Five Straight Years of Candid’s Gold Seal: What the Rating Says About Liberty HealthShare
Fewer than 2% of the roughly 1.8 million nonprofits profiled by Candid have earned its Gold Seal of Transparency. Liberty HealthShare has now earned it five years in a row, the ministry said in announcing its 2026 seal. What the seal actually measures, and how it fits alongside the other ratings attached to the Canton, Ohio, healthsharing ministry, takes more explanation.
What Candid is
Candid is the nonprofit information service formed when GuideStar and the Foundation Center combined. Its database of nonprofit profiles is a common stop for donors, grantmakers, and journalists checking an organization’s basic facts and finances.
Seals of Transparency are awarded through those profiles. A nonprofit earns one by publishing information about itself on Candid. It is not graded by an outside analyst.
What a Gold Seal requires
Candid’s seals build on one another, from Bronze to Platinum. According to Candid’s own guidance, each level requires everything in the level below it, plus more.
- Bronze: basics such as the organization’s name, mission statement, population served, address, website, primary contact, leader, and donation information.
- Silver: at least one program’s name, description, and geographic area.
- Gold: recent financials, either an audited financial statement or a Form 990, plus demographic information about the organization’s leadership.
- Platinum: the organization’s goals, strategies, and impact, along with board demographics.
Financial records are what separate Gold from the lower tiers. A Gold Seal means a reader can open the profile and find a recent audit or tax filing, not just a mission statement.
Seals also expire. Candid tells nonprofits to update their profiles at least once a year and says seals lapse after two years without updates. A five-year run means Liberty HealthShare has kept its profile current throughout that stretch.
Why transparency matters more for a healthsharing ministry
For most charities, a transparency seal speaks mainly to donors. For a healthsharing ministry, it speaks to members who voluntarily contribute monthly shares and trust the ministry to steward those contributions.
Liberty HealthShare members pay a suggested monthly share amount, which starts at $87 for individuals and $319 for families across the ministry’s six healthcare sharing programs. Those contributions go toward the eligible medical expenses of other members, shared under published guidelines. The model is an alternative way of paying for healthcare costs, built on members’ trust in how the ministry facilitates the sharing of their money.
That arrangement makes the ministry’s disclosures a practical concern for anyone considering membership.
“Trust is earned through transparency and faithful stewardship,” said Liberty HealthShare Chief Executive Officer Dorsey Morrow. “Our members voluntarily share with one another because they trust us to responsibly steward the resources they contribute.”
The disclosures behind the seal
Some of the information behind the seal goes beyond what Candid requires. Liberty HealthShare publishes yearly figures on the medical expenses members submit.
Members submitted nearly 205,000 medical expenses totaling $385.4 million in 2025, according to the ministry. Discounts, negotiations, and repricing reduced those charges by more than 67%, saving members $259.3 million, and the community shared $87.4 million in eligible medical expenses.
Federal law also sets a baseline. To qualify as a healthcare sharing ministry, an organization must conduct an annual audit by an independent certified public accounting firm, and that audit must be “made available to the public upon request.”
How the Candid seal fits with other ratings
Candid’s seal is one of several outside assessments, and each measures something different.
| Evaluator | Rating | What it looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Candid | Gold Seal, fifth consecutive year | Depth of public disclosure, including financials |
| Charity Navigator | Four stars | Financial health and accountability |
| MinistryWatch | “Give with Confidence,” donor confidence score of 78 | Financial transparency and efficiency among Christian ministries |
| Better Business Bureau | Accredited, A+ | Business practices and complaint handling |
| Google reviews | 4.5 stars | Individual member experiences |
Member surveys add another view, with an 80% approval rating.
Candid’s seal confirms that information is public. It does not grade how well a program performs, which is what member reviews and surveys capture.
Does a transparency seal make a difference?
Candid’s own research points to one effect. “Research shows nonprofits that earn a Seal average 53% more in contributions,” Candid wrote when it introduced its 2023 seals.
That figure applies to charitable giving broadly, not to healthsharing specifically. For a ministry whose members contribute monthly, the closer parallel is retention and growth. Liberty HealthShare reported 24 consecutive months of year-over-year enrollment growth through August 2026, with new enrollment nearly 56% higher than the same period in 2025.
Ratings do not explain that growth on their own. Lower suggested monthly share amounts, a $2 million return to members in May 2026, and expanded programs arrived during the same stretch.
What to look for on a Candid profile
For a prospective member, a Gold Seal is a starting point rather than a verdict. A Candid profile is worth reading for three things:
- The most recent financial filing. Check the year and whether it is an audited statement or a Form 990.
- Leadership information. See who runs the organization and who sits on its board.
- Program descriptions. Compare them with the ministry’s own published Sharing Guidelines.
Liberty HealthShare’s program features, including Annual Unshared Amounts, Co-Shares, and sharing limits sit in those guidelines. Membership also requires a $135 application fee, and program changes are allowed only during the annual enrollment window, which opens 60 days before each member’s renewal date.
Five consecutive Gold Seals show a consistent habit of disclosure. What a reader does with the disclosed information is the next step.
