Consent & Data Use

Consent is at the heart of the Philanthropy Data Commons (PDC). In a sector where data is often fragmented, the PDC ensures that information moves only with clear, informed permission from its rightful owners.

This approach is grounded in the PDC’s core principles, especially the centrality of changemakers, who retain ownership and control of their data throughout the grantmaking process.

Consent is what allows the PDC to be: 

  • Ethical: honoring the privacy and agency of nonprofit partners
  • Transparent: ensuring data is shared for the right purpose, at the right time
  • Enduring: built on trust, not extraction
  • Collaborative: enabling funders, GMS vendors, and changemakers to participate with confidence

Sharing of Information Submitted Through a Funder Grants Management System

When submitting information through a funder grant management system, your organization can give consent for the funder to share the submitted proposal, along with related organizational information to its Evaluation and Learning Partners (if applicable) and the PDC in furtherance of charitable purposes and to other third parties for charitable purposes to advance the Foundation’s mission. This information includes current and future proposals and associated organizational and reporting data.  

Why your consent to share is so important

The PDC is a collaborative, community-driven data infrastructure designed to strengthen how information flows across the philanthropic sector. Its tools and services help mission-driven organizations reduce duplicative reporting, improve visibility with potential funders, and participate more easily in collective funding efforts by using data more effectively to advance shared goals. It has instituted reasonable precautions to safeguard data from unauthorized access.

Your consent allows the PDC and its participating organizations (including funder provided the consent) to use this information in furtherance of PDC projects, platforms and initiatives, now and in the future, in accordance with the PDC’s governing data use agreement (DUA).

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