Five tips for bringing your nonprofit’s Candid profile to life 

With over 1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the United States alone, it can be hard to get noticed by potential donors and funders. One place where a few minutes’ effort can make a big impact is your nonprofit’s Candid profile.  

By updating your profile, you can enhance what millions of potential donors see about your nonprofit. The information you share goes beyond your Candid profile; it also appears across a range of channels that integrate information from these profiles, including several major donor-advised funds (DAFs) and giving platforms. 

To get started, claim your nonprofit’s profile. It only takes three steps. Once your access is approved, start editing your nonprofit’s Candid profile to add important details that will increase visibility and highlight the positive impact you’re making.  

Even if you have just a minute or two, you can help your nonprofit stand out in a crowded field by enhancing your Candid profile. Here are five tips to get started:  

1. Let people know you’re real.  

Potential donors want to get to know a nonprofit before they give. Improve their confidence by sharing your website URL, address, and contact information—and ensuring they’re up to date.  

Bonus tip: Sharing your address will also help people looking for organizations in your area find you.  

2. Make donating easy.  

Share your donation information on your nonprofit’s Candid profile. This information enables donations through other channels like major DAFs and giving platforms. DAFs use the payment address on your profile to send physical checks for donations, so make sure that field is up to date. Plus, if you earn a Bronze Seal of Transparency, your nonprofit will also be eligible to leverage Apple Pay for donations.  

Bonus tip: Share a link to your donation page on your Candid profile so visitors can give to your organization directly. 

3. Promote your brand.  

Show off your logo so profile visitors can recognize you. Share your social media links so they can connect with you on the platforms they scroll with their morning coffee. If you have time, really bring your work to life by sharing videos and photos.  

Bonus tip: If you already have videos on YouTube or Vimeo, you can crosspost them to your nonprofit’s Candid profile. 

4. Get discovered.  

Potential donors are searching for nonprofits that work in their area of interest or share their values. Help them find you. When searching, donors can filter by subject area (e.g., arts and culture, education) and the population you serve (e g., children and youth, LGBTQ people). Make sure to fill out these fields, so that you’ll show up in these searches.  

Bonus tip: Get a Bronze Seal of Transparency, and you’ll show up as a higher search result, too!  

5. Share your work and impact. 

You can add your mission statement and program descriptions directly to your profile so that visitors know what you do and why it matters. Plus, when sharing program-level information, if you include population and geographic area(s) served, you’ll increase your discoverability in search.  

Bonus tip: Share your impact metrics to clearly demonstrate what you’ve accomplished.

Build out your nonprofit’s Candid profile so that potential supporters can more easily find you and get excited about your work.  

And you don’t have to go it alone. We offer a free, on-demand, online course to help: “Tell your story: Reach donors using your free Candid profile”. You can also read help articles like “Share your mission and subject areas,” “Add your logo, tagline, and social media,” and “How to add a Donation link to your organization’s nonprofit profile.” 

Get started now.