Women’s Funding Network (WFN) and Candid have joined forces to develop an innovative public interactive dashboard of nonprofit demographic data. This groundbreaking project aims to shed light on critical trends in nonprofit leadership, specifically focusing on data at the intersection of race and gender. Funders, donors, and nonprofit organizations will gain valuable information to inform their strategies to identify disparities, create change, and build power.
The WFN-Candid partnership was designed to leverage the power of a well-established network to mobilize local communities to share data while also bringing visibility to needed intersectional data. Not only does the interactive dashboard make intersectional demographic data more accessible, but it also ensures that nonprofits benefit from the data they provide.
The project will be led by WFN as part of an initiative to partner across sectors to identify and close data gaps that limit the efficacy of data-informed strategy. WFN is a deeply intersectional movement of funders fighting for policies and standards across lines of race, class, and gender. WFN members have a track record of leveraging data and research to drive policy and systems change.
Data for the dashboard will be sourced through the Demographics via Candid initiative, which empowers U.S. nonprofits to share their demographic data one time, on their Candid profile, where it can be accessed and re-used by all. Through this initiative, Candid freely provides nonprofit demographic data to make the granting process more efficient, while reducing the reporting burden on nonprofits to provide demographic data in different formats for various funders.
Key Features of the Dynamic Intersectional Dashboard:
• Disaggregated Insights: With data sourced from the Demographics via Candid public dataset, the dashboard will break down leadership trends by race and gender, offering users the ability to view data in meaningful contexts such as geographic location, organization size, and operating budget.
• Quantitative Baseline: By establishing a quantitative baseline, the project enables evaluation and continuous improvement of equity-focused strategies.
• Participatory Design: The partnership aims to set a precedent for inclusive, participatory design, centering community voices at every stage of design, development, and use.
• Guidance for the Sector: WFN and Candid will provide guidance on integrating intersectional analysis into data collection practices, products, and reports.
“The combination of Candid’s demographic data collection and WFN’s deep experience leveraging data for change creates the unique opportunity to offer a previously unseen view of nonprofit leadership at the intersection of race and gender. WFN’s track record of success and widespread community trust make them a natural partner to develop and implement this dashboard.”
-Ann Mei Chang, President & CEO, Candid
“I encourage all data platforms to follow Candid’s lead in structuring data in a way that allows for robust intersectional reporting and analysis. If we all do our part, we can ensure that the absence of data is not conflated with the absence of impact.”
-Elizabeth Barajas-Román President & CEO, Women’s Funding Network
WFN and Candid will begin development of the dashboard in 2024.
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About Candid: Candid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides the most comprehensive data and insights about the social sector. Every year, millions of nonprofits spend trillions of dollars around the world. Candid finds out where that money comes from, where it goes, and why it matters. Candid was formed in 2019 when GuideStar and Foundation Center merged. Candid combined GuideStar’s tools on nonprofits and Foundation Center’s tools on foundations with new resources to offer more comprehensive, real-time information about the social sector. Find out more at candid.org and on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About WFN: With more than 100 women’s funds and foundations spanning six continents, the Women’s Funding Network is the largest global philanthropic alliance dedicated to providing strategies, research, and resources that support the critical agency and influence of women’s foundations and gender justice funders in the movement for equality, justice, and power for all. Visit the Women’s Funding Network website for more information, or connect on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
For media inquiries, please contact Jihan Thompson, media@womensfundingnetwork.org