BUSINESS OWNER occupation totals in FEC data

A longer owner string with its own facts

13,449 donor records is a smaller pool than the OWNER key in this harvest. $82,755,159 across that pool averages about $6,153 per donor record. Across 221,498 itemizations the mean is about $374 per contribution. About 16 contributions per donor is the repeat rate, higher than OWNER’s roughly 10-to-1 ratio in the same extract.

Those differences are filing-pattern facts, not proof that BUSINESS OWNER donors are a different class of firms. People pick a short word or a longer phrase. This overlay does not merge the keys.

SELF-EMPLOYED is another neighboring label. A proprietor who wrote SELF-EMPLOYED is not in $82,755,159.

What the title does not encode

BUSINESS OWNER does not name the product, the headcount, or the legal form. An LLC member, a sole proprietor, and a multi-shop operator can share the string. Best-efforts collection records the donor’s words, not a business-license match.

Employer may repeat the company name or say self. Employer is not one of the three packet facts. Industry pages group employer categories and will not equal this occupation total.

Itemizations as the unit

221,498 lines mean the total is built from a large stack of transactions. Unitemized receipts never appear. $82,755,159 is itemized BUSINESS OWNER activity in the loaded extract, not a complete small-business giving census.

A donor who wrote BUSINESS OWNER on some gifts and OWNER on others appears in both occupation totals for those lines. Restated in compact millions, the occupation total is $82.8 million. That compact figure is the same headline amount as the full dollar total on this page, rounded to one decimal place in millions.

Using the hub

Cite $82,755,159, 221,498 contributions, and 13,449 donors. Open the BUSINESS OWNER occupation page for rows. Use the occupations index to see OWNER and SELF-EMPLOYED as separate keys.

Do not assign party from the title. Source: Form 3/3X itemizations indexed on LobbyVault. Harvested facts have no cycle year. Restated in compact millions, the occupation total is $82.8 million. That compact figure is the same headline amount as the full dollar total on this page, rounded to one decimal place in millions.

Limits

Live filters may change displayed sums. Hyphenation and extra words (small business owner) are included only if they normalized to BUSINESS OWNER. These three numbers do not measure Main Street as a voting bloc.

Researchers comparing occupation keys should keep BUSINESS OWNER on its own line with its own dollar, contribution, and donor facts. The occupations index is the inventory of neighboring strings. Industry pages remain an employer-side cut and should not be added to this occupation total. Unitemized receipts never carry an occupation code, so $82.8 million is itemized activity for this string in the loaded extract. Restated in compact millions, the occupation total is $82.8 million. That compact figure is the same headline amount as the full dollar total on this page, rounded to one decimal place in millions.

BUSINESS OWNER as a two-word proprietor string

BUSINESS OWNER is $82.8 million on 221,498 itemizations from 13,449 donor records. OWNER is the shorter sibling with a larger donor pool and is excluded here. SELF-EMPLOYED is a status label, also excluded. Mean amounts on BUSINESS OWNER are about $374 per itemization and about $6,153 per donor record, with about 16 itemizations per donor—higher repeat than OWNER’s ratio in this extract.

The extra word does not encode revenue, employees, or legal form. An LLC member and a sole proprietor can share it. Industry pages will not equal $82,755,159. If a story needs “all owner-like strings,” list OWNER, BUSINESS OWNER, and SELF-EMPLOYED separately. This overlay lists one string. BUSINESS OWNER is the longer proprietor phrase. Thirteen thousand four hundred forty-nine donor records and 221,498 itemizations produced $82.8 million. OWNER remains the larger short-word bucket. SELF-EMPLOYED remains a status phrase. If a briefing needs all three, list three lines. This guide’s job is one line: occupation BUSINESS OWNER in FEC bulk itemizations indexed on LobbyVault.

Questions

How much have BUSINESS OWNER donors given?

Occupation BUSINESS OWNER is attached to $82,755,159 in LobbyVault’s FEC bulk index, from 221,498 contributions and 13,449 donor records. OWNER is a separate string and is not included. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total. The live hub may apply cycle filters; this packet is the harvested occupation key.

Why isn’t this combined with OWNER?

Occupation is free text. The bulk file stores OWNER and BUSINESS OWNER as different keys. This page cites only $82,755,159, 221,498 contributions, and 13,449 donors. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total. The live hub may apply cycle filters; this packet is the harvested occupation key.

Does BUSINESS OWNER tell me the industry?

No. The occupation field does not encode sector. Industry pages use other fields. Adding occupation and industry totals double-counts overlapping rows. The matching contribution count is 221,498 and the matching donor-record count is 13,449. Those three numbers are occupation-string totals from FEC Form 3/3X itemizations indexed on LobbyVault, not a licensed roster and not a party split.

What is the average BUSINESS OWNER contribution?

$82,755,159 divided by 221,498 itemizations is about $374 per contribution. Divided by 13,449 donors, the mean is about $6,153 per donor record. Occupation is self-reported free text on FEC Form 3 and Form 3X schedules. Unitemized receipts never enter this occupation total. The live hub may apply cycle filters; this packet is the harvested occupation key.