About the Philanthropy Classification System
The Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) is Candid’s (formerly Foundation Center and GuideStar) taxonomy, describing the work of grantmakers, recipient organizations and the philanthropic transactions between those entities. Candid’s Classification System is based on the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) and has been expanded over the last three decades to include the emerging work we have evidenced while capturing and indexing the work of the sector on a global scale.
The facets of the PCS illuminate the work and answer the following questions about philanthropy:
- Who? = Population Served
- What? = Subject and Organization Type
- How? = Support Strategy and Transaction Type
- Where? = Geographic Area Served (geotree.foundationcenter.org)
This site lets you explore each facet of the taxonomy through the Visual Navigation tool, Quick Search, A-Z search or a hierarchy view.
You can also learn more about the history of the PCS in the Resources section of the site.
