Candid
Candid is a nonprofit organization that aggregates and enriches data on 1.9M+ U.S. nonprofits, 304K+ funders, and 29M+ grants, offering paid subscriptions, seven APIs, custom datasets, and a Seal of Transparency certification program to nonprofits, funders, financial services firms, and technical integrators.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Candid does
Candid is a New York-based nonprofit organization (501(c)(3), EIN 13-1837418) that operates the largest aggregated nonprofit and foundation data platform in the United States. Formed in 2019 through the merger of GuideStar (founded 1994) and Foundation Center (founded 1956), Candid combines data from its predecessor organizations with exclusive ongoing collection and enrichment, covering 1.9M+ nonprofit profiles, 304K+ funder profiles, 29M+ grants, and $180B in annual tracked grant dollars, all standardized through Candid's proprietary taxonomy on a cloud-based platform.
The product portfolio spans four primary surfaces: Candid Search (a research platform for looking up nonprofits, verifying compliance, and finding funders), a tiered subscription layer (Free, Premium monthly at $219, Premium annual at $1,199, Ultimate annual at $1,699, and custom-priced Enterprise for 10+ users), a suite of seven paid APIs (Essentials at $4,800, Premier at $9,900, Charity Check at $2,750, Eligibility at $5,000, Grants at $6,000, News at $3,300, plus a free Demographics API), and complementary offerings including custom datasets delivered via SFTP/S3/Snowflake/WRDS, the Nonprofit Compensation Report, Foundation Maps, Candid Learning, and Issue Lab. The Seals of Transparency certification program (Bronze through Platinum) is displayed across 200+ charitable sites and is correlated with an average 62% increase in contributions in the year following award.
Candid sells into four primary customer segments — nonprofits seeking funding, funders/donors performing diligence, business and financial services firms verifying nonprofit clients, and technical solution providers embedding nonprofit data — using a multi-channel go-to-market that combines direct subscription sales, enterprise licensing, developer/API sales, partner distribution through 2,000+ library locations, and ecosystem partnerships with Salesforce, Meta, Bonterra, Vanguard Charitable, and Foundant Technologies. The company also generates operational support through donations to its charitable mission.
Candid firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Candid
- Legal name
- Candid
- Website
- https://candid.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Candid is a nonprofit organization that aggregates and enriches data on 1.9M+ U.S. nonprofits, 304K+ funders, and 29M+ grants, offering paid subscriptions, seven APIs, custom datasets, and a Seal of Transparency certification program to nonprofits, funders, financial services firms, and technical integrators.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Candid is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Candid business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription - Premium: Monthly and annual subscription plans providing unlimited searches, full profile access, grants data, personalized dashboards, detailed financials, staff contacts, and interactive revenue/expense graphs.
- Subscription - Ultimate: Premium tier plus instant nonprofit compliance status, access to 6 federal and state compliance sources, and downloadable compliance reports.
- Enterprise Licensing: Custom pricing for organizations needing 10+ users, with API and data bundling options for academic institutions, libraries, and large organizations.
- API Subscriptions: Tiered API pricing including Essentials API ($4,800), Premier API ($9,900), Charity Check API ($2,750), Nonprofit Eligibility API ($5,000), Grants API ($6,000), and News API ($3,300).
- Custom Datasets: One-time or recurring (daily, monthly, quarterly) delivery of customized nonprofit datasets in CSV, JSON, or pipe-delimited formats via SFTP, S3 bucket, Snowflake, or WRWS marketplace.
- Nonprofit Compensation Report: One-time purchase of executive compensation analysis report for individuals ($449) or organizations ($1,199), with multi-user sharing capabilities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with limited search results and basic profile access for verified nonprofits |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium monthly subscription at $219/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium annual subscription at $100/month ($1,199 billed annually) |
| Subscription | Annual | Ultimate annual subscription at $142/month ($1,699 billed annually) |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise custom pricing for organizations with 10+ users |
| Subscription | Annual | Essentials API starting at $4,800 |
| Subscription | Annual | Premier API at $9,900 |
| Subscription | Annual | Charity Check API at $2,750 |
| Subscription | Annual | Nonprofit Eligibility API at $5,000 |
| Subscription | Annual | Grants API at $6,000 |
| Subscription | Annual | News API at $3,300 |
| Subscription | Annual | Demographics API at no fee |
| Subscription | Annual | Open Grant Opportunities dataset at $3,500 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Monthly | Nonprofit Compensation Report - Individual at $449 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Monthly | Nonprofit Compensation Report - Organization at $1,199 |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Candid product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Candid operates a comprehensive nonprofit and foundation data platform that enables users to research 1.9M+ nonprofits, access 304K+ funder profiles, and analyze 29M+ grants. Its core offering, Candid Search, combines proprietary data with IRS filings and is delivered through subscription tiers, a suite of paid APIs (Essentials, Premier, Charity Check, Grants, News), and custom dataset services. The Seals of Transparency certification program and compliance verification capabilities are central to its product suite.
