Why Candid’s Philanthropy Classification System is now open to all 

If you’ve ever compared data across grant databases, you’ve likely seen it: the patchwork of classifications that makes it hard to see the bigger picture of who funds what, where, and for whom. 

At Candid, we believe philanthropy works best when we can all speak the same language. That’s why we’re taking an important step toward making that possible: Candid’s Philanthropy Classification System (PCS), the only taxonomy built specifically for philanthropy and nonprofits, is now licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY). By removing the “non-commercial” restriction, we’re making the taxonomy available for all to use, adapt, and build upon. 

The Philanthropy Classification System as a shared framework for the social sector 

The Philanthropy Classification System offers a common structure for describing who is served and what is being funded—bringing clarity to how organizations and grantmakers work together to advance social good. 

Candid’s data partners, funders, and researchers have used the PCS to bring consistency to how the sector talks about its work. But until now, the licensing terms have limited its use to non-commercial entities. That meant for-profit technology providers—like grant management systems, data analytics platforms, and CRMs—often couldn’t embed the PCS directly into their tools, even when doing so would help their nonprofit customers. The fully open CC BY license now also enables for-profit vendors to use and contribute to philanthropy’s common language. 

Why we’re making this change to Candid’s Philanthropy Classification System

Philanthropy depends on a shared understanding of social sector data. Yet today, key datasets remain fragmented, and too many organizations spend time recategorizing information that should already be aligned. 

Moving Candid’s Philanthropy Classification System to an open license supports three major goals: 

1. Broader adoption. Open licensing lowers barriers so anyone can integrate the PCS, including commercial partners that power much of the sector’s infrastructure. 

2. Greater efficiency. When everyone uses the same classifications, nonprofits, fundraisers, and researchers spend less time trying to analyze data across multiple taxonomies and more time focusing on their missions. 

3. Stronger alignment. A unified taxonomy enables cross-platform insights and helps funders, researchers, and practitioners compare impact based on a common understanding. 

In short, this change helps the entire ecosystem work smarter together. 

How the nonprofit sector benefits 

For-profit technology providers—such as grant management platforms or data providers—can now use the Philanthropy Classification System without licensing restrictions. This means they can align their systems with nonprofit standards, reduce duplication, and improve data sharing between platforms. 

Nonprofits and funders benefit when these tools speak the same language. When data fields, reports, and dashboards are all grounded in the PCS, users don’t have to relearn different taxonomies or reenter the same information multiple times. The result is a more connected, data-driven sector that can better understand trends and measure progress collectively. 

What’s next

To make the adoption of Candid’s Philanthropy Classification System even easier, we will soon release a “crosswalk” from the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) to the PCS on taxonomy.candid.org. This resource will help organizations translate their existing data from the NTEE codes they’ve long used into PCS categories—creating a bridge between systems and reducing friction for users moving to a shared standard. 

Candid will also continue to work with partners across the sector to integrate the PCS into widely used tools and datasets, ensuring the taxonomy becomes part of the everyday data infrastructure of philanthropy. 

As part of Candid’s mission is to get you the information you need to do good, we invite nonprofits, funders, researchers, and technology partners to join us in using, sharing, and improving the PCS. Together, we can reduce duplication, strengthen data interoperability, and accelerate learning across the entire social sector.