About the Philanthropy Data Commons®
We’re building infrastructure the sector has needed for decades
PDC is a sector-governed, open-source data commons — created by and for the organizations that make up the social sector.
What makes PDC possible
The Philanthropy Data Commons® (PDC) connects funders, nonprofits, and their partners so data can flow where it’s needed — securely, and on everyone’s own terms. Rather than replacing existing systems, PDC connects them.
For nonprofits
One verified profile instead of re-entering the same information across dozens of grant cycles — shared only with the funders you choose.
For funders
Cleaner, more consistent data and a clearer picture of the landscape — who’s funding what, where the gaps are, and where collaboration is possible.
For ecosystem partners
Shared infrastructure that grantmaking platforms and data partners can build on — delivering more value to the organizations they already serve.
Toward a common experience — and what comes after
If you’ve ever watched a nonprofit staff member spend hours re-entering the same information across grant portal after grant portal, you know how much of the sector’s energy goes to administration instead of mission. The PDC exists, in part, to change that.
15 hours
Avg. time a nonprofit spends on a single grant application
Every nonprofit knows the feeling: a new funder, a new portal, the same information entered one more time. But the friction isn’t one-sided. Funders rarely have a complete view of the funding landscape — who else is supporting their grantees, where gaps exist, which organizations are doing aligned work they haven’t yet discovered.
The social sector has long dreamed of a common application to solve this. But the road to consensus is longer than the sector can afford to wait. PDC takes a different path — building the connective tissue beneath all existing systems, so that verified and consented data for any organization can flow seamlessly across any connected grantmaking platform.
40%
Of grant applications ask largely the same questions
Think of PDC as the hidden plumbing of the social sector. Data moves — securely, with consent — so that nonprofits spend less time re-entering information, funders gain a richer view of the landscape they’re investing in, and the platforms serving them both work better when the data flowing through them is clean and trusted.
And when that foundation is in place, the next generation of tools becomes possible — AI-assisted matching, smarter opportunity discovery, faster collective learning across the sector.
“PDC envisions a social sector that acts collectively on shared, reliable insights — where data flows seamlessly across systems, every organization contributes to and benefits from a more complete picture of the work, and changemakers can pour their energy into what brought them to this work in the first place: building a better world for the people and communities they serve.”
THE TEAM
The people behind the PDC
A dedicated team with deep roots in the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and data infrastructure.
Liz Kane
Co-Director, Philanthropy Data Commons
Also serves as Managing Director, Core Services at the MacArthur Foundation
John Mohr
Co-Director, Philanthropy Data Commons
Also serves as Chief Information Officer at the MacArthur Foundation
Ready to be part of what’s being built?
The PDC grows stronger every time a funder, nonprofit or ecosystem partner joins the commons. There’s a place for you here