To better understand the demographic identities of those working in the nonprofit sector and reduce the reporting burden on nonprofits, Candid collects and shares demographic data about staff and board members from a growing number of U.S. nonprofits and foundations.
This data is accessible in the Premier API and Demographics API.
Data collection
Nonprofits are eligible to submit demographic data about their staff and board via their Candid profile. This overview describes how nonprofits can get started in sharing their demographic data. See here for Candid’s official guidance for nonprofits on how to collect demographic data from their staff and here for guidance on how to share this data with Candid through an organization’s profile.
Organizations are encouraged to update their demographic data on an annual basis, and demographic data represents organizations’ most recent demographic data.
Demographic data
Candid invites organizations to share information about each of the following demographic categories:
- Race & Ethnicity
- Gender Identity
- Transgender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Disability Status
Data for the above categories is collected at the following staffing levels:
- Leader/ Co-Leader
- Board Members
- Senior Staff
- Staff
Nonprofits are asked to report individual level data for leaders and co-leaders (e.g., CEO’s race, gender, etc.), and aggregate demographic information for other staffing levels (e.g., 4 Black board members, 5 white board members, 2 Asian board members). Organizations can share information for some or all of these categories and staffing levels.
Demographics status messages
Whether or not an organization has shared demographic information will be flagged in the demographics_status and demographics_status_nonprofit fields. See the table below for possible values and intended end users for these messages.
| Field | End User | Message if demographics data is submitted | Message if demographics data is not submitted |
|---|---|---|---|
demographics_status | Foundation or Individual Donor | This organization has provided Candid demographics data on MM/dd/yyyy. | This organization has not provided Candid demographics data. Please encourage the nonprofit to complete their Candid profile by visiting https://www.guidestar.org/UpdateNonprofitProfile. |
demographics_status_nonprofit | Nonprofit | Your organization has provided Candid demographics data on MM/dd/yyyy. | Your organization has not provided Candid demographics data. Please complete your Candid profile by visiting https://www.guidestar.org/UpdateNonprofitProfile. |
Status messages when the organization has submitted demographic data will include the date the information was shared, which is also available in the date_last_modified field.
Data structure
staff_level_totals: object containing the total number of individuals within each personnel group at the organizationtotal_board_members: number of individuals on the boardtotal_staff: number of individuals who work at the organization, including senior staff, leader, and co-leadertotal_senior_staff: number of senior staff (C-suite or management with budgetary oversight) who work at the organization, including the leader and co-leader
categories: array containing demographic information objectscategory_id: identifies the type of demographic information contained within the object. When integrating demographic data, we recommend using the ID field as a unique identifier. See below for possible values.category: represents the display name for the type of demographic information contained within the object. See below for possible values.board_members_not_collected,staff_not_collected,senior_staff_not_collected: boolean (true/false) fields under category represent that the organization did not provide information for this category for the specified groupsubcategories: array containing detailed objects related to the category.subcategory_id: identifies the answers to the question's category for groups of people at the organization. See below for possible values.subcategory: represents the display name of the question's category for groups of people at the organization. See below for possible values.board_members,staff,senior_staff: represent the total number of individuals in each group at the organization who identify within the subcategoryreported_by_ceoandreported_by_coceo: boolean (true/false) fields which indicate if the organization’s leader and co-leader identify within the subcategory. If not applicable, this field is null.