Product overview
Candid is a nonprofit data and research organization offering a unified platform combining nonprofit and funder research tools, data APIs, and sector insights. The core product is Candid search, a comprehensive research platform enabling users to look up and verify 1.9M+ nonprofits, find funding opportunities across 304K+ funders and 29M+ grants, and access compliance verification. This platform is supported by tiered subscriptions (Standard Free, Premium at $219/month, Ultimate at $142/month, and Enterprise). Complementary products include the Candid APIs suite (Essentials, Premier, Charity Check, Grants, News APIs starting at $2,750-$9,900/year) and custom dataset services for academic and business users. The Seals of Transparency certification program (Bronze through Platinum) incentivizes nonprofit profile completeness. Additional offerings include the Nonprofit Compensation Report, Foundation Maps visualization tool, Candid Learning training platform, Issue Lab research repository, and U.S. Social Sector Dashboard. Candid also provides data solutions for technical providers including donation platforms, grants management systems, and CSR programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GuideStar: Nonprofit profile and data platform merged into Candid
- Foundation Directory
- Candid Search
- Candid APIs
- Issue Lab
- Candid Learning
- Candid Labs
- Foundation Maps
Products and services
- Candid Search Comprehensive nonprofit and funder research platform combining data from Foundation Directory and GuideStar, enabling searching of 1.9M+ nonprofit profiles, 304K+ funder profiles, and 29M+ grants with filtering by subject area, geography, population served, financials, and demographics.
- Candid APIs Suite of APIs providing programmatic access to nonprofit data, including Essentials API (40+ fields), Premier API (760+ fields), Charity Check, Grants, News, Demographics, Eligibility, and Taxonomy APIs.
- Custom Datasets Customized nonprofit datasets delivered in CSV, JSON, or pipe-delimited formats via SFTP, S3, Snowflake, or WRDS marketplace, with one-time or recurring delivery options including the Open Grant Opportunities dataset.
- Nonprofit Compensation Report Annual executive compensation benchmarking report covering 14 executive leadership positions including CEO/Executive Director, with breakdowns by region, cause area, budget size, and gender. Available as Individual ($449) or Organizational ($1,199) report.
- Seals of Transparency Nonprofit profile certification program with Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels. Seals increase donor contributions by an average of 62% and enable profiles to appear on 200+ charitable sites. Platinum Seal holders gain Apple Pay donation eligibility.
- Foundation Maps Data visualization tool for mapping foundation funding flows and nonprofit distributions. Available free to funders who share their grants data with Candid.
- Candid Learning Free nonprofit training platform offering webinars, proposal writing training, sample fundraising documents, and a course catalog for professional development in fundraising and nonprofit management.
- Issue Lab Open-access repository for Candid's full-length research reports, fact sheets, and articles covering diversity in the nonprofit sector, funding flows, and key facts about U.S. nonprofits.
- U.S. Social Sector Dashboard Interactive dashboard providing key statistics on U.S. nonprofits and foundations covering money ($3.7T raised, $3.5T spent), people (12.5M employees), and organizations (1.9M+ registered nonprofits).
- Essentials API Entry-level API tier for searching and discovering over 1.6 million nonprofits with access to 40+ of the most popular nonprofit data fields. Starting price $4,800/year.
- Premier API Premium API tier providing enriched nonprofit profiles with over 760 additional nonprofit data fields and the ability to download tax forms and key documents as PDF. Starting price $9,900/year.
- Charity Check API Compliance verification API enabling instant nonprofit IRS and state compliance status checks with time-stamped documentation for auditing. Starting price $2,750/year.
- Grants API API for analyzing comprehensive grant funding data including funders, recipients, and funding activity, with advanced search and filters for grant analysis. Starting price $6,000/year.
- News API Real-time social sector news API curated from over 65,000 sources enabling news monitoring, staff change tracking, and topic-based news feeds. Starting price $3,300/year.
- AI-powered LOI Writer Artificial intelligence tool within Candid Search that assists fundraisers in crafting compelling letters of intent for grant applications using generative AI.
- Open Grant Opportunities API New API product enabling retrieval of live, embeddable RFP grant opportunities through self-serve endpoints, with MCP-enabled AI tools compatibility for consuming data natively.
Quantifiable outcome
- Seal holders earn on average 62% more in contributions the year after earning a Seal of Transparency
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Candid
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Candid technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature8 records
Candid partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- YMCAcoreYMCA is featured as a trusted organization using Candid's data platform for nonprofit research and verification purposes.
- Habitat for Humanity (Greater Cleveland)coreFeatured as trusted client using Candid for nonprofit verification and research.
- BonterraflagshipTechnology partner integrating Candid APIs for nonprofit data in their platform. Bonterra is a leading provider of philanthropy software.
- SpiralcoreTechnology partner using Candid APIs for nonprofit data services.
- Vanguard CharitableflagshipDonor-advised fund provider integrating Candid data for nonprofit verification and eligibility checking.
- Ren Inc.coreTechnology partner utilizing Candid APIs for nonprofit data integration.
