A better Candid for greater nonprofit impact

Like the social sector itself, the tools that help nonprofits and funders drive impact have to evolve to keep up. Over the past year, we’ve shared updates on how we’re creating the all-new Candid search. One primary objective: to seamlessly integrate data from GuideStar and Foundation Directory in one place—a dramatically improved, streamlined interface where users can find detailed information about nonprofits.

Here’s how we’re creating a simple, intuitive, user-friendly platform where you can leverage our tools to advance your mission.

To understand how we could help nonprofit professionals do their work most effectively, we went straight to the source: We conducted dozens of hours of interviews with users to learn how they do their work and how we can simplify the most common tasks: for fundraisers, setting up their Candid profiles to demonstrate their impact; and for donors and funders, discovering and vetting organizations to support. We created an advisory panel to test our tools, implementing changes based on their feedback, and we continue to center user testing to make sure the tools we’re building fully address their needs.

Our users told us our disparate platforms and data collections were confusing to navigate, and each platform’s design needed to be more user-friendly. So, we’ve incorporated design principles that guide users through our website in a more user-centric way.

But designing a more user-friendly interface is just the first step. With the new Candid, we’re also making it easier for nonprofits to tell their story by showcasing their work on Candid profiles, with easy-to-understand data visualizations. At the same time, we’re making it easier for others to find nonprofits, verify their tax-exempt status, and get the information they need to decide whether they want to support their work.

Helping nonprofits tell their story

The new Candid makes it easier for fundraisers to boost their nonprofits’ visibility by claiming their profiles and earning a Candid Seal of Transparency.

Simpler steps to claim profiles. Candid creates a basic online profile for every U.S. nonprofit, which organizations can “claim” and update. But claiming a profile used to involve multiple steps. Now, in most cases we’ve got it down to one click! And we’re continuing to roll out improvements based on user feedback.

Quick access to Seal of Transparency benefits. Once you claim your organization’s profile, you can earn a Candid Seal of Transparency by sharing additional information about your work and outcomes. Nonprofits with a visible 2021 or 2022 Seal of Transparency receivedan average of 62% more in contributions in 2023, compared with similar nonprofits without a Seal. And we’ve made it quicker and easier than ever to earn one: Our redesigned Seal wizard offers step-by-step guidance, so you can fill the required fields quickly, without guesswork. It should take about 15 minutes to earn a Bronze Seal initially, five additional minutes to update information to earn Silver, and 10 more minutes each for Gold and Platinum.

We’ve also made the benefits of earning a Seal more visible and accessible: You can easily find your profile link to display on your website and social media so everyone can see your Candid profile. And through our Go for Gold program, organizations with annual revenue or expenses under $1 million and a Gold or Platinum Seal immediately get a free one-year subscription to Foundation Directory Professional. For fundraisers at smaller nonprofits with fewer resources, these efficiencies can make a big difference.

Making it easier to search for and vet organizations

First and foremost, people looking to support nonprofits need to feel confident in where their money is going and how it will be used. This applies to an individual searching, for example, for a local animal shelter, as well as a funder confirming a grant applicant’s good work. The search experience has to be fast, accurate, and intuitive. And the more effective the search functionality, the more easily “discoverable” nonprofits will be.

AI-enhanced searches and recommendations. AI technology has helped us dramatically improve Candid’s search functionality in recent years. Using AI, our tools are able to interpret your search criteria more precisely and match them with the most relevant results in our search indexes. This means a more robust search experience both for users looking to discover new organizations using descriptive text such as “homeless shelters in NY” and for those seeking out a specific organization by its exact name, such as “Candid.”

In addition, our AI-supported funder recommendations provide a dynamic list of prospective funders based on a nonprofit’s programs and needs, saving fundraisers significant time.

Personalized dashboards. Registered users will have a dashboard where they can see default searches such as local and national peer organizations and collections of favorited organizations, a nonprofit’s funders, grantee cohorts, and more. The platform learns from users’ queries and content to deliver more of the context they need. Paid subscribers can further customize their dashboards.

Learn more about Candid search by attending our free webinars for registered users on Septetmber 24 and October 16. 

Stay tuned—there’s a lot more to come in the next few months. Some key upcoming features of the new Candid include an AI-powered letter of intent writer and an AI assistant to help you navigate our resources. And as always, we welcome your feedback.