Below is a sample response from the Demographics API:
{
"code": 200,
"message": "Request was processed successfully!",
"took": 61,
"errors": [],
"data": {
"summary": {
"organization_name": "Candid",
"ein": "13-1837418",
"city": "New York City",
"state": "NY",
"demographics_status": "This organization has provided Candid Demographics Data on 05/09/2024",
"demographics_status_nonprofit": "Your organization has provided Candid Demographics Data on 05/09/2024",
"date_last_modified": "05/09/2024"
},
"demographics": {
"staff_level_totals": {
"total_board_members": "15",
"total_staff": "190",
"total_senior_staff": "8"
},
"categories": [
{
"category_id": 1,
"category": "Race & Ethnicity",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 1,
"subcategory": "Asian/Asian American",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 27,
"senior_staff": 2,
"reported_by_ceo": true,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 2,
"subcategory": "Black/African American",
"board_members": 5,
"staff": 11,
"senior_staff": 2,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 3,
"subcategory": "Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 14,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 4,
"subcategory": "Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native/Indigenous",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 0,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 5,
"subcategory": "White/Caucasian/European",
"board_members": 6,
"staff": 86,
"senior_staff": 4,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 6,
"subcategory": "Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 3,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 7,
"subcategory": "Decline to state",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 7,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 8,
"subcategory": "Unknown",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 41,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 27,
"subcategory": "Middle Eastern/Northern African",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 1,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 28,
"subcategory": "Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 0,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
},
{
"category_id": 1,
"category": "Race & Ethnicity Other",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 9,
"subcategory": "Other",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": null,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
},
{
"category_id": 2,
"category": "Gender Identity",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 10,
"subcategory": "Female",
"board_members": 8,
"staff": 82,
"senior_staff": 5,
"reported_by_ceo": true,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 11,
"subcategory": "Male",
"board_members": 6,
"staff": 56,
"senior_staff": 3,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 12,
"subcategory": "Non-binary",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 6,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 29,
"subcategory": "People who prefer to identify with another gender identity",
"board_members": null,
"staff": null,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 13,
"subcategory": "Decline to state",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 5,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 14,
"subcategory": "Unknown",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 41,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
},
{
"category_id": 3,
"category": "Transgender Identity",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 15,
"subcategory": "Transgender",
"board_members": 0,
"staff": 4,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 16,
"subcategory": "Not transgender",
"board_members": 14,
"staff": 130,
"senior_staff": 8,
"reported_by_ceo": true,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 30,
"subcategory": "People who prefer to identify with another gender identity",
"board_members": null,
"staff": null,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 17,
"subcategory": "Decline to state",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 9,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 18,
"subcategory": "Unknown",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 47,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
},
{
"category_id": 4,
"category": "Sexual Orientation",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 19,
"subcategory": "Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community",
"board_members": 0,
"staff": 24,
"senior_staff": 4,
"reported_by_ceo": true,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 20,
"subcategory": "Heterosexual or straight",
"board_members": 14,
"staff": 114,
"senior_staff": 4,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 31,
"subcategory": "People who prefer to identify with another sexual orientation",
"board_members": null,
"staff": null,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 21,
"subcategory": "Decline to state",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 11,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 22,
"subcategory": "Unknown",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 41,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
},
{
"category_id": 5,
"category": "Disability Status",
"board_members_not_collected": false,
"staff_not_collected": false,
"senior_staff_not_collected": false,
"subcategories": [
{
"subcategory_id": 23,
"subcategory": "Person with a disability",
"board_members": 0,
"staff": 16,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 24,
"subcategory": "Person without a disability",
"board_members": 14,
"staff": 120,
"senior_staff": 8,
"reported_by_ceo": true,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 25,
"subcategory": "Decline to state",
"board_members": null,
"staff": 7,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": false,
"reported_by_coceo": null
},
{
"subcategory_id": 26,
"subcategory": "Unknown",
"board_members": 1,
"staff": 47,
"senior_staff": null,
"reported_by_ceo": null,
"reported_by_coceo": null
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
Demographic categories and subcategories
Listed below are possible response values for the category and subcategory fields:
| Category ID | Category Name | Subcategory ID | Subcategory Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Race & Ethnicity | 1 | Asian/Asian American | |
| 2 | Black/African American | |||
| 3 | Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx | |||
| 4 | Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native/Indigenous | |||
| 5 | White/Caucasian/European | |||
| 6 | Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities) | |||
| 7 | Decline to state | |||
| 8 | Unknown | |||
| 27 | Middle Eastern/Northern African | |||
| 28 | Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | |||
| 1 | Race & Ethnicity Other | 9 | Other | Each subcategory represents a write-in answer to "People who identify with another race or ethnicity (please specify)" |
| 2 | Gender Identity | 10 | Female | |
| 11 | Male | |||
| 12 | Non-binary | |||
| 29 | People who prefer to identify with another gender identity | |||
| 13 | Decline to state | |||
| 14 | Unknown | |||
| 3 | Transgender Identity | 15 | Transgender | |
| 16 | Not transgender | |||
| 30 | People who prefer to identify with another gender identity | |||
| 17 | Decline to state | |||
| 18 | Unknown | |||
| 4 | Sexual Orientation | 19 | Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community | |
| 20 | Heterosexual or straight | |||
| 31 | People who prefer to identify with another sexual orientation | |||
| 21 | Decline to state | |||
| 22 | Unknown | |||
| 5 | Disability Status | 23 | Person with a disability | |
| 24 | Person without a disability | |||
| 25 | Decline to state | |||
| 26 | Unknown |