ProPublica MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer API, enabling AI models to search and analyze nonprofit organizations' Form 990 data for CRM integration and prospect research.

Version 1.0.0 introducesbreaking changeswith the implementation of MCP 2025-03-26 Streamable HTTP transport:

- Remote deploymentsnow use a single/endpoint instead of/sseand/messages
- MCP client configurationhas changed for cloud deployments (see Usage section below)
- Improved compatibilitywith Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP clients
- Backwards incompatiblewith MCP clients expecting the old SSE transport

- Search nonprofit organizations by name, location, and category
- Retrieve detailed organization profiles and contact information
- Access Form 990 financial data and filing history
- Analyze financial trends across multiple years
- Export data in CRM-ready formats
- Built with FastMCP for optimal performance

Deploy the ProPublica MCP server instantly to your preferred cloud platform:

- DigitalOcean: Container-based deployment with automatic scaling and monitoring
- Cloudflare: Serverless deployment with global edge distribution and zero cold starts

- Compatible MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
- For development: Python 3.8 or higher, Git

The easiest way to install the ProPublica MCP server is using the DXT extension format:
- Go to thereleases page
- Download the latestpropublica-mcp-[version].dxtfile
- Install the DXT extension:

# Install from downloaded file claude-desktop install propublica-mcp-[version].dxt # Or install directly from GitHub release claude-desktop install https://github.com/asachs01/propublica-mcp/releases/latest/download/propublica-mcp.dxt

For other MCP clients:Follow your client's DXT installation instructions or extract the DXT file to your MCP extensions directory.

For production deployments or containerized environments:

# Pull the latest image from GitHub Container Registry docker pull ghcr.io/asachs01/propublica-mcp:latest # Run the server docker run -it --rm ghcr.io/asachs01/propublica-mcp:latest

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/asachs01/propublica-mcp/main/docker-compose.yml curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/asachs01/propublica-mcp/main/env.example

cp env.example .env # Edit .env file with your preferred settings

- Click the "Deploy to DO" button above
- Connect your GitHub account (if not already connected)
- Configure environment variables (optional - defaults are provided)
- Click "Deploy" - your app will be live in minutes with a public URL
- Click the "Deploy to Cloudflare Workers" button above
- Connect your GitHub account and authorize Cloudflare
- Configure any environment variables as needed
- Deploy - your serverless function will be live globally

Cloud deployments only deploy from thedeploybranch, which contains stable, tested releases:

- Development: All work happens onmainbranch
- Releases: When tags are created (e.g.,v0.2.0), thedeploybranch is automatically updated
- Cloud Platforms: DigitalOcean and Cloudflare deploy only from thedeploybranch
- Benefits: Ensures only stable, released versions reach production environments

Option 4: Local Python Installation (Development)

git clone https://github.com/asachs01/propublica-mcp.git cd propublica-mcp

- Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

python -m propublica_mcp.server --http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080

- --http: Enable HTTP server mode for remote MCP clients
- --host: Host to bind to (default: 127.0.0.1)
- --port: Port to bind to (default: 8080)
- --log-level: Set logging level (DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR)

This server implements theMCP 2025-03-26 Streamable HTTPtransport protocol and can be used with any MCP client, including Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other compatible tools.

Once installed as a DXT extension, the server will be automatically configured. Most MCP clients will detect and load the extension automatically.

{ "mcpServers": { "propublica-mcp": { "extension": "propublica-mcp.dxt", "description": "ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer MCP Server (DXT Extension)" } } }

For Cloud Deployment (Remote MCP Server):

DigitalOcean/Cloudflare (Streamable HTTP):

For remote Python MCP servers, you'll need to use an HTTP transport. Add this to your MCP client configuration:

{ "mcpServers": { "propublica-mcp": { "transport": { "type": "http", "url": "https://propublica-mcp-lk97f.ondigitalocean.app" }, "description": "ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer MCP Server (Remote)" } } }

For Local Installation (stdio transport):

{ "mcpServers": { "propublica-mcp": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "propublica_mcp.server"], "cwd": "/path/to/propublica-mcp", "env": {} } } }

For Docker Deployment (stdio transport):

{ "mcpServers": { "propublica-mcp": { "command": "docker", "args": [ "run", "--rm", "-i", "ghcr.io/asachs01/propublica-mcp:latest" ], "description": "ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer MCP Server" } } }

# Start HTTP server locally python -m propublica_mcp.server --http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080

{ "mcpServers": { "propublica-mcp": { "transport": { "type": "http", "url": "http://localhost:8080" }, "description": "ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer MCP Server (Local HTTP)" } } }

- search_nonprofits: Search for nonprofit organizations
- get_organization: Get detailed organization information by EIN
- get_organization_filings: Retrieve Form 990 filings for an organization

- analyze_nonprofit_financials: Analyze financial trends across multiple years
- search_similar_nonprofits: Find similar organizations
- export_nonprofit_data: Format data for CRM import

This server uses theProPublica Nonprofit Explorer APIwhich provides:

propublica-mcp/ ├── server/ # DXT extension structure │ ├── src/ │ │ └── propublica_mcp/ │ │ ├── __init__.py │ │ ├── server.py │ │ ├── api_client.py │ │ ├── models.py │ │ └── tools/ │ ├── requirements.txt │ └── manifest.json # DXT extension manifest ├── src/ # Legacy source structure (for compatibility) │ └── propublica_mcp/ ├── tests/ ├── config/ ├── .github/ │ └── workflows/ │ └── build-dxt.yml # Automated DXT packaging ├── Dockerfile ├── docker-compose.yml ├── env.example ├── requirements.txt ├── manifest.json # Root DXT manifest └── README.md

# Build the image docker build -t propublica-mcp:dev . # Or use docker-compose docker-compose build

# Run with docker-compose (includes volume mounts for development) docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.override.yml up # Run tests in container docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/app propublica-mcp:dev pytest tests/ -v

# Run all tests pytest tests/ -v # Run with coverage pytest tests/ -v --cov=src/propublica_mcp

# Run tests in Docker docker run --rm ghcr.io/asachs01/propublica-mcp:latest \ python -m pytest tests/ -v # Or with docker compose docker compose run --rm propublica-mcp pytest tests/ -v

# Create and push a version tag git tag v1.0.0 git push origin v1.0.0

# Create DXT package manually cd server/ zip -r ../propublica-mcp-dev.dxt .

echo $GITHUB_TOKEN | docker login ghcr.io -u YOUR_USERNAME --password-stdin

# Trigger build for main branch git push origin main # Create and push a version tag (also builds DXT) git tag v1.0.0 git push origin v1.0.0

# Build and publish latest ./scripts/docker-publish.sh # Build and publish specific version ./scripts/docker-publish.sh v1.0.0

- Latest: Available fromGitHub releases
- Tagged versions:propublica-mcp-v1.0.0.dxt
- Direct download:https://github.com/asachs01/propublica-mcp/releases/latest/download/propublica-mcp.dxt

Search product catalogs across thousands of Central European e-shops. Semantic search, keyword matching, GTIN/EAN lookup — via REST API or MCP. ~2,500 e-shops | ~8.5M products | 7 countries (CZ, SK, PL, HU, RO, DE, AT)