FREELANCE

A status word, not a contractor census

FEC forms store FREELANCE when that is what the filer typed in the employer field. They do not apply a gig-economy NAICS code. The $5,174,808 total is itemized individual gifts whose grouped text matches the status word. It is not contractor-income volume, not a state independent-contractor registry, and not every filer who typed SELF-EMPLOYED, SELF EMPLOYED, or a client legal name instead.

People who typed FREELANCER, SELF-EMPLOYED, CONSULTANT, or WRITER sit in other rows if stored that way. LobbyVault does not recode those variants into FREELANCE. The FEC field is not a platform-worker export. Occupation pages show titles stored beside the status word.

597 donors and 26,506 lines

597 unique donors produced 26,506 FREELANCE contribution lines totaling $5,174,808. That is on the order of 44 itemized receipts per donor — a high-repeat pattern. The packet does not publish a mean gift or a split among creative, technical, and other freelance work.

Party share is not on the industry headline. Independent expenditures and association PAC filings are outside the $5,174,808 unless an individual receipt itself carries this status string. Unitemized gifts never appear. Coverage is federal itemized individual receipts only.

Questions

How much have FREELANCE-listed donors given federally?

LobbyVault attributes $5,174,808 to the FREELANCE employer string, from 26,506 contributions and 597 donors. These are itemized individual receipts, not an association PAC and not a NAICS independent-contractor total. Unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer string as indexed on LobbyVault.

Is FREELANCE the same as SELF-EMPLOYED in this ranking?

No. FREELANCE is a distinct one-word status label as stored. SELF-EMPLOYED and SELF are separate keys if stored that way. LobbyVault does not add those rows into the $5,174,808. Figures are limited to that FEC employer string as indexed on LobbyVault.

Does this include consultants or writers?

Only if the grouped employer text is FREELANCE. CONSULTANT and WRITER are separate keys if stored that way. A receipt counted here carries the status word. Client legal names sit in other rows if stored separately. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC employer string as indexed on LobbyVault.

How many unique donors listed FREELANCE?

The rollup counts 597 donors and 26,506 contribution lines. Repeat gifts raise the receipt count to about 44 lines per person. This is not a census of independent contractors. Figures are limited to the FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.