Candid insights
The big picture of the social sector, backed by data and expertise
Lessons from 2019 to maximize future disaster giving decisions
Earlier this month, Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) released the eighth edition of our annual Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy report. In it, we examined available 2019 data on global disaster-related philanthropy and disaster giving, analyzing funding from foundations, bilateral and multilateral donors, the U.S. federal government,…
November 30, 2021
Diversify your fundraising portfolio with government grants
It’s not uncommon to hear that your community-based nonprofit is not government funded and you didn’t take advantage of the influx in relief funding made available within the last 18 months. Government grants have often carried the reputation of being…
November 24, 2021
Grow your individual giving through masterful copywriting
Storytelling is one of the most important tools in an individual giving fundraiser’s toolkit. However, for as much time as fundraisers spend thinking about what stories to tell their donor community, they often don’t pay the same attention to how…
November 22, 2021
3 tips for incorporating great visuals into your website
Your website’s visual elements define your organization, helping to draw visitors in and explain your nonprofit’s mission before they read a single word. This is why a strong visual brand matters: the first visuals visitors see shape their impression of…
November 22, 2021
‘Together we’re better’: Building a Candid partnership in Northern California’s Tri-Valley area
At the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area lies the Tri-Valley, composed of the San Ramon, Livermore, and Amador valleys, and home to Las Positas College. Las Positas College has been a partner of Candid’s Funding Information Network since 2009, providing area nonprofits with access to Foundation Directory and other Candid resources.…
November 18, 2021
Stating Your Risk Appetite
When taking on the issue of risk in your foundation, one of the things you should do is develop a risk appetite statement, but how do you begin? Here, Jocelyn Mackie, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Grand Challenges Canada, discusses their…
November 18, 2021
We’re 39 percent similar; how can we be exponentially better?
Self-examination was the zeitgeist of philanthropy in 2021. We reflected. We adapted. We listened to the "rising voices of the people we serve" as a foundation staffer framed it recently. At times those voices were passionately personal, at others they…
November 17, 2021
How to find free things: nonprofit students edition
As a nonprofit management student, preparing to enter this field can be challenging because it’s still developing. The University of San Francisco was the first school to offer a Master’s in Nonprofit Administration less than 40 years ago, and the…
November 16, 2021
5 fundraising tips for 2021 giving season
For many nonprofits, 29% of annual donations happen between #GivingTuesday (November 30 this year) and December 31, and a shocking 11% of annual donations were reported to come in during the last three days of the year. In addition, many reports* show giving was at an all-time high in…
November 15, 2021
One foundation’s quest for better demographic data
We are in the midst of a timely and important discussion in philanthropy about increasing support to organizations led by people of color and women. However, many grantmakers like the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation have lacked access to the empirical…
November 11, 2021
Expanding the Network of Who We Listen To
In the Hewlett Foundation’s Knowledge for Better Philanthropy strategy, we fund the creation and dissemination of high-quality knowledge regarding philanthropic practice for foundations. We recently released an evaluation of the strategy entitled, How Funders Seek and Use Knowledge to Influence Philanthropic Practice. In…
November 10, 2021
New data for strategic disaster philanthropy
The COVID-19 pandemic has filled our newsfeeds, our schools, our politics, and our living rooms for two years. Our collective attention has been almost singularly focused on the pandemic and its global effects. For the next 700 words, I invite you to remember…
November 10, 2021