Candid insights

The big picture of the social sector, backed by data and expertise

Inside Candid’s first year: defining our values

Many of us breathed a sigh of relief on February 1, 2019. It was official: Foundation Center and GuideStar had combined operations to form a new nonprofit, Candid. It had been a long road getting to Candid's first year. Then…

By Jen Bokoff (she/her) and Mizmun Kusairi (she/her)

February 18, 2020

The problem with everything being all about relationships

Hi everyone, this week is Valentine’s Day, arguably the most annoying and stressed-filled day ever. I like it as much as I like infinity scarves. But at least we have #NonprofitPickupLines on Twitter. Go make that trend again. “Hey there, is your…

By Vu Le (he/him)

February 13, 2020

50 years of Southern philanthropy

In November, I had the pleasure of speaking at SECF50, the 50th annual meeting of the Southeastern Council of Foundations. Using Candid data, I compared philanthropy in the South fifty years ago to philanthropy in the region today. Here are…

By Larry McGill (he/him)

February 11, 2020

Join the next decade of foundation transparency

Ten years ago, you rarely found references to foundation transparency. Most mentions at the time focused on its importance for grantees or governments. But the world was changing to one in which everyone expected to be able to find all…

By Janet Camarena (she/her)

January 30, 2020

You can stop guessing about what works in fundraising and what doesn’t

When you add up fundraisers, their bosses, their boards, and assorted second-guessers, there are, I’m sure, millions of opinions about what works in fundraising and how to raise money “the right way.” For example, executive directors and board chairs who…

By Tom Ahern

January 28, 2020

As foundations reimagine themselves, they should give attention to DEI in operations

Not every foundation has shifted toward a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), but fortunately, many have. That said, there seems to be a glaring miss amidst all this DEI work, and that is with who gets to participate…

By Satonya Fair (she/her) and Chantal Forster

January 22, 2020

When Numbers Fall Short: The Challenge of Measuring Diversity in a Global Context

At C&A Foundation we believe many of the challenges we seek to tackle are rooted in social exclusion. We are on a journey to deepen our approach to gender justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. As part of our own effort…

By Bama Athreya

January 16, 2020

What’s new at Candid (January 2020)

Happy new year! For my squad’s first meeting of the year, we spend some time reflecting on what went well, what challenges we faced, who we met, and what we learned in 2019. We also asked each other, “What’s one…

By Jen Bokoff (she/her)

January 16, 2020

What we can learn from the latest International Giving trends?

Based out of the UK, Alliance magazine is the leading global magazine on philanthropy and social investment. Today’s post is one of the five most-read Alliance extra articles from 2019. Alliance extra offers premium content usually available only to Alliance…

By Amy McGoldrick

January 8, 2020

Few large U.S. foundations changed giving priorities after 2016 presidential election

In early 2019, Candid asked 645 of the largest U.S. foundations whether they had changed their funding priorities in 2017 and 2018 as a result of the 2016 presidential election. The vast majority (88 percent) of the respondents said their…

By Larry McGill (he/him)

January 7, 2020

We’ve changed the way we collect and share demographic data!

As we launch a new and improved Demographics section of the Nonprofit Profiles on GuideStar, I’m having a very familiar feeling. In 2014, when GuideStar first launched the Demographics section, I was nervous and excited. We partnered with D5, a five-year…

By Jasmine Marrow (she/her)

September 15, 2019

Transparency: One Small Step for Funders, One Giant Leap for Equity

In order to solve a problem, one must first identify its parameters. This applies, too, to the philanthropic sector; to that end, many of us are pushing for greater transparency in our field. For example, Candid teamed up with a…

By Genevieve Boutilier

May 9, 2019