How much have McDonald's-labeled filers given federally?

The MCDONALD'S industry cluster totals $4,386,214 in itemized FEC contributions, from 11,723 contributions and 754 donors. Filers listed that brand spelling as employer or occupation. The figure is a text rollup, not a corporate or franchise-system political budget. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Are franchise owners included?

They are included only if the industry key is MCDONALD'S. Filers who listed a local LLC as employer sit in that LLC’s slug. This page’s $4,386,214 is the brand-string cluster. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

How many unique donors are in this cluster?

LobbyVault counts 754 donors and 11,723 contributions. Unique-donor count is matching disclosure text, not a headcount of restaurants or employees. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Is this NAICS for limited-service restaurants?

No. FEC individual files do not include NAICS. LobbyVault groups employer/occupation self-reports. MCDONALD'S is the typed brand name, including the apostrophe as stored. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

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McDonald's money in federal elections

Filers who listed MCDONALD'S as employer or occupation on federal campaign reports account for $4,386,214 in itemized receipts on FEC.gov. The cluster holds 11,723 contributions and 754 donors. Mean gift size is about $374; mean per donor is about $5,817. The apostrophe spelling is FEC free text. It is not a NAICS limited-service restaurant code, not a franchise PAC-only figure, and not a count of restaurants.

Key figures

MCDONALD'S FEC strings sum to $4,386,214.
11,723 contributions came from 754 donors.
About $374 per gift and $5,817 per donor on a simple mean.
Local franchise LLC names may be other slugs.
The label is FEC free text, not NAICS.

754 donors and $4,386,214

Seven hundred fifty-four unique people produced 11,723 contributions, about 16 itemized gifts per person—lower frequency than utility and campus payroll clusters in this wave. $4,386,214 ÷ 754 ≈ $5,817 per donor. Franchisees, corporate employees, and people who listed the brand as a shorthand can all appear in the 754. The FEC does not distinguish owner-operator from crew on this industry key.

McDonalds without an apostrophe, McDonald’s Corporation, and local franchise legal names can exist as other keys. This page is MCDONALD'S only. Top employer matches that apostrophe string.

Brand versus franchise legal name

Independent franchisees often write a local LLC as employer. Those rows sit in the LLC’s industry slug, not here. $4,386,214 is the MCDONALD'S string cluster. Adding unknown franchise-entity totals would invent a system-wide figure the packet does not contain.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Occupation breakdowns still help for owner, manager, and related titles.

What 11,723 contributions omit

No store count, no party, no cycle year, no split between corporate and franchise filers. Recipients are on FEC.gov and on the MCDONALD'S donor table.

Unique-donor count (754) is matching text, not a census of the brand’s workforce.

Boundaries

The table does not measure menu-policy lobbying or advertising. $4,386,214 is itemized federal receipts tagged to MCDONALD'S from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

All industries lists other restaurant-employer strings. Occupation breakdowns list titles.

Source

Industry MCDONALD'S; $4,386,214; 11,723 contributions; 754 donors; top employer MCDONALD'S. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

The MCDONALD'S donor table holds names for 754 unique donors, 11,723 itemized contributions, and $4,386,214. Unitemized gifts are omitted. McDonalds without an apostrophe, McDonald’s Corporation, and local franchise legal names can be other keys. Franchisees who wrote a local LLC as employer sit in that LLC’s slug. Occupation breakdowns list owner, manager, and related titles. All industries lists other restaurant-employer strings. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. About 16 itemized gifts per person is lower frequency than utility and campus payroll clusters. Mean gift size about $374 and per-donor mean about $5,817 follow from those counts. This page does not measure menu-policy lobbying or treat $4,386,214 as a franchise-system political budget. The packet has no cycle year and no split between corporate and franchise filers. The 754-donor count is matching text, not a census of restaurants. Cite the apostrophe spelling as stored on FEC.gov.

Apostrophe brand text versus franchise LLC employers

MCDONALD'S keyed $4,386,214 from 11,723 contributions and 754 donors. About 16 itemized gifts per person is lower frequency than utility and campus payroll clusters. Mean gift size about $374 and per-donor mean about $5,817 follow from those counts. Unitemized gifts are omitted. McDonalds without an apostrophe, McDonald’s Corporation, and local franchise legal names can be other keys. Franchisees who wrote a local LLC as employer sit in that LLC’s slug, not necessarily here. The 754 unique donors are matching text, not a census of restaurants or employees. Limited-service restaurant NAICS codes are not applied. Top employer matches MCDONALD'S including the apostrophe as stored.

Open the MCDONALD'S donor table for names and committees. All industries lists other restaurant-employer strings. Occupation breakdowns list owner, manager, and related titles. Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. This page does not measure menu-policy lobbying or treat $4,386,214 as a franchise-system political budget. The packet has no cycle year and no split between corporate and franchise filers. Amendments can revise historical amounts. The four facts stay $4,386,214, 11,723 contributions, 754 donors, and top employer MCDONALD'S. Local franchise LLC names stored as other keys are not added into this brand-string sum. Repeat the four facts when citing this page: $4,386,214, 11,723 contributions, 754 donors, top employer MCDONALD'S. Unitemized gifts remain omitted. The donor table, all industries, and occupation breakdowns are the only internal links this packet authorizes. Local franchise LLC names stay on other slugs. Mean gift size about $374 remains total divided by 11,723 contributions on FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Questions

How much have McDonald's-labeled filers given federally?: The MCDONALD'S industry cluster totals $4,386,214 in itemized FEC contributions, from 11,723 contributions and 754 donors. Filers listed that brand spelling as employer or occupation. The figure is a text rollup, not a corporate or franchise-system political budget. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
Are franchise owners included?: They are included only if the industry key is MCDONALD'S. Filers who listed a local LLC as employer sit in that LLC’s slug. This page’s $4,386,214 is the brand-string cluster. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
How many unique donors are in this cluster?: LobbyVault counts 754 donors and 11,723 contributions. Unique-donor count is matching disclosure text, not a headcount of restaurants or employees. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.
Is this NAICS for limited-service restaurants?: No. FEC individual files do not include NAICS. LobbyVault groups employer/occupation self-reports. MCDONALD'S is the typed brand name, including the apostrophe as stored. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer/occupation string as indexed on LobbyVault from FEC.gov. Unitemized gifts, state filings, and lobbying reports are omitted and are not added to the itemized total cited here.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.