Candid Charges Nonprofits $1,199 for Compensation Data. We Made It Free.

Thousands of nonprofits pay Candid $1,199 every year for a static PDF of compensation data pulled from public IRS filings. We just released a tool that does more — and it's free forever for early users who sign up now.

Try the Free Nonprofit Compensation Report

What Does Candid's $1,199 Report Actually Give You?

Candid's Nonprofit Compensation Report is a static PDF published once per year. It covers 14 executive leadership positions across 130,000+ organizations, broken down by region, budget size, cause area, and gender. It's been the industry standard for over 20 years.

For $449 you get a single-user license. For $1,199 you get an organization license so your whole team can use it.

The data source? IRS Form 990 filings. The same public records the IRS publishes for free.

Candid's value-add is aggregation and analysis. They take raw 990 data, clean it, and package it into a readable report. That's legitimate work — but the underlying data has always been public. And $1,199 is a significant line item for a nonprofit with a $500K budget and a development team of one.

What We Built Instead

GrantLedger's Nonprofit Compensation Report is an interactive tool that lets you generate unlimited custom compensation reports — free forever for early users. No paywall. No annual subscription. No single-use license. Sign up now to lock in free access before pricing begins.

Here's what you get:

• Market percentiles (10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) for any role, state, and org budget size
• 217,000+ IRS 990 records analyzed — from nearly double Candid's 130,000 organizations
• Personalized percentile ranking — enter your salary to see exactly where you fall
• Salary distribution histogram — visualize the full compensation landscape
• IRS compliance language — pre-written explanation of IRC §4958 and the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness
• Board resolution template — fill-in-the-blank resolution citing the comparability data
• Downloadable PDF — attach to board minutes as concurrent documentation
• Unlimited reports — filter any combination of role, state, budget tier, and cause area

Why This Matters for IRS Compliance

This isn't just about salary curiosity. Under IRC §4958, if the IRS determines a nonprofit paid unreasonable compensation, the organization faces a 25% excise tax — plus 200% if not corrected.

The IRS created a safe harbor called the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness. To qualify, your board needs three things:

1. Independent approval — board members with no conflicts vote on comp
2. Comparability data — review compensation data from similar organizations
3. Concurrent documentation — document the decision when it's made

The IRS Form 990 Instructions explicitly list "compensation data from Forms 990 filed by similar organizations" as acceptable comparability data. That's exactly what our tool provides.

Most small nonprofits skip this process because they can't afford $1,199 for Candid's report or $1,500-$3,700 for a compensation consultant. That leaves them exposed.

Now there's no excuse. Generate the data, download the PDF, attach it to your board minutes. Thirty seconds. Free forever for early users.

The Side-by-Side Comparison

Candid's report is valuable for what it is — a comprehensive annual snapshot produced by a trusted institution. But for most nonprofits doing annual board comp reviews, you don't need to spend $1,199 on a static PDF when you can explore the data yourself and generate unlimited board-ready reports. Early users get free access forever.

Who Should Use This Right Now

If you're any nonprofit professional curious about your comp — enter your role, state, and org budget and see exactly where you fall. No more guessing whether you're underpaid or wondering what peers at similar orgs make.

If you're a board member reviewing executive compensation at your next meeting — generate a report before you walk in. Attach the PDF to the minutes. You just documented IRS compliance.

If you're an Executive Director wondering whether your salary is competitive — enter your numbers and see your percentile. If you're below the 25th, you now have data to bring to your board.

If you're a Development Director benchmarking for a new hire — generate reports for the role, state, and budget tier. Use the market median in your job posting and budget request.

If you're a nonprofit HR professional conducting annual reviews — run reports for every position. Compare across states if you have remote staff. Download PDFs for your files.

Three Things to Do This Week

1. Generate your first report. Go to the Nonprofit Compensation Report, select your role and filters, and see where you stand.

2. Download the board-ready PDF. If your board reviews comp annually (they should), use the included resolution template to document IRS compliance at your next meeting.

3. Share this with a colleague who needs it. Every Development Director at a 5-person nonprofit deserves the same data that large organizations pay $1,199 to access.

Why We're Giving This Away

We believe public data should be publicly accessible. The IRS publishes Form 990s so the public can see how nonprofits operate. Packaging that data and selling it back to nonprofits for $1,199 doesn't sit right with us.

GrantLedger's mission is to democratize access to nonprofit data. We give away the insights — free tools, free research, free benchmarking data. We sell the implementation: grant writing as a service for select organizations, and API access for power users.

Compensation benchmarking is table stakes. Early users get it free forever — but this won't last indefinitely.

Lock in free access to the Nonprofit Compensation Report →

Help us democratize nonprofit data: If you know anyone in the nonprofit sector who's ever wondered how their comp stacks up — forward this to them. Early users get free access forever, but we can't guarantee how long this offer lasts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this data really free? What's the catch?

Early users who sign up now get free access forever. GrantLedger makes money from grant writing services and API access — not from repackaging public IRS data behind a paywall. We may introduce pricing for new users in the future, but everyone who signs up during early access keeps their free access permanently.

Where does the compensation data come from?

IRS Form 990 filings. Every nonprofit with revenue over $200K files a Form 990 that includes officer and key employee compensation. We analyze 217,000+ of these records.

How does this compare to Candid's Nonprofit Compensation Report?

Candid's report covers 130,000+ organizations and costs $449 (single-user) or $1,199 (organization). Our tool analyzes 217,000+ IRS 990 records, is fully interactive, includes board resolution templates and IRS compliance language, and is free forever for early users. Candid's report includes gender breakdowns and cause-area analysis that ours also provides through NTEE filters.

Can I use this report to satisfy the IRS rebuttable presumption?

Yes. The IRS explicitly accepts "compensation data from Forms 990 filed by similar organizations" as appropriate comparability data under Treasury Regulation §53.4958-6. Our tool provides exactly that, along with a board resolution template to document the review.

How current is the data?

The tool uses the most recently available IRS 990 filings, which typically reflect fiscal years ending 12-18 months prior. This is the same data lag that affects all 990-based compensation tools, including Candid's.

What roles are covered?

CEO/Executive Director, CFO, COO, Development Director, Program Director, and other key leadership positions as reported on Schedule J and Part VII of Form 990.