Candid insights

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

Five things that didn’t make it into the latest key facts

In April, Candid released “Key Facts on U.S. Nonprofits and Foundations.” It’s our first attempt to produce high-level insights from Candid’s combined data repository since Foundation Center and GuideStar joined forces last year. And because we wanted to keep it…

By Anna Koob (she/her)

June 2, 2020

Building institutional capacity, without breaking the bank

Institutional capacity is your organization’s ability to get work done—to reach its goals. The process of improving that capacity is often thought of in terms resources: finding more funding and increasing staff. Unfortunately, this direct approach is hard to accomplish.…

By Steven E. Wallis

June 1, 2020

Back to the basics: rethinking your fundraising strategy

Having an effective fundraising strategy is important, but having a flexible one is imperative. Nobody could have predicted the effects of COVID-19, but now nonprofits everywhere are struggling to stay afloat. To help you navigate the negative financial effects of…

By Leigh Kessler (he/him)

May 29, 2020

Action & accountability: Why demographic data matters now

Every day we wake up anxiously to frightening new data. The number of cases. The number of deaths. Which country has surpassed another? Who’s flattening the “curve.”  And... that the pandemic’s impact is shockingly disproportionate across race, age, gender, and…

By Kelly Brown, Carly Hare (she/her), C. Davis Parchment (she/her), and Melissa Sines (she/her)

May 28, 2020

How nonprofits can act now to lock in historic energy bill savings

Amongst all the economic data we’ve been bombarded with during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, there’s a data point that stands out due to its seemingly impossible mathematics: oil prices have gone negative, along with energy bill prices. For a brief…

By Heather Takle (she/her)

May 28, 2020

How philanthropy can ease a growing mental health crisis in the U.S.

Can the U.S. health system handle the mental health crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic? Experts think not. Despite increased funding for fiscal year 2020 across various health agencies and robust mental health provisions in the COVID-19 stimulus aid package,…

By Asia Hadley (she/her)

May 27, 2020

In the Time of Coronavirus: Can nonprofits and foundations use their endowments as a resource for recovery?

In our first two posts, we focused on risks facing nonprofits and their likely cash on hand, especially in Michigan, but with findings representative of nonprofits nationwide. In this third post, we pivot to looking at endowments as a resource for recovery.…

By Jeff Williams (he/him)

May 26, 2020

Corporations Ramp Up Support for COVID-19 Response Efforts (May 1-15, 2020)

As COVID-19 spreads globally and in the United States, corporations and their foundations are stepping up with funding to meet the needs of individuals and vulnerable populations impacted by the virus. The  roundup below captures some of the corporate activity…

By Mitch Nauffts (he/him)

May 24, 2020

COVID-19 strategy: creating a plan to weather the crisis

Nonprofit professionals everywhere have felt the pressures of the COVID-19 crisis. With both a constituency in need and a donor base that’s unable to give at the levels it may have at other times, many nonprofits are finding it particularly…

By Aly Sterling (she/her)

May 22, 2020

The problem with neutrality

Digital fundraising platforms like GlobalGiving.org were created as neutral playing fields for any legitimate organisation to tell their story and raise funds. One of GlobalGiving’s core values is, “Always Open” it’s based on the belief that “good ideas can come…

By Alison Carlman (she/her)

May 21, 2020

COVID-19 Response: Which Changes in Grantmaking Practice Should Be Here to Stay?

Recently PEAK Grantmaking and Candid teamed up on a Community Conversation as part of an ongoing PEAK series designed to provide a forum for peer learning and knowledge exchange on COVID-19 response practices. Melissa Sines, Programs and Knowledge Director for…

By Janet Camarena (she/her) and Melissa Sines (she/her)

May 19, 2020

The forgotten sector?

All nonprofit organizations, large or small, have one thing in common—they exist to provide a public benefit. Although smaller nonprofits, defined provisionally as having 500 employees or fewer, have been able to take advantage of government lending programs established in…

By Larry McGill (he/him)

May 19, 2020