GuideStar (Candid)
Nonprofit data on 1.9 million organizations — 990 filings, financials, board members, and mission statements. Now part of Candid.
What should journalists know about GuideStar (Candid)?
GuideStar is the standard tool for researching US nonprofits. It profiles 1.9 million IRS-recognized tax-exempt organizations with data pulled from 990 filings, direct nonprofit reporting, and Candid's own research. The merger with Foundation Center in 2019 created Candid, which combines GuideStar's nonprofit data with Foundation Center's grantmaker data — 3 million annual grant transactions covering $180 billion in annual grant dollars. For journalists, the core use is straightforward: look up any nonprofit and see its revenue, expenses, assets, top compensation, board members, and stated mission. The free tier covers most reporting needs. Where it gets powerful is in cross-referencing: you can trace funding flows from foundations to nonprofits, identify board interlocks, and spot organizations with unusual financial patterns. The 990 Finder lets you pull the actual IRS filings. In late 2025, Candid launched a new unified search platform consolidating all its data. One limitation: GuideStar depends on IRS 990 filings, which are filed annually and can be 12-18 months old by the time they appear. For current financial information, you still need to contact the organization directly. Also, 990 data has known gaps — churches and small nonprofits under $50K in gross receipts are not required to file detailed 990s. Candid supplements IRS data with directly contributed information from 86,000+ nonprofits, which helps fill gaps but is voluntary.
Researching nonprofit finances — revenue, expenses, assets, executive compensation. Finding 990 tax filings for any US nonprofit. Identifying board members and key personnel. Tracing grant funding flows between foundations and nonprofits. Cross-referencing nonprofit data for investigative reporting. Building datasets of nonprofits by issue area, location, or size.
For-profit company research (use SEC EDGAR, OpenCorporates). Real-time financial data — 990 filings lag 12-18 months. Campaign finance or political spending (use OpenSecrets/FEC). Churches and small nonprofits that do not file detailed 990s. International nonprofit data. Lobbying disclosure data.
Security & Privacy
Data is scrambled while being sent to their servers
Data is scrambled when stored on their servers
Where servers are located — affects which governments can request your data
Privacy policy summary
Account registration requires name and email. Candid's privacy policy (updated August 2025) outlines rights to access, delete, and port your data. Supports opt-out of targeted advertising and profiling. Candid collects standard analytics and usage data. The nonprofit data itself is derived from public IRS filings and voluntary nonprofit reporting. Candid does not sell user data for advertising purposes.
How to protect yourself:
Free registration is required for full profile access — use a professional email. The underlying 990 data is public record available from the IRS, so GuideStar is a convenience layer, not a gatekeeper. For the most current financial data, supplement GuideStar with direct nonprofit contact and state attorney general charity registration databases. Cross-reference executive compensation data with 990 Schedule J for the full picture. For bulk research, consider ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer as a free alternative with API access to 990 data.
Operated by a well-established nonprofit (Candid) with a 25+ year track record. HTTPS throughout. Account required for full access. The underlying nonprofit data is derived from public IRS filings, so the data itself is not sensitive. Your search patterns and the nonprofits you research are visible to Candid. Privacy policy is clear and recently updated. No advertising trackers. Adequate security for the nature of the data — the main consideration is operational, not technical.
Who Owns This
Pricing
Free registration gives access to basic nonprofit profiles, including mission, programs, financials summary, and board members. GuideStar Pro (premium) provides deeper data access including full 990 filings, financial trend analysis, compensation details, and advanced search filters. Pricing for GuideStar Pro is not publicly listed — requires contacting sales. Over 99% of users access Candid data for free.
This is an editorial assessment based on publicly available information as of 2026-04-11, using our published methodology. Independent security review is pending. Security posture can change at any time. This is not a guarantee of safety.
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