Free isn't a discount.
Free is how we match Candid's floor.
92% of Louisiana nonprofits spend under $1M annually. Most can't green-light a $99/mo SaaS commitment until they've seen value with their own cohort. PROOF Free exists so you can run your first cohort, issue real Open Badge v2.0 credentials, and show funders the difference — before you pay a dollar.
- 1 active cohort at a time
- Up to 25 participants per year
- Single program · single badge series
- Open Badge v2.0 compliant credentials
- Public /verify URL per credential
- DowUrk-branded badge templates (5 designs)
- Self-serve onboarding
- EO 14173 compliant language reference (public PDF)
- Community email support (no SLA)
- Access to Learning Library & free webinars
- More than 1 cohort or 25 participants/year
- Cohort outcome dashboards
- Custom badge design
- White-label or custom subdomain
- Funder logic model exports (WIOA, CDBG, EDA, AmeriCorps)
- Federal-safe / original language toggle tool
- Direct onboarding support
- Phone or chat support
- API access or third-party integrations
Free is not free.
The exchange is visibility.
Candid's Gold Seal program requires orgs to display the seal on their website to keep their free Premium access. We do the same. In exchange for free credentials, you let the network compound:
You'll know when it's time to upgrade.
Free is designed to get you to your first verified cohort. When any of these hit, the jump to Starter ($99/mo) pays for itself in a single funder report.
Hitting the 25-participant cap
Badge issuance locks. Discounted Starter offer auto-presented.
Funder asks for an outcome dashboard
Dashboards are Starter+. The upgrade keeps the funder happy.
You need a second cohort or program
Free tier supports 1 cohort at a time. Starter lifts that ceiling.
Funder logic model export request
WIOA / CDBG / EDA / AmeriCorps exports live in Starter and above.
The decision in one row
The bottom line
Every PROOF Verified badge in the wild is a billboard pointing back at the nonprofit that earned it — and at the framework that verified it. We match Candid's floor, beat them on the program-outcomes layer they don't cover, and let the network compound.
— Robert Jerrod "RJ" Brown · Founder & CEO, DowUrk Inc.