What’s new at Candid (August 2020)

This will be my last “What’s new at Candid” blog post; my last day at Candid will be this Wednesday.

It has been an immense privilege to work for Candid (and previously Foundation Center) the past 7+ years. I’ve learned more than I can possibly express about the ins and outs of the philanthropic sector, change management, and leadership, and have gotten to do so alongside amazing colleagues and partners. It was an honor to lead GrantCraft, steward numerous knowledge-sharing projects, facilitate workshops around the world, support talent development, and shape the Candid brand. Candid is supporting mission-driven work in exciting ways, and I’m eager to transition to my new informal role as “forever fangirl.” I will start my new job as director of development at the Disability Rights Fund later this month and will delight in using Candid’s data and training to advance my fundraising goals.

Thank you all for the work that you do. Thank you for sharing your insights, stories, and data. And thank you for being open to learning and improving together. I look forward to continuing our journey together to make this world a better place for all.

Highlights

• Last month, we welcomed two new board members, Jeff Jones, director of enterprise applications and business intelligence at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Mosun Layode, executive director of the African Philanthropy Forum. Read their bios.
• We published Philanthropy for a Safe, Healthy, and Just World,a first-of-its-kind study that identifies clear opportunities and challenges in supporting peacebuilding activities. The study sheds light on what motivates civil society organizations to support—and not support—peace-related work, addresses common misconceptions about peacebuilding, and suggests concrete recommendations to enable greater involvement and investment. It draws from responses by 823 organizations worldwide to a survey conducted by Candid and CENTRIS and funded by PeaceNexus. Read the study.
• We released Candid 2030, our vision for our role and strategy for the next decade. Spoiler alert: We’re focusing on being the information infrastructure that supports organizations as they work toward their missions. “We help the helpers.” Download.
• Our executive vice president Jacob Harold and board member Ana Marie Argilagos, president of Hispanics In Philanthropy, have just been named to the 2020 edition of the NonProfit Times “Power & Influence Top 50.” Read the list.
• Candid Learning launched as our new destination for trainings, resources, and learning experiences to improve the way you do your work. Candid Learning includes all content previously on GrantSpace. It also links to GrantCraft and GlassPockets; we are working now to incorporate those sites into Candid Learning. We’ll let you know when we’ve accomplished that goal. Visit Candid Learning.
• We hosted the first virtual “Outcomes Thinking and Management” blended learning course on June 2, which included two live sessions, logic modelling, and additional resources. A new session starts tomorrow. Learn more about it.
• More than 160 participants registered to attend the new Leadership Circle virtual workshop “Fundraisers of Color” on June 12. The workshop was so successful we offered it again on July 24. We’ll be sharing outcomes from the workshops in the near future.
• We made the front page (above the fold!) of the July 25 New York Times! “Charities Now In Need of Aid To Stay Afloat” was inspired by Candid’s extensive analysis of how many charities the coronavirus and resulting recession might drive out of business, which we shared in a July 15 blog post. Read the NYT article and the Candid Blog post that inspired it.

Find out more about our projects.

Candid insights

• Jacob Harold, “How many nonprofits will shut their doors?” Candid Blog, July 15, 2020.
• Jacob Harold, “Long-term planning in a time of flux and struggle: sharing Candid’s 2030 vision,” Candid Blog, July 16, 2020.
• Zohra Zori and Janet Camarena, “Introducing Candid Learning,” Candid Blog, July 23, 2020.
• Anna Koob, “What does Candid’s grants data say about racial funding in the U.S.?” July 24, 2020.
• Sarina Dayal, “The impact of COVID-19 on civil society,” Candid Blog, July 30, 2020.

Follow us on Twitter  to hear the latest when it happens.

Candid in the news

• Our funding for coronavirus and racial equity tracking was featured in Associated Press, Barron’s, BBC News, and the Wall Street Journal.
• Our predictive modeling about how many nonprofits will shut their doors appeared in Bloomberg, Chronicle of Philanthropy, New York Times, NonProfit Times, and World.

Visit our press page  for more news coverage of Candid.