- GlobalGivingflagshipNonprofit giving platform integrating Candid data for grantmaker and nonprofit profiles.
- Foundant TechnologiesflagshipGrant management software provider integrating Candid data. CEO testimonial confirms Candid is trusted brand adding credibility to their platform.
- W.K. Kellogg FoundationcoreMajor foundation using Candid APIs for nonprofit research and data access.
- SalesforceflagshipMajor CRM platform where nonprofit profiles with Seals of Transparency are displayed, increasing visibility for Seal holders.
- MetacorePlatform where nonprofit Seals of Transparency are featured as part of charitable giving integration.
- GivingTuesdayflagshipCollaborative partner on 'Dollars and Change' report exploring nonprofit funding flows by cause, location, and economic trends.
- Network for GoodflagshipCollaborative partner on research reports exploring nonprofit funding flows and philanthropy trends.
- Issue LabcorePublishing platform for Candid's open-access research reports, fact sheets, and articles on social sector topics.
- Giving USAcoreCandid publishes insights and analysis based on Giving USA philanthropy research reports.
- Claude for NonprofitsflagshipAI partnership enabling use of Candid data to fuel AI workflows for nonprofit organizations.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Candid competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- TechSoup: Nonprofit technology and capacity-building organization offering discounted tech products and learning resources. Comparable in supporting nonprofits with research, training, and technology enablement.
- GrantStation: Grant research and capacity-building platform for nonprofits and grantseekers. Overlaps with Candid Search's funder discovery and grantwriting education use cases at a smaller scale.
- Instrumentl: Grant research and prospecting platform for nonprofits and grant writers. Directly competes with Candid Search in funder discovery and grant pipeline management, with a more product-led, SMB-focused GTM motion.
- Cause IQ: Nonprofit and grantmaker intelligence database covering organizations, grants, and 990s. Closely overlaps Candid's research and due-diligence use cases for grantmakers, researchers, and consultants.
- iWave: Prospect research and wealth screening platform used by nonprofits and fundraising teams. Comparable in serving due-diligence and donor-research needs with overlapping nonprofit and grantmaker customer segments.
- Bonterra: Provider of philanthropy, grants management, and fundraising software for nonprofits. A direct API client and partner of Candid, addressing overlapping nonprofit grantmaking and donor-management workflows.
- FoundationSearch: Foundation and grant research database targeting grant writers and development teams. Directly competes with Candid Search in foundation discovery, particularly with grant writing professionals and consultants.
Broad incumbents
- Blackbaud: Public software incumbent serving nonprofits with fundraising, CRM, financial management, and analytics. Comparable because it operates adjacent data and software infrastructure for the same nonprofit buyer Candid targets, although at much broader scope.
- Salesforce.org (Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud): Enterprise CRM platform with a dedicated nonprofit cloud and Seal of Transparency distribution partner. Serves the same nonprofit and funder customers with broader CRM, marketing, and program management capabilities.
Others
- GivingTuesday: Global generosity movement and data initiative that partners with Candid on sector research such as Dollars and Change. Adjacent ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor, but influences the data landscape Candid operates in.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Candid social profiles
Digital presenceCandid financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Candid leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Candid funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Candid M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Candid
What does Candid do?
Candid operates a comprehensive nonprofit and foundation data platform that enables users to research 1.9M+ nonprofits, access 304K+ funder profiles, and analyze 29M+ grants. Its core offering, Candid Search, combines proprietary data with IRS filings and is delivered through subscription tiers, a suite of paid APIs (Essentials, Premier, Charity Check, Grants, News), and custom dataset services. The Seals of Transparency certification program and compliance verification capabilities are central to its product suite.
Is Candid a public or private company?
Candid is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Candid founded?
Candid was founded in 2019. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Candid based?
Candid is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Candid make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Subscription - Premium is the primary driver. The others are subscription - Ultimate, enterprise Licensing, API Subscriptions, custom Datasets and nonprofit Compensation Report.
Who are Candid's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are TechSoup, GrantStation, Instrumentl, Cause IQ, iWave, Bonterra and FoundationSearch. Broad incumbents are Blackbaud and Salesforce.org (Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud). GivingTuesday is listed as an others.
Does Candid have an API?
Yes. Candid offers multiple APIs providing access to nonprofit data, grants data, compliance verification, and social sector news. The APIs include: Essentials API (starting at $4,800/year) for searching 1.6M+ nonprofits with 40+ data fields; Premier API ($9,900/year) for enriched profiles with 760+ additional data fields; Charity Check API ($2,750/year) for IRS and state compliance validation; Nonprofit Eligibility API ($5,000/year) for Apple Pay donation eligibility verification; Grants API ($6,000/year) for grant funding analysis; Open Grant Opportunities API for real-time RFP data with MCP-enabled AI tool access; Demographics API (no fee) for demographic data; Taxonomy API for social sector classification; and News API ($3,300/year) for real-time social sector news from 65,000+ sources. A free 30-day API trial is available. Developer documentation is at developer.candid.org.