Who funds 50501 ?

1. What the group itself says about funding

Mass 50501’s own donation pages make clear that donations “benefit Mass 50501” and are processed through Commonwealth United, Inc., which the site explicitly labels a 501(c) social welfare organization and states means gifts are not tax deductible ^[1]. The group’s Massachusetts pages and fundraising descriptions repeatedly frame donations as underwriting events, programs, and basic operational costs for a volunteer‑led organization ^{[5] [2]}. Those self-descriptions are the clearest primary-source statements available in the reporting provided.

2. Local crowdfunding and chapter-level fundraising

Beyond the central processing through Commonwealth United, individual 50501 chapters use public crowdfunding platforms: a GiveButter page for “Mass50501 Movement” lists that donations will fund events and program costs ^[2], and a GoFundMe tied to a San Diego 50501 chapter solicits donations for water, first aid, walkie‑talkies and megaphones to “keep protestors safe” ^[3]. Those campaign pages show that grassroots, chapter‑level fundraising is an active component of how local 50501 groups finance on‑the‑ground activity ^{[2] [3]}.

3. Organizational structure matters to funding transparency

The movement explicitly describes itself as “first and foremost a movement of, by, and for the people,” saying it is not nationally incorporated and has no plans to change that; the partners page advises supporters to “support frontline 50501 groups” rather than a single national entity ^[4]. That decentralized self‑characterization helps explain the mix of giving channels—central processing via a named 501(c) for certain donations, alongside independent local crowdfunding for chapter needs ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

4. Outside observers and political links

A third‑party profile of the 50501 Movement from InfluenceWatch describes the movement as left‑wing and notes an early joint statement with Political Revolution, a left‑wing PAC formed by former Bernie Sanders supporters, as well as ties to partner groups like No Voices Unheard ^[6]. That reporting introduces the possibility of political‑organization ties and coordinated messaging with established progressive groups, but the provided materials do not include documentary evidence that PAC funds or institutional grants flow into the movement’s accounts; InfluenceWatch’s account is the source for the association, not a financial audit ^[6].

5. What is unclear or not shown in the sources

The available sources do not provide audited financial statements, donor rolls, or IRS filings for Commonwealth United, Inc. that would reveal the scale, origin, or proportion of donations from small donors versus larger institutional backers ^{[1] [2]}. InfluenceWatch notes political partnerships but does not present direct evidence of monetary transfers from Political Revolution into 50501 accounts ^[6]. Additionally, several search hits point to the numeric string “50501” appearing as a postal ZIP code for Fort Dodge, Iowa, and related local charity pages—these are unrelated to the movement and create potential confusion in open searches but do not indicate funding connections ^{[7] [8]}.

6. Bottom line: who funds 50501?

Based on the reporting provided, funding for 50501 comes primarily from individual donors and local chapter crowdfunding, with some donations routed through Commonwealth United, Inc., a 501(c) vehicle the movement names for processing contributions ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}. InfluenceWatch flags political partnerships that could imply organizational support, but the reports supplied do not document direct monetary flow from PACs or institutional funders into 50501 accounts ^[6]. Absent tax filings or audited financial disclosures in the supplied sources, the claim that funding is grassroots and donation‑driven stands as the best-evidenced conclusion.