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Happy summer. Data, data, and more data. We here at NTEN thought that all things data would be a great way to start the summer. No kidding: we really think that data is sexy. We are delving deeply into how nonprofits use (publicly available) data to make their cases and support their work. We are delighted that more and more data sources are making their rich information available via open APIs, ready to be mashed and re-purposed. Here is what you'll find: Troy from DataPlace describes how important and tricky data is in our work, and how DataPlace, a newly formed nonprofit with an amazing database, can help. Mary Anne Hitt of Appalachian Voices gives an overview of how her West Virginia-based environmental group uses Google Earth. Campaign financing is a hot data topic right now, and we got two of the major players in the field to contribute. First, Edwin Bender shows you how to Follow the Money.Then, Dan Newman from MapLight.org graciously agreed to be interviewed by us about their data mash-up using campaign finance data from the National Center for Money in State Politics. And Michelle Murrain rants about not having found her holy grail, intuitive data management. If you want even more, check out the recordings of our webinars on these topics:
Finally, a new favorite (even if it is entirely unrelated to data): Reactee's cotton-based text messaging platform, where you can wear your message, promote your cause, and receive responses from strangers, is just plain fun. Text NTEN to #41411 to receive our current offer. Then go to reactee.com/nten to see other causes in the gallery or create your own. 
Troy Anderson, Dataplace
Data doesn't kill people, people kill people. And yet, more lives are affected by data than guns: data determines how many Congress people represent you (unless you live in DC) and often how much money your state gets; data is one of the primary things (some say the only thing) that determines your mortgage interest rate; and data is often the last refuge of a specious argument. With data so important these days, you'd better have some or you'll get left out, competed away, or find yourself unable to prove anything to anyone. Miss providing data and you'll miss out on money or opportunities for you, your organization, or your community. The problem with data, as it currently exists in federal agencies and web sites, is that it's very difficult to use despite being very relevant, down to a neighborhood level. Interviewing people who try to make use of this data is sobering: "We used to spend a thousand hours a year processing HMDA data for our local community." "We have to pay through the nose to get good neighborhood level reports on data that's otherwise 'free'." "Why can't free data be free?" As part of the Fannie Mae Foundation, we used to get many grant requests for data analysis equipment or services and for thousand dollar neighborhood market reports. Yet, often, what grantees really needed was free use of free data. Enter DataPlace. DataPlace makes understanding community statistics easy with tools such as rankings, charts, histograms, and maps that use the free federal statistics presented through an easy-to-use interface. 
Mary Anne Hitt, Appalachian Voices
Anyone who has ever flown in a small aircraft over southern West Virginia or eastern Kentucky to view mountaintop removal coal mining first-hand can never forget the experience of seeing the massive scale of destruction—mountain after mountain blown up and dumped into valleys as far as the eye can see. People working to stop mountaintop removal have long dreamed of flying thousands of people over the Appalachian coal fields, but the logistics of that endeavor proved daunting. As an alternative, Appalachian Voices turned to Google Earth. In the past, we took reporters and decision-makers on day-long tours, first flying over the coal fields and then driving through coal field communities to hear first-hand accounts from local residents. Today, a good approximation of that tour is accessible to anyone with a computer, a high-speed internet connection, and Google Earth, extending the reach of Appalachian Voices by millions of people.
Edwin Bender, National Institute on Money in State Politics
From immigration legislation to energy and environmental reforms, campaign-finance data can provide unadulterated insight into the strategies of the forces behind legislation and electoral strategies. The examples of how data can be used to educate the public on important public-policy issues are numerous:
Briefly, what is MAPLight.org? MAPLight.org is a groundbreaking web site that brings together all campaign contributions given to legislators with how every legislator votes on a given bill. We illuminate the connections between money and politics, providing unprecedented information to enable advocacy groups and citizens to hold legislators accountable. The "MAP" in MAPLight.org stands for "Money And Politics." For a 6-minute overview of the site, see our Video Tour. Who uses MAPLight.org and why? I designed MAPLight.org specifically to help issue-oriented nonprofits—those who advocate on any issue. For example, a small environmental nonprofit in California cited MAPLight.org’s data as part of a newspaper editorial opposing a quarry in their community. A health-related nonprofit could find on MAPLight.org that drug companies gave an average of $70,000 to each U.S. Senator who voted against the bill that would have allowed Americans to purchase prescription drugs from Canada. The drug companies gave an average of just $26,000 to Senators who voted the other way. Nonprofits can use facts like this in their communications to better educate members on the issues that they care about. 
Michelle Murrain, The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative
Like many consultants, I deal with different kinds of data every day. These can be divided into four different types: data that needs analysis (income and expenses or web site hits, for example), data that is actionable (e-mail, to do lists, phone messages), data that needs to be accessible in a moment (client phone numbers, web site passwords), and data that can sit untouched until I need to find it. Between my multiple computers, and my penchant for Web 2.0 applications, I have an unfortunate multiplicity of data locations, which I usually manage to back up, when I remember they exist. Of course, just about every single data type has its own interface: my address book holds addresses, a web application holds project management data, my hard drive is full of documents, and of course, my e-mail client is full of unanswered email. I'm a science fiction fan. Science fiction lets us wish for all sorts of wonderful things. I remember a story where the protagonist had been out chasing aliens. He comes home, and a dulcet voice says something like, "You have 15 new messages. 10 are from colleagues, 3 are solicitations for products you are likely to be interested in, and 2 are from your mother. Which would you like to hear first?"
HOW TO: PUT TECHNOLOGY TO USE
Your guide to resources that will help you put technology to work for your cause.
MANAGE YOUR DATA > Having trouble integrating data from different sources? Read NTEN's Report on Open APIs to find out what APIs are and how they can help your data repositories talk to each other. > Or you might want to create your very own data mash-up. ProgrammableWeb makes it seem almost too easy. CHOOSE A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM > If you're looking for a new CMS, check out the Content Management Matrix, where you can compare and discuss your options. USE A WIKI > Wikis are "easy to use, but hard to describe". See Common Craft's video "Wikis in Plain English". CREATE A PODCAST > Scott Williams of Community IT Innovators has written a white paper on podcasts. The section on how to create podcasts is based on John Wall's NTC 2007 session. You can see the session materials here. THINGS WE LIKE
A monthly roundup of our favorite nonprofit tech resources. Read more posts on our blog.
COMMUNITY BUZZ
News and buzz from people and organizations in the nonprofit tech sector. Read our posts on our blog.
DIGITAL STORYTELLERS UNITE > Stories for Change is the place to find people who are telling their stories digitally. You can read inspiring stories about social change, find resources to help get your story out there, and trade tips with other online storytellers. > Amnesty International is using satellite images to tell the story of the crisis in Darfur. They've created the Eyes on Darfur web site to document atrocities in areas that watchdogs don't have access to, bringing the story out into the open to catalyze action. EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT BOSTON > MAPC, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, has collected town, city, county, state, national (census and other), private, educational, police and other data referencing the Boston region and created the Metro DataCommon. You can find everything from high school dropout rates to transit times in the Boston area. It's a great example of the power that integrated data can lend your story. CALLING ALL CODERS > Code For Change is building a community of people who want to put their programming skills to work on open source software that will change the world in a "get your hands dirty and move mountains kind of way". Their first release: a stand alone CiviCRM. > For all of you out there working on software for social change, don't forget that the deadline for the $10,000 Antonio Pizzigati Prize For Software in the Public Interest is coming up on August 1st. For more information see our blog post.
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NTEN CONNECT is the monthly e-newsletter of the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). |
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INTRO
