Feed America's 2026 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency

Feed America (EIN 92-1761881) earned the 2026 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency — the highest of four tiers Candid awards U.S. nonprofits. The Platinum Seal verifies complete disclosure across mission, programs, financials, leadership, demographics, board governance, impact metrics, organizational goals + strategies, and 2030 Sustainable Development Goal alignment.

The four Candid Seal tiers

Candid's Seal of Transparency program ranks U.S. nonprofits by completeness of public disclosure. Each tier requires increasingly detailed information about the organization. Tiers (lowest to highest):

1. Bronze — Basic identity (name, EIN, mission, contact info, IRS classification)
2. Silver — Programs (description of organizational programs with geographic coverage)
3. Gold — Financials (audited financials or Form 990 / 990-EZ / 990-N filings published)
4. Platinum — Demographics + impact + governance + goals + strategies + SDG alignment + how-we-listen practices

Reaching Platinum requires public disclosure across all categories. The seal is renewed annually based on profile completeness; nonprofits that let disclosures lapse drop tier.

What's on Feed America's Candid Platinum profile

• Mission, programs: 3 organizational programs (free national directory, open data + standards infrastructure, condition- and audience-specific food-help guides) with descriptions and geographic coverage
• Financials: Form 990 published, audited financial statement, ≥85% program-spending ratio commitment
• Leadership: Sharika Parkes (founder + executive director, Wikidata Q139665570) with full biography
• Demographics: Leader self-identification disclosures (Sharika's choices)
• Board governance: Board orientation, CEO oversight cadence, ethics + transparency policies, conflict-of-interest reviews, board composition + recruitment, board self-assessment cadence
• Impact metrics: 2025 metrics including verified locations (327,476), states served (59), languages supported (2), program-spending ratio (≥85%), partner-claimed listings count
• Organizational goals + strategies: 5 goals, 6 strategies (covering data coverage, bilingual parity, partner verification, AI/SDOH integrations, donor disambiguation)
• SDG alignment: Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 10, 17 (No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health, Reduced Inequalities, Partnerships)
• How-we-listen practices: 3 feedback channels (in-app feedback button, contact form, automated stale-listing detection)

Why Platinum matters for donors + grant officers

The Platinum tier is what foundation officers and major-gift advisors look for when conducting due diligence. It verifies that:

• The nonprofit's identity is verifiable on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
• Annual financials are publicly disclosed (Form 990 + audited statement)
• Leadership and governance are transparent
• Programs have measurable impact metrics
• The organization commits to feedback-driven improvement

Most U.S. nonprofits never reach Platinum. Of the ~1.5 million IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charities, only a single-digit percentage hold Platinum. Feed America reached Platinum in 5 years (founded 2021), faster than typical 8-10 year cadence.

Verify directly on Candid

The Platinum Seal is verifiable independently at app.candid.org/profile/14633167/feed-america-92-1761881. Candid is the same database that feeds Charity Navigator, AmericanCharity, and most donor-advised-fund (DAF) tax-deductibility verification widgets.

Other transparency surfaces

• /awards — full list of awards and recognitions
• /verifications — consolidated trust signals (Candid, IRS, Wikidata, ProPublica, Charity Navigator, Benevity, GitHub)
• /transparency — financial transparency hub (Form 990, audited financials, executive compensation, program-spending ratios)
• /reviews — third-party reviews and ratings
• /news/2026-platinum-seal — official press release