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Process Overview
- This report should be updated each year to reflect the previous year’s stats & updates (could be updated at the start of the calendar or fiscal year, or after annual 990 is submitted)
- Log in and select Update Nonprofit Profile (along top menu bar)
- Select Edit (below nonprofit’s name & EIN number)
- There are 4 levels of categories to update (left sidebar): (see Info Needed at Each Seal Level below)
- Bronze (basic info)
- Silver (financial info)
- Gold (organizational goals)
- Platinum (evaluation metrics)
- Expand each level to update the necessary information needed to reach Platinum level each year
- Check with webpage manager for the number of webpage views
- Log in to Facebook for the total number of Followers
- Check with Treasurer/Membership Manager/Relevant Board Member to calculate the number of new donors each year
- Check with Secretary/Relevant Board Member for the total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
- Confirm and Publish all changes
- Once updated, copy the HTML code for the Platinum seal logo (new each year) and send to webpage manager to add to the website donation page. To find HTML Code:
- Once logged in, select Update Nonprofit Profile (along top menu bar)
- Select Benefits (below nonprofit’s name & EIN number)
- Scroll down to GuideStar Participation Logo and Widget section
GuideStar How-To Guides
GuideStar Help Center has helpful online guides on a myriad of topics that walk you through how to set up and maintain your GuideStar Profile, as well as how to use it as an organization and as a supporter.
Info Needed at Each Seal Level
- Bronze Level (General Info)
- Contact Info
- EIN Number
- Mission Statement
- Subject Areas
- Target Population
- Leadership Contact Info & Short Bio
- Silver Level (Programs & Branding)
- Current Programs
- Brief Description
- Target Population
- Location
- Logo
- Tagline or Slogan
- Social Media Profiles/Handles
- Photos/Videos of Organization’s Work
- Current Programs
- Gold Level (Financials & Staff)
- Financial Statement
- Board Members (Names & Organizations) – NOTE: If organization is not an independently incorporated nonprofit at the State-level, it is not required to have a legal board of directors.
- Staff Members (Contact Info & Compensation)
- Leader Demographics – NOTE:Can opt out of any specific designation for any specific category/person
- Race/Ethnicity
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Disability Status
- Platinum Level
- Share your strategy & goals
- Upload a strategic plan that applies to this year and was adopted within the past 5 years, OR…
- Fill out the Charting Impact questions
- What is your organization aiming to accomplish?
- What are your strategies for making this happen?
- What are your organization’s capabilities for doing this?
- How will your organization know if you are making progress?
- What have you accomplished so far and what’s next?
- Share at least one metric from 2020
- Summarize the problem or need your organization is working to address
- What is your organization aiming to accomplish? (i.e., describe your organizational goals)
- Sustainable Development Goals & strategies for making this happen
- Organization’s capabilities for meeting your goals
- What have you accomplished so far and what’s next? (i.e., describe organization’s progress)
- Organizational Metrics
- Based on your strategic plan, you are asked to write your own metrics (ways the organization measures its strategic plan progress) and provide the following annual information for each metric:
- Year(s)
- Target Populations
- Does metric relate to a specific program?
- Optional Notes
- Examples of strategic plan metrics may include annual markers like the following:
- Number of meetings held with decision makers
- Number of individuals attending community events or trainings
- Number of website pageviews
- Number of Facebook followers
- Total dollar amount of grants awarded
- Number of new donors
- Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
- Based on your strategic plan, you are asked to write your own metrics (ways the organization measures its strategic plan progress) and provide the following annual information for each metric:
- External Evaluations (optional: any external evaluation(s) supporting your organization’s progress or results)
- Share your strategy & goals
- Optional/ Additional Sections
- Demographics (Board Members & Staff) – NOTE:Can opt out of any specific designation for any specific category/person
- Race/Ethnicity
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Disability Status
- Equity Strategies (to build a culture of equity and inclusion)
- Board Leadership Practices (i.e., does the organization have policies in place for fair and equitable review of the following practices)
- Board Orientation & Education
- CEO Oversight
- Ethics & Transparency
- Board Composition
- Board Performance
- How We Listen (i.e., how does the organization collect, respond to, use &/or share feedback from the people it serves)
- Additional Documents
- Year Founded/Dissolved
- IRS 501(c)(3) Letter of Determination
- Letter of Dissolution (if applicable)
- Most Recent 990 (before GuideStar gets it from the IRS)
- Awards, External Assessments, Accreditations, or Affiliations (if applicable)
- Strategic Plan (if applicable)
- Notes on the Organization (optional comments you would like to make to the public)
- Demographics (Board Members & Staff) – NOTE:Can opt out of any specific designation for any specific category/person
Benefits of Platinum-Level Seal
- You Can Choose to:
- Allow donors to give to your organization through GuideStar’s partners (e.g., Facebook, AmazonSmile, Network for Good, and Salesforce)
- Add a Donate Button to your GuideStar Nonprofit Profile
- Automatic Benefits
- Full GuideStar profile view
- You can share your profile PDF in meetings with potential funders
- Your GuideStar profile visitors can easily access all your current information in one report
- GuideStar participation logo and widget
- Place the GuideStar participation logo on your organization’s website to promote your ongoing commitment to nonprofit transparency
- The widget links directly to your report page on GuideStar so
- Adding the GuideStar Seal of Transparency onto your website via a simple HTML code
- Early access to Candid training
- You’ll receive e-mail notifications for early access to Candid’s nonprofit webinars (e.g., fundraising, nonprofit compensation, efficient marketing, etc.)
- Candid Webinar Schedule
- Foundation Directory Online (subscription service)
- Grantseekers can use FDO to build robust prospecting lists and prioritize funders based on how much they support your cause
- Nonprofit alerts
- You can set up GuideStar to automatically send you e-notifications for a list of specific milestones (i.e., when GuideStar receives a new 990 PDF upload from the IRS, or when GuideStar receives any notice that your organization has been flagged by the IRS)
- Outreach tool kit to help promote your organization; includes a draft press release, a sample tweet and Facebook post, a sample newsletter or e-mail article, and participation logo image files.
- Full GuideStar profile view
(Created by Catherine Fox, Friends of Hawaiian Islands NWR, Advisory Council)