
***Charity Navigator: Extremely strict - must display "Powered by Charity Navigator", link all names, include trademark notice

📞 Contact Information for Providers

⚠️ Important Reminders

Always Required

Respect rate limits - implement caching and delays
Provide attribution - credit data sources appropriately
Read provider terms - terms may change over time
Set User-Agent - identify your application in API requests

Never Allowed

Commercial solicitation - Do not use FEC donor data for fundraising
Circumvent limits - Do not create multiple accounts to bypass quotas
Remove attribution - Do not strip required credits
Violate redistribution terms - Respect each provider's redistribution policies

When in Doubt

Provide attribution - over-attribution is safer than under-attribution
Contact the provider - ask for clarification on unclear terms
Document your usage - keep records of compliance efforts

🔄 Updates & Changes

This document is updated regularly to reflect:

New data sources added
Changes to provider terms of service
Updated rate limits and pricing
New attribution requirements

Last Review Date: April 28, 2026

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Legal Requirement

Compliance with these terms is mandatory. Violations may result in:

Loss of API access from providers
Termination of your use of Open Navigator
Legal action by data providers
Damage to the civic tech ecosystem

When in doubt, provide attribution and respect usage limits.

Overview​

🏛️ U.S. Government Data Sources (Public Domain)​

1. IRS (Exempt Organizations Business Master File & Form 990)​

2. U.S. Census Bureau​

3. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)​

4. FEC / OpenFEC API​

5. Grants.gov API​

💼 Google Services​

8. Google BigQuery IRS 990 Public Dataset​

9. Google Civic Information API​

10. Google Data Commons​

🏢 Nonprofit Data Providers​

11. Charity Navigator​

12. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API​

13. ProPublica Congress API​

14. ProPublica Campaign Finance API​

15. ProPublica Vital Signs API​

16. Every.org Charity API​

17. Logo.dev API​

18. GivingTuesday 990 Data Lake​

6. GSA .gov Domains List​

🎬 Media & Social Platforms​

7. YouTube Data API v3​

🗳️ Civic & Government APIs​

19. Open States API & Bulk Data​

🌐 Linked Open Data Sources​

20. Wikidata​

21. DBpedia​

🎓 Academic & Research Datasets​

22. MeetingBank Dataset​

23. LocalView Dataset (Harvard Dataverse)​

24. Council Data Project (CDP)​

25. City Scrapers / Documenters.org​

26. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research​

27. Datamuse API (Word-Finding Engine)​

28. CivicSearch (School Board Meeting Platform)​

🗳️ Election Data Sources​

29. MIT Election Data + Science Lab​

30. OpenElections​

💰 Paid/Commercial Services (NOT USED)​

31. Ballotpedia API v3.0​

⚖️ Compliance Summary Table​

📞 Contact Information for Providers​

U.S. Government Agencies​

Media & Social Platforms​

Google Services​

Nonprofit Data Providers​

Civic & Open Data​

Academic Datasets​

Election Data​

⚠️ Important Reminders​

Always Required​

Never Allowed​

When in Doubt​

🔄 Updates & Changes​

Overview

🏛️ U.S. Government Data Sources (Public Domain)

1. IRS (Exempt Organizations Business Master File & Form 990)

2. U.S. Census Bureau

3. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

4. FEC / OpenFEC API

5. Grants.gov API

💼 Google Services

8. Google BigQuery IRS 990 Public Dataset

9. Google Civic Information API

10. Google Data Commons

🏢 Nonprofit Data Providers

11. Charity Navigator

12. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API

13. ProPublica Congress API

14. ProPublica Campaign Finance API

15. ProPublica Vital Signs API

16. Every.org Charity API

17. Logo.dev API

18. GivingTuesday 990 Data Lake

6. GSA .gov Domains List

🎬 Media & Social Platforms

7. YouTube Data API v3

🗳️ Civic & Government APIs

19. Open States API & Bulk Data

🌐 Linked Open Data Sources

20. Wikidata

21. DBpedia

🎓 Academic & Research Datasets

22. MeetingBank Dataset

23. LocalView Dataset (Harvard Dataverse)

24. Council Data Project (CDP)

25. City Scrapers / Documenters.org

26. Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

27. Datamuse API (Word-Finding Engine)

28. CivicSearch (School Board Meeting Platform)

🗳️ Election Data Sources

29. MIT Election Data + Science Lab

30. OpenElections

💰 Paid/Commercial Services (NOT USED)

31. Ballotpedia API v3.0

⚖️ Compliance Summary Table

📞 Contact Information for Providers

U.S. Government Agencies

Media & Social Platforms

Google Services

Nonprofit Data Providers

Civic & Open Data

Academic Datasets

Election Data

⚠️ Important Reminders

Always Required

Never Allowed

When in Doubt

🔄 Updates & Changes