Philanthropy Classification System

About the Center’s Archived Grants Classification System

Candid’s Grants Classification System (GCS) was based on the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) and was expanded over the last three decades to include the emerging work we evidenced while capturing and indexing the work of the sector on a global scale. The GCS served as the basis for much of Candid’s work for the last 30 years. In 2012, in order to better meet the needs of the philanthropic sector, Candid began an extensive review of the GCS, reexamining both the terms included in the taxonomy and the overall structure. The goal was not to create yet another standard, but to better capture the work being done in the social sector around the globe and to develop a tool that would enable the sector to classify and organize their own work. The end product was the Philanthropy Classification System (PCS), which was released in 2015.

The facets of the Grants Classification System illuminated the work of grantmakers, recipient organizations and the transactions between those entities and answer the following questions about philanthropy:

• Who? = Population Served
• What? = Subject and Organization Type
• How? = Type of Support

Sample

E20	Medical care, in-patient care
	E21	Medicine/medical care, community health systems
	E22	Hospitals (general)
	E24	Hospitals (specialty)
	E26	Hospitals, intensive care
E30	Medical care, outpatient care
	E31	Health care, HMOs

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• Full_GCS_Taxo_Download.xlsx 60.46 kB