Introducing 2023 Candid Seals of Transparency
Candid’s 2023 Seals of Transparency are here, and this year it’s even easier to earn your first Bronze Seal or update your current Candid Seal and take advantage of their perks.
Research shows nonprofits that earn a Seal average 53% more in contributions. Beyond giving your nonprofit’s funding a boost, consider the following two benefits of getting your 2023 Candid Seal of Transparency today:
- Share your full profile with potential funders: Access your unique and sharable link to your full profile and post it on your website, online donation page, social media accounts, and elsewhere to highlight your work and attract funding from donors. The best part: You can also leverage your profile as the perfect handout to showcase your programs and impact for in-person meetings with funders.
- Become eligible for Apple Pay donations: If you are looking to give your supporters an additional way to donate to your mission, you are in luck. Earning your 2023 Candid Seals of Transparency is an essential first step to becoming eligible to use Apple Pay for accepting donations.
Claim your free Candid nonprofit profile and earn a 2023 Seal to showcase your nonprofit’s commitment to transparency, boost your online visibility to reach millions of potential donors, and provide your supporters with the information they need to fund you.
The added bonus: When you claim your profile and earn a 2023 Seal, Candid automatically shares your updated information with 200+ charitable sites, including Salesforce.org, Facebook, donor advised funds, and Network for Good.
To help you update your current or earn your first-ever Candid Seal of Transparency in 2023, simply follow these fast and easy steps.
How to earn a 2023 Candid Seal of Transparency
If your organization has a 2022 or older Seal:
- Sign in to manage your profile and review all required fields.
- Update or add information, as necessary.
- Publish your changes.
That’s it!
Note: Your Seal will expire automatically after two years if you do not update your Candid nonprofit profile’s information.
If your organization does not have a Seal:
Claim and update your Candid profile. For more guidance on how to do so, please visit our Help Center.
A breakdown of what you’ll need to earn a 2023 Candid Seal of Transparency
Bronze
- Basic information—ensure your organization can be found by funders looking to support nonprofits, like yours.
- Only four simple pieces of information are required to earn a Bronze Seal:
- Contact information
- Donation information
- Mission statement
- Leadership information
Silver
- Programs—take advantage of a chance to share your programs, build your brand, and display your nonprofit’s latest activities with donors.
- Only three main elements are required to obtain a Silver Seal:
- Program(s) details: name, brief description, and geographic area served
- Grantmaker status: Does your organization make grants or donations? (If you’re a grantmaker, you can also share more information about your work in this section.)
- Branding: logo, tagline, website, and social media account handles
Gold
- Capabilities—share your organization’s financials and provide key demographic information that today’s funders seek.
- Only two core details are required to secure a Gold Seal:
- 2021 or 2022 financials
- Board chair’s name and leader’s demographics
For small nonprofits, earning a 2023 Gold Seal of Transparency, or higher, comes with even more benefits this year. Learn more about our Go for the Gold promotion, which provides qualifying nonprofits with a year of free access to Foundation Directory Essential.
Platinum
- Impact—showcase your nonprofit’s mission-driven goals and impress donors with the difference you’re making.
- Only two key components are required to achieve a Platinum Seal:
- Strategy and goals: Upload your strategic plan or briefly answer two questions.
- Metrics: Share at least one impact-based metric from 2022.
Click here to get started and earn your Seal!
Get a head start on earning your 2023 Candid Seal
If you’re interested in learning more about Candid’s 2023 Seals of Transparency, we invite you to join us for a short, 30-minute webinar, “Unlock Your Full Fundraising Potential with a New 2023 Candid Seal of Transparency,” on February 7, 2023.
Register to attend this upcoming webinar to find out more and get hands-on tips and best practices to help you get started with earning your 2023 Candid Seal.
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November 14, 2024
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Just head to your Candid nonprofit profile and update the existing information for the new year. Once it is updated, you'll be able to access the 2024 Seals.
Ana Flores says:
Hi,
We have the 2023 gold seal, to get it renew for 2024, do we have to start the process all over again?
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Hi Claudia, first go into Candid’s GuideStar, then look at the search panel to the left. You’ll see you have the ability to select the ‘Organization’ tab to pick the level of Seal. You will be able then to see results based on Seals of Transparency.
Claudia says:
Hello-
Can you please inform me how to search the Candid site and filter according to the Seal of Transparency earned? Thank you!
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Yes! Go into Candid's GuideStar, then look at the search panel to the left. You'll see you have the ability to select the 'Geography' tab and set location, and then switch to the 'Organization' tab to pick the level of seal.
James Rulmyr says:
Can I search for nonprofits that have a platinum seal in a given geographic area or by the type of cause?
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
If you go to https://www.guidestar.org/search, you can search by profiles under the 'organization' tab to see what nonprofits have seals.
Alana Sandel says:
Hi, do you have a listing page where we can see the profiles which already have seals?
Joseph Vaughan says:
I like the idea of certification of transparency for non -profits.
How about adding the top salary paid by the organization as a declaration, and making that available to the public?
When I consider donating to an organization, I wonder about the CEO salary!
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
You can see the current number of seal holders for each on our Demographics via Candid dashboard. There are currently 16,929 Platinum, 23,829 Gold, 32,998 Silver, and 21,414 Bronze.
Mark Vargas says:
How many institutions have earned each of the Seals (we have the Platinum)? Thanks.
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
The promotion is open all year. For more on the specifics, see our help center's page: Go for the Gold!
Gabrielle Buzan says:
Is there an open enrollment period or can you apply at any point within the year?
Andrea Schwartz says:
It would be great if you would create a version of the seal that is landscape and not a square. Sometimes the design of a package does not lend itself to a square shape!
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Hi Kriti,
You can learn more about getting a Candid Seal of Transparency on our website, and see an example of what the shareable link looks like there as well. If you have more specific questions, reach out to our team at [email protected]; they are happy to answer all of your questions.
Thanks,
Kate, digital communications manager at Candid
kriti rai says:
Dear Wynne and team,
Greetings from Good Business Lab (GBL). We are a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit labor innovation organization with a mission to lead businesses to improve the lives of all workers.
We’re interested in applying for the seal of transparency as we believe this might help us increase our reach however, we would like to get a few things clarified before we proceed with the application.
We were curious to understand what the unique and shareable link to our profile would look like. Would appreciate it if you could share a sample with us.
GBL also has separate legal entities in India and Colombia hence, we wanted to understand if GBL as a whole can apply for the seal wherein we demonstrate our projects, impact in all three geographies, or would we need to apply with our US entity and the projects specific to this region?
Please let us know if you require more information. We would be happy to organize a call if required.
We look forward to hearing from you
Regards,
Kriti R
Kristin Boe says:
Hi Mary, thanks for your comment! To help answer your question, here are some help center documents that explain how to add your Candid Seal of Transparency to your website:
--How to Add a Candid Participation Logo to a Website: https://help.guidestar.org/en/articles/2160518-how-to-add-a-candid-participation-logo-to-a-website
--How to Access Seal Logos and Share your Accomplishments on Social Media and Publications: https://help.guidestar.org/en/articles/2141904-how-to-access-seal-logos-and-share-your-accomplishments-on-social-media-and-publications
We hope these resources help answer your question! If you would like to get more information, please feel free to reach out to our support team for further assistance: https://help.guidestar.org/en/articles/2165818-contact-candid-support
Mary J Martell says:
How do I get the software to add the seals to my website?
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
You can use your shareable link to easy send your profile to funders. Learn more here: https://help.guidestar.org/en/articles/6338125-candid-profiles-sharable-full-profile-link
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
For information on finding funding for your nonprofit, a great place to start is our Knowledge Base which has a variety of articles on this topic.
Okia juma says:
How can I share my full profile with funders. Good morning
Richard Kaizer says:
How can are get founding for my organization please help me.
Polly says:
Drop your wokeness! It only displays ignorance.
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Hi Mike, sorry to hear you're hitting an error! Can you reach out to our team at [email protected] with details on what link you clicked? They can look into the error. Thanks!
Mike Davin says:
Hi:
Clicked on link to update our seal for 2023 and received the following error. Please advise, thank you!
AccessDeniedAccess Denied
HRBWEZPHYWTFTEYQ
92KY2NXApYh0de0/A0ioeLs23D1gEV+gUGdpy+zj3jmdHkmXVRnR6V3/zypc2G9VIfzFR6Fgomo=
Sonia Fernández says:
Estamos interesados en contactar con donantes para nuestra Fundación Paraguaya de Derechos Humanos (Fupadeh). www.fupadeh.org,py
Estaré completando los requisitos para alcanzar el sello y formar parte de las organizaciones.
Muchas gracias.
Sonia Fernández Sosa
Kabiru ismail Muhammad says:
We are happy to see
Kate, Digital Communications Manager, Candid says:
Contact our team at [email protected], they can help!
PHILLIP C GARDIOL says:
I updated our profile (Xela AID Partnerships for Self Reliance) a week or so prior to 2023 seals being available. How do I now obtain a 2023 seal?