Have you ever wondered how your fellow business leaders, non-profits, elected officials, or engaged community members use the MAP Dashboard to make informed decisions? Throughout the year the Community Spotlight will highlight how members of the Southern Arizona community utilize the MAP. These stories will provide insights on how to get the most out of the MAP and we also hope they will inspire you to use the site in new ways.
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
Authored by: Tamara McKinney, Senior Director, Philanthropic Services
Photo: Jenny Flynn, President and CEO
Founded in 1980, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona has supported Southern Arizona with over $200 million in grants and scholarships, stewarding the philanthropic legacy of our community’s generous donors and increasing the breadth and depth of resources available to nonprofit organizations in our region.
The impact we make is a collective one, with funds being held by individuals, families, and businesses with unique interests, ideas, and passions. Like Southern Arizona itself, our funds are diverse, with our work touching every aspect of daily life, including animal welfare, arts and culture, community development, education, environment, health and human services, and more.
At the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, we believe that local, high-quality data is an essential tool for decision making and the MAP Dashboard is a data resource unlike anything else in our community. It offers reliable and relevant data that is accessible to individuals and organizations, and presents key pieces of information about Tucson and several comparable cities in a way that everyone can understand.
MAP Dashboard offers our nonprofit partners the opportunity to better understand and quantify the impact of their work. We encourage nonprofits to use relevant data from the MAP Dashboard in their grant applications and presentations. Whether they are looking for information on county demographics or high school graduation rates, we always recommend they start with MAP.
In our role as a convener, CFSA partners with MAP Dashboard to bring together donors, nonprofits, local government, the business community, and other partners in philanthropy to think collaboratively about solutions for our communities’ most pressing problems. Recent events include a panel discussion on food insecurity in Southern Arizona, a presentation on the economic impact of trade with Mexico, and a deep dive into the realities of affordable housing in Tucson.
In addition, the MAP Dashboard helps us to fulfill our organizational goals and better equip our staff to serve the needs of our communities. National trends are important in our work, but it is critical that staff understand how those trends affect individuals at the local level. MAP Dashboard webinars and white papers help staff keep up-to-date with real-time data and identify emerging issues.
