New partnership brings validated impact data to one of the nation’s largest donor-advised fund platforms
Giving Compass announced today a new partnership with Ren, laying the groundwork for donor-advised fund (DAF) advisors and account holders to access faster, more reliable nonprofit impact data. The collaboration addresses a longstanding gap in philanthropic due diligence, equipping advisors with the insights needed to make more informed, confident giving decisions.
A Week of Research Per Nonprofit
The partnership comes at a pivotal moment for philanthropic advising. According to the DAF Research Collaborative, $326 billion currently sits in DAF accounts, yet much of the research required to deploy that capital remains manual and time-intensive.
Historically, nonprofit research has required pulling information from multiple sources. A recent Giving Compass study found that donors spend more than a week researching a single nonprofit. For advisors managing dozens of client portfolios, that level of effort is not sustainable and limits their ability to scale both impact and client relationships.
At the same time, demand for transparency is rising. 65% of donors said they would be more likely to give if they had greater insight into nonprofit impact. Advisors who can deliver timely, credible data are better positioned to build client trust and move more philanthropic capital into communities where it can make a difference.
An API Built for this Moment
To meet this need, Giving Compass created a centralized platform to collect impact stories and outcome metrics directly from nonprofits. Using AI agents, the organization has compiled an initial dataset of more than 20,000 impact reports, extracting both narrative insights and outcome data from nonprofit publications. The result is an API-ready infrastructure designed to shift advisors from manual research to scalable, data-driven workflows.
Deeper Data and Faster Answers
The collaboration with Ren strengthens and expands that foundation in three ways:
1. Deeper Data
In the first phase, Giving Compass will incorporate impact data for up to 93,000 nonprofits within Ren’s network, significantly expanding coverage and reducing research time for advisors.
2. Enhanced Nonprofit Visibility and Validation
Nonprofits on Ren's platform will be able to review how their impact data is presented, submit updates, and provide feedback, giving advisors greater confidence in what they share with clients.
3. Scalable Infrastructure
Insights from this partnership are expected to improve due diligence workflows not only for DAF advisors but across wealth management firms, foundations, family offices, and individual donors.
"This partnership is about building the connective tissue the sector needs. Giving Compass is defining impact in ways that can actually drive donor decisions, and Ren's nonprofit network helps pressure-test that framework. The goal is infrastructure that works for foundations, advisors, individual donors—anyone trying to make more informed giving decisions," said John Castles, Chief Product Officer at Ren.
To explore embedding nonprofit data into your platform, visit https://givingcompass.org/for-businesses/.
About Giving Compass
Founded in 2017, Giving Compass is a 501(c)3 organization that makes it easy to search for, compare, and see the impact of nonprofits in one place. Through its intelligent data engine, Giving Compass gathers trusted, up-to-date, public information. Professionals, donors, and organizations can access the data through a suite of tools (Giving Compass, Giving Compass Pro, and integrated Data and API Solutions) that are trusted by and built in collaboration with DAFGiving360, Fidelity Charitable, Vanguard, and Charity Navigator. By putting nonprofit data in one place, Giving Compass empowers smarter, more confident giving. It also helps more nonprofits get the resources they need. Giving Compass supporters help expand access to this information. Their support allows the work of more nonprofits to be understood. To learn more about Giving Compass, visit givingcompass.org.
About Ren
Ren is a driving force that powers people, ideas, and institutions for good. As the leading independent philanthropic solutions provider in North America, Ren delivers the expertise, standards, and technology necessary to enable growth and scale across the philanthropic economy. Leading financial services firms, nonprofit organizations, and community foundations rely on Ren to manage planned giving programs, including charitable trusts, donor-advised funds, pooled income funds, endowments, and private foundations. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Indianapolis, the company holds a SOC 2 Type 1 certification, underscoring its commitment to trust, security, compliance, and transparency. Learn more at www.reninc.com
Media Contact: press@givingcompass.org