Changelog

Updates to the Data API and this developer portal. Breaking changes are announced here at least 30 days in advance.

08.15.2026 — nonprofitsPublic query deprecated

We're deprecating the nonprofitsPublic query. We're adding additional fields to the API, and this fall we'll be launching a new query for premium API users that includes these new fields along with all the data currently available through nonprofitsPublic.

As a first step, nonprofitsPublic is no longer listed in the GraphQL Explorer's query list, sidebar, or search, so new integrations aren't built against it. The same applies to the types only this query uses, such as NonprofitPublic, PaginatedNonprofitPublic, and NonprofitFilters. Nothing changes for existing integrations: the query still executes normally, still works in the playground, and its full reference documentation remains at /graphql/query/nonprofitsPublic. No removal date has been announced — we'll give at least 30 days' notice here before anything breaks.

05.15.2026 — New causes field introduced

We recently deprecated the "cause" field from the API and replaced it with a "causes" field. The cause data is sourced from the Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) by Candid. The PCS is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The causes field returns specific charitable categories or issue areas nonprofits aim to address (e.g. Environment, Air quality). The causes field allows you to return multiple values for causes, while the previous field only returned one value.

Also as a part of this update, we updated the playground to make it easier to understand which fields & queries are a part of the public Charity Navigator API.

04.07.2026 — Beacon fields deprecated from the API

Charity Navigator launched a new version of its ratings in April. The 2026 Enhanced Encompass Rating System is designed to provide a more accurate and holistic view of organizational performance. You can learn more about this update here.

As a part of the enhanced rating system, Charity Navigator is no longer providing beacon ratings. As such, we have deprecated the beacons field from the API.