For the last eight years, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors has led the Shifting Systems Initiative, which encourages funders to provide longer-term, less restrictive funds to help grantee partners scale their solutions and impact to support positive systems change.  We’ve seen many funders emphasize grants to organizations that can scale successfully. At some point, the proliferation of too many pilot projects was identified as a problem by both funders and organizations themselves, without enough of them making a significant dent in the overall problem. So, effective scaling of successf ..read more

The concept of co-leadership is not new. But in the wake of the pandemic, the “Great Resignation,” and waves of burnout, more nonprofits may be adopting co-leadership models as they experiment with new ways of working, sharing power, centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) leaders, and planning for succession. Our analysis of Candid data suggests co-led nonprofits are more common than you might think.   What is co-leadership? Co-leadership is a leadership structure in which responsibilities are intentionally shared among more than one CEO or executive director. There ..read more

How do young people today see their role in making the world a better place, and what are the implications for the social sector? A report from the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO) and The Allstate Foundation explores how Gen Z is expanding the definition of “community service” and seeking to maximize impact—for themselves and the communities they serve.  In conversations with Candid insights, Greg Weatherford II, The Allstate Foundation’s youth empowerment program officer, and CELO co-founders Kristan Cilente Skendall and John Dugan shared their thoughts on the im ..read more

Whether for expanding programs, launching new initiatives, or sustaining current projects, securing institutional funding is crucial to your organization’s ability to deliver on your mission. Institutional funders are typically organizations with large budgets and long grant cycles, such as government agencies, corporations, and foundations. Here, I’ll share some of the funder prospecting strategies that have helped me as I’ve learned to navigate this landscape.   Assess your readiness to apply for grants  You’ll need to assess your capacity before you start the grantseeking pro ..read more

When the Supreme Court gutted race-conscious admissions last summer and the American Alliance for Equal Rights followed with a lawsuit against the Fearless Fund, some in the philanthropic sector feared that demographic data had become a potential liability. So when I learned about Candid’s Demographics via Candid—an initiative that allows nonprofit organizations to share demographic information on their Candid nonprofit profile, where funders, donors, and researchers could easily access it—I was both intrigued and skeptical.   Intrigued because as president and CEO of Women’s Funding ..read more

This is a time of accessible AI—anyone with an internet connection can use state-of-the-art tools to help with tasks like brainstorming ideas, generating art, and drafting documents. Ease of access means that with more people using these systems, the potential impact of unethical use grows.  A recent Salesforce survey found that more than a quarter of respondents are using AI tools at work, more than half of whom are using AI that is not approved by their organizations, including in the social sector. As AI is increasingly used in high-impact ways such as writing and assessing grant propo ..read more

Part of my work at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) involves monitoring philanthropic giving in response to disasters through our annual Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy: Data to Drive Decisions (SODP) report. However, due to lags in reporting, that data is two years behind. When we can look at numbers immediately after a disaster, it gives us a unique perspective. And 2023 set records in disaster relief funding.  The Maui wildfire response  The Maui wildfires in August, which affected Lahaina and Kula, stand out for the funds raised.  By late March, Honolu ..read more

In February 2023, Candid launched Demographics via Candid, a campaign to empower nonprofits to share their demographic data one time, on their Candid nonprofit profiles, where it can be accessed and reused by all. In providing free access to this data, we’re addressing the surge in demand among funders for data to inform equitable grantmaking, reducing the reporting burden on nonprofits, and streamlining the grantmaking process.   On March 12, Candid hosted Collective power: Using data in your equity journey, a panel discussion about how partners are engaging with the initiative, as well ..read more

Artificial intelligence (AI) is radically changing the way organizations work. From programs that make complex data-based decisions to applications that transcribe spoken words into text, AI offers new opportunities to do things more creatively and efficiently.  Within the social sector, AI is a powerful tool for fundraising, researching, grantwriting, and maximizing organizational impact. Recognizing both the positive and negative potential of this now ubiquitous technology, organizations need to embrace AI responsibly.   Setting a framework for AI use  At Candid, we ackno ..read more

Candid began collecting demographic data from nonprofit organizations in July 2019, encouraging them to share information on their leadership, staff, and board members on their nonprofit profiles. In February 2023, Candid launched Demographics via Candid, an initiative to empower nonprofits to share their demographic data just one time through their profiles, where it can be accessed and reused by funders and other stakeholders. With nearly 54,000 organizations sharing demographic data with Candid as of March 2023, Candid engaged Viewpoint Consulting to conduct research to better understand ho ..read more