Community Platform Overview

Fall 2012

Transcript

1. The Community Platform Project Strengthening the Civic Capacity of Communities from the Ground Up Tom Pollak, Director, National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute tpollak@urban.org – 202‐261‐5536
2. The Community Platform • State‐of‐the‐art website technology • Data on needs and resources • Knowledge and education on best practices – for building sustainable and effective programs, nonprofit‐community collaborations, and civic engagement • National & local on‐the‐ground partners • Empowering people & organizations from grassroots to “grasstops”
3. Private and public foundations Gov’t funders and policy‐ makers State nonprofit associations United Ways, community action agencies Community groups, PTAs, neighborhood associations Universities and researchers Nonprofit program staff Nonprofit financial managers Individuals who need services NCCS Community Platform Users
4. NCCS Data ‹ 1.6 mil. nonprofit organizations (10k in NM, 7k charities & foundations) ‹ Finances from IRS data ‹ Census data ‹ Program descriptions ‹ Specific activity categories for arts, education, health, human services, & more Tools ‹ Financial analyzer ‹ Detailed info on programs, outcomes & service locations ‹ Shared goods & services ‹ Community needs tracker ‹ Program delivery area maps ‹ Basic community demographic profile
5. Three Dimensions to Building Civic Capacity • Technology & Data Dimension • Organization & Program Dimension Effectiveness, coordination, planning • Civic or Moral Dimension Leadership, civic capacity, & a shared commitment to the public good
6. Building Civic Capacity to Tackle Social Problems
7. Operating organizations Service organizations, the arts, advocacy, congregations Higher ed, hospitals, community action agencies Community Members A “Whole Community” Approach Success of community as a whole Organizational success Self & family & maybe neighborhood Focus… “Civic Infrastructure” Major foundations & corporations, United Way, state & local gov’t, nonprofit umbrella ass’ns & coalitions
19. Neighborhood Pages
21. Users can map or list organizations, programs, places and community needs. Maps can be filtered by activities (arts, education, etc.), zip code, county, custom regions, or legislative districts; organization type & more. New resources (gov’t & nonprofit service locations, police stations, informal organizations, etc.) & needs can be added one at a time, in batches, or through real‐time linkages to 2‐1‐1 or other local sources.
22. This is the same location, but limiting the display to arts & environmental orgs. The map can be filtered to show particular types of organizations using the general categories on the left. Advanced users can choose from more the detailed 600‐ category NTEE system.
24. The standard search results page for registered users shows a range of information, much of it from IRS forms and registration information.
25. The Platform provides Organization Search screens for both basic and more advanced users. This is the search screen for more advanced users.
26. The Basic search shows only organization name, location and broad service area.
27. The Basic Search Results pages shows much less. (Users can click on an organization name for a full Organization Profile.)
28. Users can also search by programs.
30. Key partners may have custom landing pages and take responsibility for keeping their members or grantees information up‐to‐ date.
34. Organization Profiles can be updated by Community Administrators, approved researchers, and by the organization itself. This screen lets a user identify herself as connected to the organization. The Community Administrator is alerted to the request and must approve it before changes are finalized.
35. PDF images of IRS Form 990s filed since around 2002 are available at a click of the mouse.
36. Sample IRS Form 990 image.
37. NCCS typically captures the chief staff officer or volunteer leader for unstaffed organizations from its IRS Form 990 data. Additional information can be added by the organizations themselves or approved users.
38. Basic program information for all nonprofit organizations is loaded directly from their IRS Form 990s. But that’s just the beginning…
39. Add program information & categorize programs for referral system & service delivery mapping. Supports real‐time linkages to 2‐1‐1 providers so organizations only have to update their information in one place.
40. Choose from a comprehensive list of Population Served codes to ensure that users can find the services they need. We also use the 600‐ category Nonprofit Program Classification system and National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) systems for classification. The AIRS Information & Referral Taxonomy could be incorporated.
41. The Needs Module is intended to provide a system for a neighborhood association, nonprofit coalition, university community research or outreach project, or just a group of citizens to create a comprehensive map of community needs ranging from public spaces to individual needs for transportation, companionship, babysitting & more. Individual needs & addresses may be kept confidential so only authorized users, such as someone who volunteers to meet a need, has access. To get there from the Home page, click on “Community Needs” in the Quick Links from the Home Page.
46. Community Indicators Users can easily drill down from a county, city or MSA to the zip code level and get either a statistical profile or a list of organizations.
49. Optional integration with WEAVE data visualization tool.
50. Community Statistics shows socio‐economic data for the area combined with statistics on nonprofit resources (expenses, assets & more) and charitable giving in the community by households that itemize on their tax returns. Users can drill down to a zipcode or census tract level.
51. Align Nonprofit Programs with Public School Needs
53. A teacher, counselor or parent can search for, say, all tutoring or afterschool programs within a given distance from a school. Users can click on a map point to get the name, location and details on the program.
54. Select program outcome indicators to track on a daily, weekly, quarterly or annual basis. Analyze trends & performance for individual orgs, communities, fields/industries, peer groups, or your member organizations. Indicators can be marked as private, public or for sharing among a group of organizations. Track Program Outcomes
65. Financial Analysis: Features • Popup help • Video and written guides to help boards and managers understand basics of financial analysis • Other growth rates ‐ revenues, net assets – Efficiency ratios – Balance sheet ratios • Revenues, expenses, balance sheet
68. Financial trends for both individual organizations and peer groups
69. Users can select from a range of standard ratios
70. Shared Resources Infrastructure • Tools for helping organizations develop partnerships or share resources with other nonprofits, find consultants, and more: – Share HR, accounting, tech. or other “back office” staff or consultants. Share development/fundraising help. (Create a full‐time job out of multiple part‐time jobs) – Share facilities or equipment – Find lower cost options for insurance or supplies through bulk purchases (state nonprofit association) • Possible partners: State CPA Society, VolunteerMatch, BoardNet, Craigslist, idealist.org
73. KnowledgeBase Resources • “Community Best Practices”: Link to successful or model community projects – Create your checklist of best practices that are viable in your community, then check off those that are in place, those in progress, and those worth exploring for the future • “How to” section linking to resources on community‐building • Regular webinars: new models, peer learning
74. Community Administrators and other approved users can add entries and documents to the Knowledgebase. New items can be created to be public documents or solely for use by a Community Project Team.
77. Project teams can share tasks, free‐text knowledgebase items, and more…
78. Project Notes & Assignments Project teams can keep private notes and organization lists and more.
83. Community & Organization Calendars Each organization’s event calendar can be rolled into a community‐wide calendar for the general public.
84. Community Admin Tools
85. What Does Success Look Like? • Early stages: strong coalition built around shared vision – Major “civic infrastructure”: nonprofits, gov’t – Grassroots • Initial publicity • Launching pad for: – Data & information projects – Hands‐on projects • Helping to build sense of regional identity & empowerment
88. Mobile Phone Website
89. Selected Sites • http://www.connectBrevard.org • http://nccsweb.urban.org/ct.php • http://www.lincc.us/nla.php • http://www.thenonprofitlink.org/ • http://nccsweb.urban.org/susquehanna.php