What are the sources of data for Candid’s products?

Candid’s goal is to provide users of our products with the most accurate, comprehensive and timely information possible. This includes basic information about funders, their programs, their grants, and their recipients of funding – both in the United States and around the world.

To do this, we compile data from a number of sources (detailed below). Data from these disparate sources are cleaned, harmonized, and then coded according to our Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) so that they are easy to use.

This page will be continuously updated as we add new sources of data to our databases. 

Sources of data on U.S. philanthropy and government spending include:

• IRS information returns (Forms 990 and 990-PF)
• Individual funders who choose to share information about their organizations and/or grantmaking with Candid (formerly Foundation Center) directly
• Funder websites
• USASpending.gov, the official source of accessible, searchable and reliable spending data for the U.S. government
• News and press releases

Sources of data on philanthropy and government spending outside the United States include:

• Government agencies, such as charity commissions, which release open data about funders and other charitable organizations
• OECD "Creditor Reporting System: Aid activities," OECD International Development Statistics database
• Individual funders who choose to share information about their organizations and/or grantmaking with Candid (formerly Foundation Center) directly
• Individual organizations, including official government agencies, that publish their data according to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard
• Funder websites
• News and press releases
• Partnerships with funder networks or our counterparts in other countries

Details on specific sources by country are provided below:

Australia

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) data originally licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia, via Swinburne University of Technology – Centre for Social Impact

India

• National CSR Data Portal, Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• Indian Ministry of Home Affairs

Mexico

Alternativas y Capacidades (partner), via their Fondos a la Vista initiative

United Kingdom

• Charity Commission of England and Wales data originally licensed under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
• 360Giving: A significant portion of our data on grantmaking by UK funders comes from funders who publish to the 360Giving standard. 360Giving supports organizations to publish their grants data in an open, standardized way and helps people to understand and use the data in order to support decision-making and learning across the charitable giving sector. Specific funder data drawn from 360Giving’s data registry includes: 
  • Arcadia Fund data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • BBC Children in Need data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Birmingham City Council data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Blagrave Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Cheshire Community Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • City Bridge Trust data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Comic Relief International and Comic Relief UK data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Community Foundation for Surrey data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland 2015-16 and 2016-17 data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Dunhill Medical Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 
  • Equity Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Esmee Fairbairn Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Essex Community Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Greenham Common Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Indigo Trust data originally released under CC0
  • LandAid Charitable Trust 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Lloyd's Register Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Lloyds Bank Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • London Borough of Barnet 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • London Councils data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Nesta data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Northern Rock Foundation data originally released under Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence 1.0
  • Quartet Community Foundation 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Quixote Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Seafarers UK data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Somerset Community Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Southwark Council data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Sport England data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Staples Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Tedworth Charitable Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Clothworkers' Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Corra Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The David & Elaine Potter Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Dulverton Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Fore data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Joseph Rank Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Robertson Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • The Wolfson Foundation 2014, 2015, and 2016 data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 
  • Three Guineas Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Trafford Council data originally released under Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)
  • Trafford Housing Trust 2014-2017 and 2017 on data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International  
  • True Colours Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Tudor Trust 2013-2016 and 2016-2017 data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Tuixen Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Virgin Money Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Walcot Educational Foundation data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Wellcome Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Woodward Charitable Trust data originally released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
  • Zing data