About Candid Learning for Funders

Candid Learning for Funders combines the practical wisdom of funders worldwide with the expertise of Candid to improve the practice of philanthropy. Since 2001, Candid Learning for Funders (formerly GrantCraft) has delivered the knowledge funders need to be strategic and effective in their work, addressing questions funders face across various strategies and issue areas.

Candid Learning for Funders’ Resources

The site is designed to be an easy-to-find destination for all of our learning experiences for funders, which are made up of resources to help you improve grantmaking practices, advance field and grantee capacity building, build data capacity, and learn to leverage Candid tools to work more effectively. Our free collection of resources come in more than 10 languages and multiple formats, including guides, infographics, cases, blogs, podcasts, and interactive tools. This diverse suite of Candid Learning-developed content is complemented by other Candid resources and external contributions, making Candid Learning for Funders your go-to place for thinking critically about philanthropy and building skills for effective grantmaking.

Candid Learning for Funders’ Audience

Candid Learning resources are designed to benefit a global network of funders, including board members, executives, program staff, grants managers, and just about anyone else who works for a foundation. Candid Learning for Funders’ community of visitors represents a range of people in the social sector, including funders, nonprofit staff, philanthropy network staff, academics, and consultants. So, although our content is primarily derived from the wisdom of funders, we’re proud that such a broad spectrum of practitioners finds value in these resources.

Candid Learning for Funders’ Guest Voices

Candid Learning curates guest blog posts from various funders and practitioners. Our aim is to promote knowledge sharing to improve practice. The views expressed in these blog posts are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of Candid Learning or Candid. If you would like to contribute a blog post, reach out to us at [email protected] and view our blog guidelines here.

How we got from GrantCraft to Candid Learning for Funders

Understanding that funders generally arrive at their position through routes other than formal education programs, the Ford Foundation launched GrantCraft in 2001 as a project to help its program officers learn on the job and from each other. In the decade that followed, GrantCraft grew into a collection of practical wisdom aimed at helping grantmakers get beyond the basics and work more effectively. In 2011, GrantCraft became a service of Foundation Center (now Candid) in New York and the European Foundation Centre in Brussels, a collaboration that continued for three years. During this time new content, partnerships, formats, and translations were developed, and as a result of this and continued global partnerships, today we offer resources in more than 11 languages. In 2014, GrantCraft became led solely by Foundation Center (now Candid) and continued focusing on developing online resources to complement its popular field guide publications. 

When Foundation Center and GuideStar joined forces to create Candid in 2019, we further prioritized learning as an essential service with the launch of Candid Learning as a destination for both grantmakers and grantseekers, and now in 2022, the creation of Candid Learning for Funders is a step towards better organizing these offerings within the Candid Learning universe to serve you better.

Candid Learning for Funders’ Future

The launch of Candid Learning for Funders is part of Candid’s larger evolution and will help us deliver on our 2030 vision. 

Candid Learning for Funders is committed to strengthening its collection of resources and to cultivating an engaged community of global funders. This new chapter will be characterized by closer ties to Candid, increased opportunities for diverse funders to share with and learn from each other’s unique perspectives, and opportunities for shared dialogue and learning across nonprofits and foundations.