The Community Platform Tom Pollak, Director, National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute Debra Natenshon, CEO, The Center for What Works August 2010

About Us

Building Civic Capacity to Solve Social Problems

What is the NCCS Community Platform? An approach to facilitate change by connecting people and resources. WHO is it for? People and organizations within communities who want to collaborate and maximize resources for the benefit of their local area. HOW does it work? Through online collaborations and making use of critical data in real time.

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

NCCS Community Platform as a Tool NCCS Data  1.5 M nonprofit organizations  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

“The Institution” (university, hospital) The Typical Community: Untapped Capacity, Weak Ties 26.4% volunteer (high of 43.5% in Utah) Of those who do, median of 52 hrs/year 8.5% work with neighbors on community problem 67% of households gave an avg. of 2.2% of income

“The Institution” (university, hospital) The Fully Engaged Community: A dense social fabric, with “excess capacity” for others Climate Change International Development A nearby neighborhood that needs help Think globally, act locally Block parties, clean-ups & more Neighborhood leadership circles Tutors & mentors Aging in place Environmental consciousness

Our Solution: The NCCS 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

Mechanisms of Change Key Activities – Beyond episodic volunteering & polite conversations to Dense & Sustained Relationships Empowering and Developing Local Leaders Strengthening leadership at all levels Building nonprofit-community coalitions Connecting by canvassing door-to-door and identifing needs (recruiting volunteers who may become donors) Facilitating concrete community projects: Education, environment, or for seniors… The community decides, NCCS facilitates and provides the tools.

Is Integration Possible? YES Systems Analytic tools/mapping National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Place-based cradle-to-career projects Cultural Data Project Foundation Center

The Community Inventory is available in both map and list formats. Users type in a zip code (or, soon, a location) to view organizations & other resources in the zip code or within x miles of the location.

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.

This is the same location, but limiting the display to “places,” including public schools, community centers, libraries & more. New resources – public or private, nonprofit or for-profit, programs, offices, police stations, etc. – can be added to the map.

The Statistics tab shows socio-economic data for the zipcode combined with statistics on nonprofit resources (expenses, assets & more) and charitable giving in the community (see next page).

The Needs tab 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.

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 How might You use the Community Inventory?

The Platform provides Organization Search screens for both basic and more advanced users. This is the search screen for more advanced users.

The Basic search shows only organization name, location and broad service area.

The standard search results page for registered users shows a range of information, much of it from IRS forms and registration information.

The Basic Search Results pages shows much less. (Users can click on an organization name for a full Organization Profile.)

From the Search Results page, a user can click on an organization name to see the Organization Profile.

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.

The Community Administrator Responsible for monitoring and approving changes to local information. Different people can be responsible for different types of information. Candidates include: provider Local librarians Stakeholder staff from state association, community foundation, or university The Community Needs Assessment helps to identify who is the best administrator in your area.

PDF images of IRS Form 990s filed since around 2002 are available at a click of the mouse.

Sample IRS Form 990 image.

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.

We start with IRS Form 990 data, but users can add new programs & supplement 990 info.

Basic program information for all nonprofit organizations is loaded directly from their IRS Form 990s. But that’s just the beginning…

Add program information & categorize programs for referral system & service delivery mapping. Supports real-time linkages to providers so organizations only have to update their information in one place.

Map a Service Area Registered users can map the program and service locations with a few mouse clicks!

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.

Align Nonprofit Programs with Public School Needs

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

Report on your program results daily, weekly, monthly, annually or in whatever period works for your organization or collaborative. If you don’t find indicators that are relevant or appropriate on our lists, you can add your own custom indicators.

Private and public foundations Gov’t funders and policy- makers State nonprofit associations United Ways, community action agencies Community groups, PTAs, neighborhood ass’ns Universities and researchers Nonprofit program staff Nonprofit financial managers Individuals who need services How might You use the Nonprofit Search and Profiles?

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

Users can select from a range of standard ratios

Version 2 will also show percentages: Contributions52% Program service revenue30% Membership dues10% Other 8%

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 How might You use the Financial Analysis?

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

Sample Shared Resources Screen

Includes distance from your location to resources and the ability to search by distance.

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 How Might you Use the Shared Resources?

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

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 How Might you Use the Knowledge Base?

Create Project Teams Project teams to collect information & tackle community problems are at the heart of the system.

Project Notes & Assignments Project teams can keep private notes and organization lists and more.

Create Custom Lists: Group can share & analyze list of key local organizations, peer groups…

Understanding Places: Geographic Search

Users can easily drill down from a county, city or MSA to the zipcode level and get either a statistical profile or a list of organizations.

The Signup & Settings pages provide an easy way for users to manage their lists, organization associations, and shared resources.

Building an Open Platform Local Partnerships Community foundations State nonprofit associations United Way organizations providers Universities Volunteer centers Local governments … and more Sharing information across the community to learn, grow and achieve greater impact. Current & Potential National Partners Mott Foundation Boston Foundation Foundation Center Corporation for National & Community Service GuideStar Idealist, VolunteerMatch

FAQs How much does it cost (is there a subscription fee)? How do you identify local community partners for rollout? When is the rollout for the Platform? What's the URL for the platform (how do I access the Platform)? What is the difference between this Platform and the tools provided by Guidestar, local data centers or systems?

The Time is Now There is emerging consensus that action at the community level is where progress must occur to beat back poverty, improve education, and reach our potential as a nation.

Thank you for your Time! Stay tuned for other upcoming public webinars. Contact us for more details on how to implement the Community Platform in your Community: