The executive branch is where policy is supposed to be turned into action; yet, the public knows little about what happens there — about which agencies are doing useful work and which are wasting the public money. Understanding Government is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving the performance of the executive branch by helping journalists do a better job of covering it.

Understanding Government raises funds from a variety of private sources in order to achieve its mission. These funds support our website, Understanding Government, new programs, including Government in My Backyard, or GIMBY, and our Preventive Journalism initiative.