Guidestar (by Candid): ranking your nonprofit

Guidestar (by Candid): ranking your nonprofit 

Published: November 4, 2023

By: Maryanna Milton 

Nonprofits need to share detailed financial information with donors if they want donations. GuideStar by Candid was created to share nonprofits’ detailed financial information with donors, foundations, and corporations. This same information can be found through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but GuideStar and other websites like it have made finding this information more accessible. Candid was formed in 2019 when GuideStar and Foundation Center merged.

GuideStar automatically lists all 501(c) nonprofits registered with the federal IRS. To check if your organization is already listed, enter its nine-digit Employer Identification Number (EIN) into the GuideStar search. Be sure to include the dash (-). Each profile receives a seal to indicate the level of public information on the profile.

Over the last two years, PBDD has been reviewing a partner GuideStar profile every month and sending feedback to each main contact. This unsolicited information started as a way to encourage all our partners to get seals at the highest level possible. Since funders and foundations often use the GuideStar profiles to quickly access unbiased information about a non-profit, it is useful to have a high ranking.

As a result of this work, we learned what makes a good profile. We conducted an interactive zoom session on collecting qualitative and quantitative feedback from clients. Several clients discussed their experience. The recorded session is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmf9Z-gem7Y 

We also learned that it is important to have up to date information, especially about yearly financials. Many profiles we visited had data that was 3 – 5 years old.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can learn from some of the best examples we found from our partners:

Overall it’s very impressive to see how all our partners are effectively expressing their programs and impact. 

Earning a 2023 Seal of Transparency is easier and faster than ever – in 3 steps:

  1. Sign-in on Candid and click “Update Nonprofit Profile” or Claim your profile.
  2. Complete or review required information
  3. Publish. See the Seal on your profile in <15 minutes

Two additional perks from a free Candid profile:

  1. Access your unique sharable full profile link and post it everywhere.
  2. Apple Pay for donations. Updating your Seal is also the most essential step to becoming eligible.

https://help.candid.org/s/article/How-to-Earn-Your-2023-Seal-of-Transparency

While the majority of users (99%) access Candid for free, there is a fee for those with deeper analytical needs. Payment does not affect your seal.  

Some people responded to our unsolicited feedback. Thanks, Dave (Computer Reach), Denise (Our Community LA), Allison (PCs for People), and Christina (People’s Resource Center). We are glad our feedback was useful to you.