Pick your patch
Each fresh load starts with a 10-mile circle. Allow location access to explore nearby, or enter an address, city, or ZIP for somewhere else. Tap the green mileage to widen your view. The circle fits your screen automatically. Zoom or pan to see only the matches on screen inside your selected circle; the circle stays put until you choose a new area or mileage.
Meet the local list
Tap Nearby at the bottom right to open the results list. Tap a marker or result to see the evidence behind its color. For a busy area, scroll down and tap Show more results to keep exploring. Every visible Nearby match inside your circle gets a pin. The list loads in batches to stay quick; Show more results reveals the rest. Other locations of the same business are grouped under the nearest one; tap Show more … locations to list them. The line above the list counts how many matched locations lead each way, and each result shows its recorded company/PAC dollar total for scale. The color key at the bottom of the map explains the dot colors; tap it to open this FAQ.
Pack a paper backup
Open Nearby, then tap PDF above the results to save your current list. Keep it on your phone or print it before your trip. For Nearby, the PDF includes the visible map matches inside your selected circle, with your current filters. New area searches still need a connection. Bold company names are blue for DEM, red for REP, and purple only when the federal totals are exactly even. The PDF includes the same rated businesses shown in your results; any supporting SC source details follow the main list.
What do the buttons do?
Theme: day or night colors. Settings: party filters, routes, drawn areas, and map options. Locate: request a fresh device location. Nearby: open the results list. PDF (inside the open results drawer): download that list for later. PDF works with the free map; if you use Google Maps, choose Settings → Map provider → Reload free map first.
How do I explore another town?
Enter an address, city, or ZIP and select a suggestion. You can also move the map, then tap Search This Area beneath the Draw control. The search uses the map center and your selected radius. Tap Locate to request a fresh device location and follow it again.
For a road trip, open Settings → Route tools and enter your start and destination. For your own custom patch, use the Draw control on the map.
Why is my computer’s location off?
Computers sometimes return a broad network estimate. Approx. area means the app does not have a precise fix. Tap Locate to try again, or search an address. You can also move the map to your spot and tap Search This Area.
A place you choose stays selected when you return. Tap Locate when you want to follow your device again. Location accuracy comes from your browser and device; TerraCivic cannot make an inaccurate estimate precise. If the browser cannot provide a location, the app asks ipapi.co for an approximate area based on your network address.
Decode the pins: follow the larger total
For federal company/PAC profiles: Blue (DEM): more recorded company/PAC dollars went to Democratic committees. Red (REP): more went to Republican committees. Even a 51/49 lead gets that party’s color. Purple (EVEN): the dollar totals are exactly tied. Colors use the totals before rounding; the displayed percentages may round to 50/50 even when one party is slightly ahead.
DEM, REP, and EVEN are TerraCivic analytical classifications, not FEC classifications. They describe recorded contributions, not political beliefs or endorsements.
Businesses without an overall party rating are hidden from the map, results list, and PDF.
Federal profiles need at least $100 in combined Democratic and Republican contributions, net of reported refunds. If refunds or signed corrections exceed contributions, the negative amount stays visible in the evidence; percentages use only positive net totals.
Whose political activity am I seeing?
Company/PAC activity means contributions by PACs linked to their registered connected organizations, minus reported refunds. Employee giving is available as a separate, privacy-protected aggregate of federal contributions associated with a reported employer name. It is not blended into the Company/PAC classification or score.
SC company records can add source details to a business that already qualifies for a federal company/PAC rating. SC records alone do not create a rating or a visible result. Company and location links are verified; no employee or inferred-owner donations are used.
Eligible PACs must identify a corporation, labor organization, membership organization, trade association, or cooperative as their connected organization. Candidate campaigns, leadership PACs, party committees, joint fundraisers, and unresolved affiliations are excluded. Loans, business payments, transfers between affiliated committees, and independent expenditures are also excluded.
What about owners, franchises, and missing places?
Verified owner activity is not yet available. An employer name does not prove ownership, and a chain’s profile does not tell us about a local franchise owner. Owner activity needs a verified ownership relationship and separately attributed evidence.
The federal catalog contains company/PAC profiles nationwide. One profile can match many locations. Your match count shows locations in the selected area.
Only locations with qualifying federal company/PAC ratings appear as results. A missing business does not mean it is politically neutral.
Nearby searches match exact normalized business or brand names, including verified company/brand aliases, to company/PAC profiles using a saved US location snapshot from Overture Maps. It is not a complete business directory. Places with missing US country information, reported permanent closure, or zero source confidence are excluded.
Party filters and Support/Avoid use the federal company/PAC profile. Selected SC records are supporting evidence only; they do not determine visibility or color.
Expanded results show the location source and matched field. A brand match does not prove local ownership or mean the contributions came from that address. OpenStreetMap supplies the base map; drawn-area and route searches use public map-query services.
How fresh is the data?
Nearby locations: August 19, 2026. Latest federal transaction: December 31, 2025. These are separate snapshots, not live or comprehensive records. A saved PDF keeps the results available when you download it; it does not update itself.
SC pilot: reviewed September 18, 2026, from a Myrtle Beach company-contribution search dated January 1, 2025–September 18, 2026. Each included record shows its own transaction and election dates. These are selected reported contributions, not net totals; other filings, refunds, and amendments may change the picture.
Federal political information comes from periodic FEC bulk-data snapshots. This release reprocesses files stored in February 2026, covering included contributions and refunds in the 2025–2026 cycle. Rebuilding those files does not make the records current.
TerraCivic separates contributions and refunds from other payment types. For each PAC and recipient pair, it prefers the PAC’s contribution reports; recipient reports fill in only where that category has no donor-side report, avoiding double counting. This can leave out unmatched recipient records. Unresolved memo allocations, ambiguous amendments, and recipients without supported party information are excluded.
About TerraCivic & privacy
TerraCivic is an independent civic transparency, research, analysis, and geographic visualization application. It helps you explore publicly reported political activity associated with businesses and organizations. TerraCivic is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Election Commission.
TerraCivic does not publish individual contributor names, individual contributor addresses, personal contact information, individual donation histories, or searchable individual contributor profiles. The SC pilot publishes verified company names and company contributions, with links to their public reports.
Federal law prohibits using information copied from FEC reports to solicit contributions or for commercial purposes. Do not use TerraCivic results for fundraising, donor prospecting, or contact lists. Data use & privacy
Show me the sources
Official FEC records remain the authoritative source for federal campaign-finance information. Follow the links to check the records and location sources.
