Advancing the use of data among Nonprofits

December 8, 2011 10:45 AM By Elizabeth Nash, Associate Director, PolicyMap

Nonprofits need data to understand community conditions so they can make smart investments and establish sound program strategies. At PolicyMap, this need drives our efforts to make data readily accessible.

To advance the use of data among nonprofit partners and stakeholders, Citi Community Development (CCD) and PolicyMap teamed up to create a new online resource, the PolicyMap Data Tool. Hosted on the Community Development @ Citi website, the free PolicyMap Data Tool provides access to key indicators like 2010 population, vacancy rates and unemployment. The interactive interface allows users to drill down to information at the county, city and Census tract levels. The tool includes a customized view that provides all of the indicators with just one mouse click.

Citi and PolicyMap hosted a webinar on November 28, for anyone who was interested to learn how to use the tool's powerful data visualization and other features. Laura Sparks, CCD's Director of Development Finance Initiatives, joined me in emphasizing how the tool can be a valuable resource for nonprofits.

CCD has posted the recording of the webinar as a resource for all. It's available here.

The PolicyMap Data Tool also serves as a portal to the national data, tables, charts, reports and maps that are available on the broader PolicyMap platform. For more information about PolicyMap and The Reinvestment Fund, the nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution behind PolicyMap, visit the PolicyMap website.