Candid Seals are free, earned in order, and updated on Candid’s own site. Startup tools show which items we already hold: name, EIN, address, website, a leader on the account, a mission and program from the grant profile, a 990-N on file, and volunteer hours for the current year.
A Form 990-N can satisfy the Gold financial item. Leader demographics can be answered “Decline to state.” We do not submit the profile for you.
Candid has published a claim that Seal holders receive more in donations. That is their claim. We have not verified the study, and organizations that finish a full profile are not a random sample.
For 2026, Candid offers a free year of Premium seats to a 501(c)(3) under $1 million in revenue that earns Gold. Confirm the current terms on Candid’s page before you rely on the price after that year.
A dollar value on volunteer hours can be a Platinum metric or an in-kind line on a grant budget. It is never a donor receipt.