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1 | ISSUE AREAS* / BENCHMARKS OVERVIEW | Last updated: 7/01/2026 | ||||||||||
2 | What is this for? L4G asks participants to choose issue area/benchmark categories for two purposes: | |||||||||||
3 | (1) During registration: Choosing issue areas here helps us to understand the main type of work your organization does and connect you with similar organizations via L4G Community. Make sure to select the issue area category and subcategory that best represents your organization overall. (2) Setting up access to L4G benchmarks: L4G provides participants with standardized survey questions that are benchmarked for five survey types: Client, Community, Partner, Staff, and Volunteer. This allows organizations to compare their survey results to those of organizations doing similar work and surveying similar audiences. Once you have an L4G web app account, on the Program Your Survey page, choose the issue area that best represents the core activities and services for the survey type you will be administering. You will choose one issue area category (e.g., Education) and one subcategory (e.g., Education Services). You are able to select one category and subcategory for each survey you create. | |||||||||||
4 | Is benchmark / comparison data available for all these issue areas? For each survey type, only categories and subcategories highlighted in green currently have benchmarks available; those in yellow have been used before, but do not yet meet the minimum number of organizations to have an available benchmark today. Listen4Good updates benchmarks monthly. There needs to be a minimum of 5 organizations with at least 10 survey responses each before the comparative data for that issue area benchmark is made available. | |||||||||||
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7 | *L4G uses Candid's Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) (Subjects Facet) for its issue area category names and definitions. ( Source: https://taxonomy.candid.org/ ) | |||||||||||
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9 | Click on an issue area category to see its subcategory definitions and benchmark availability (or see "ALL Issue Areas / Benchmark Availability" tab). | |||||||||||
10 | ISSUE AREA CATEGORY | SUBCATEGORIES | ||||||||||
11 | Agency / Network Support Providers | • Foundations • Intermediary organizations | • Philanthropy support organizations | |||||||||
12 | Agriculture, Fishing & Forestry | • Agriculture • Fishing & aquaculture | • Food security • Forestry | |||||||||
13 | Arts & Culture | • Arts services • Cultural awareness • Folk arts | • Historical activities • Humanities • Museums | • Performing arts • Public arts • Visual arts | ||||||||
14 | Community & Economic Development | • Business & industry • Community improvement | • Employment • Financial services | • Housing development • Rural development | • Sustainable development • Urban development | |||||||
15 | Education | • Adult education • Early childhood education • Education services | • Elementary & secondary education • Equal opportunity in education • Graduate & professional education | • Higher education • Parent/Caregiver support • Student services | • Vocational education | |||||||
16 | Environment | • Biodiversity • Climate change | • Domesticated animals • Environmental education | • Environmental justice • Natural resources | ||||||||
17 | Health | • Diseases & conditions • Health care access • Health care administration & financing • Health care quality | • Holistic medicine • In-patient medical care • Medical specialties • Medical support services | • Mental health care • Nursing care • Out-patient medical care • Public health | • Rehabilitation • Reproductive health care • Traditional medicine & healing | |||||||
18 | Human Rights | • Antidiscrimination • Diversity & intergroup relations | • Individual liberties • Justice rights | • Social rights | ||||||||
19 | Human Services | • Basic & emergency aid • Family services | • Human services information • Human services management | • Shelter & residential care • Targeted population support | • Youth development | |||||||
20 | Information & Communications | • Communication media • Libraries | • Media access & policy • News & public information | |||||||||
21 | Public Affairs | • Democracy • Leadership development | • National security • Public administration | • Public policy • Public utilities | • Public/private ventures | |||||||
22 | Public Safety, Law, & Justice | • Abuse prevention • Consumer protection • Courts | • Crime prevention • Criminal justice & re-entry services • Disasters & emergency management | • Fire prevention & control • Legal services • Safety education | ||||||||
23 | Sports & Recreation | • Community recreation • Sports | ||||||||||