Inaugural committee
Definition
A nonprofit organized to fund a president's inauguration ceremonies. Unlike campaign committees, inaugural committees face no federal contribution limits, may accept corporate money, and need only disclose donations of $200 or more within 90 days after the ceremony.
Why it matters
Because inaugural committees can take unlimited money from individuals, corporations, and unions right as a new administration is forming, they offer a legal channel for donors to make an outsized gesture of goodwill to an incoming president, free of the restrictions that apply to campaign giving, at the exact moment access to that administration is most valuable.
Seen in the wild
Trump's 2025 inaugural committee raised roughly $170 to $200 million with no self-imposed contribution cap, more from million-dollar-plus donors than any prior inauguration had raised in total, according to the Brennan Center.1 Barack Obama's first inaugural committee in 2009 capped contributions at $50,000 and barred corporate money entirely, showing the limits are a matter of choice, not law.2