2030 Vision

Data to drive change

When we published Candid 2030: A 10-year vision in 2020, we asked the sector to look forward and imagine the world we want to see. Our vision—a social sector capable of tackling the critical challenges and opportunities of our time—was both lofty and aspirational, with a conceptional roadmap to guide us. We could not have anticipated what was to come in the first half of the decade and how those major events would fundamentally change the world we live in.

Today we find ourselves grappling with the dizzying pace of change—politically, technologically, and socially. New advances in AI are coming fast and furious, which will inevitably transform the way nonprofits and foundations work. At the same time, the federal administration is scrutinizing the social sector and putting our very existence at risk by slashing federal funding, threatening 501(c)3 status of both nonprofits and foundations, and stoking social and legal backlash.

It can be tempting right now to defend the status quo, but the reality is we can’t stop change, or even slow its pace. We can, however, reclaim our collective power and push for the change we want to see. Nonprofits have long worked within flawed systems, with an alarming scarcity of the data and resources to meet our needs. Amidst all this change, we have an opportunity to shed ourselves of the conditions that bog us down and hamper our work. Together, we can create a new environment where we’re better positioned to succeed.

As we continue to support a sector in flux, Candid is taking the opportunity to reevaluate how we help the social sector not just survive, but thrive, long-term. Organizationally, we’re evolving the five conceptual strategies we published in our original 2030 vision to a concrete plan to create the world we want to see, grounded in our mission and vision. Put simply, what unique assets can Candid deploy to ensure nonprofits have the resources they need to serve their communities?

 

 

The problems will keep coming, and we need to come back stronger. Our guiding light at Candid centers on ensuring more resources go to the places that do the most good. Specifically, how can we help the sector be more effective, efficient, and equitable?

 

Today, the vast majority of Candid’s investment, revenue, and staff go into serving our flagship and industry-leading SaaS (software as a service) product, Candid search. But, with rapid advances in AI and increasing competition, it will be hard to support the sector with interactive web applications alone, making the underlying data that powers all our products more vital than ever. The good news is that we have a strong position in our data—which is more robust, comprehensive, and current than anywhere else. And, in the age of AI, data is the fuel that powers everything.

At the core of our theory of change is a bet on data, Candid’s key differentiator. It’s time to double down on our competitive advantage. Our ability to offer the best solutions and keep up with today’s technological pace is how we earn trust and remain competitive. Good data will become an ever more valuable commodity. By integrating Candid’s data where funding decisions are made, we help nonprofits and funders connect to do good, together.

Data foundation

The linchpin of our strategy is establishing a foundation of the most robust, comprehensive, and recent data. To date, Candid has prioritized investment in our SaaS products, the most recent of which is Candid search. Given the importance of data, particularly in the age of AI, we believe data now needs to take top priority.

Our data platform is the foundation of everything we do. As such, our strategy is to invest in it by enriching what we have and adding the information we lack. By bringing it all together with modern technology, we will enable data quality improvements, services, and research, all while ensuring we are responsibly making our data AI-ready to power products.

With that foundation firmly in place, we will offer our data in three key ways to make the sector more effective, efficient, and equitable:

• Product suite
• Data provider
• Collective good

 

 

Product suite

Built on our data foundation, we will continue to drive innovation in our product suite to support funders, fundraisers, philanthropy serving organizations, and researchers who use it as part of their workflow. We have built easy-to-use tools to help individuals at nonprofits, foundations, and corporations access our data so they can research, vet, connect, and transact. Offering more ways to use our data in our products—including exploring possibilities to harness rapid developments in AI—will save organizations time, freeing up capacity to more fully focus on what matters: their missions.

Data provider

Another cornerstone of our strategy is our critical role as a data provider, ensuring the best data gets to users wherever they are. Candid currently works with over 200 platforms and partners, including tech companies, competitors, and researchers. Our goal is to dramatically expand that by broadening our offerings so that we become the preferred provider for anyone seeking data about the sector—whether free or paid. This not only means users will have better data for decision making, regardless of which platform they use, but it will also reduce an incredible amount of duplicative efforts processing and gathering similar data across the sector.

Collective good

The third element of our strategy centers on collective good: the norms, practices, and knowledge of the entire social sector. Candid steadfastly defends the sector’s right to exist, partnering with advocacy organizations to provide data and offering our resources to nonprofits and funders as they navigate uncertainty. We also see great opportunity for Candid to help improve how data is used more broadly across the sector, including moving toward streamlined grant applications and reporting processes; sharing our unique insights to inform decisions; and ensuring the sector is well equipped to access and use data while encouraging responsible use of AI for decision making.

The path ahead

Our 2030 vision sets a bold direction for Candid—and we’re fully committed to making it real. Over the next five years, we’ll chart the path forward through our annual planning process, translating big aspirations into concrete action. We’ll approach this work with flexibility and openness, ensuring we can adapt as the world changes. Visit Candid insights for regular updates, and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest on how we’re advancing toward Candid’s 2030 vision.