Who we are
Nonprofit Knowledge Works staff bios, photos, and contact information.
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About our work
- Disaster Data 101
TEDxNOLA
August 27, 2010 - Democratizing Data: Lessons to Learn From New Orleans
The New Orleans Institute
August 17, 2010 - An app we can trust: Lessons from Katrina
Gov 2.0 Expo 2010
May 25, 2010
About Us
Since 1997, the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC) has been gathering, analyzing and disseminating data to help nonprofit and civic leaders work smarter and more strategically. A product of Nonprofit Knowledge Works, GNOCDC is recognized across the country for expertise in New Orleans demographics, disaster recovery indicators, and actionable data visualization. We are one of only three–dozen organizations nationwide chosen to be a National Neighborhood Indicators Partner — local data experts dedicated to community change. GNOCDC also plays a critical role in assessing the strength of the New Orleans economy and housing market since the onset of the Great Recession.
What We Do
We start with New Orleans data from a wide range of sources, analyze it with PhD level rigor, and publish it in plain language with graphics that effectively and succinctly convey our conclusions. We’re the source when neighborhood leaders need statistics to attract new businesses, when staffers need to brief the President on New Orleans’ recovery, and when media outlets seek to understand our region’s progress on economic growth, inclusion, and sustainability.
How We Do It
Our website includes easy to use maps, high–demand downloadable spreadsheets and slideshows, video briefings, objective analyses, and a “Questions” feature where readers receive personalized advice from our in–house experts. Our Housing in New Orleans Metro report, co–published with the Urban Institute, quantifies housing availability and adequacy. Our New Orleans Index, originally co–published with the Brookings Institution, reports on the metro’s progress toward prosperity. Our e–newsletter, Numbers Talk, keeps subscribers up–to–date with the latest findings. We use the local and national media (TV, radio and print), in addition to social media (including YouTube and Facebook), to give our data the widest possible reach, and often present in–person to local community groups and leaders in Washington, DC.
Why We Do It
We believe that reliable, targeted data can help leaders create positive community change, and that making this data available to all helps the community to be more effective at collectively aiming toward long–term, sustainable solutions.
Whom We Serve
We publish data for nonprofits, government agencies, news media, neighborhood associations and businesses — anyone with an interest in New Orleans. Every year, our website attracts more than 100,000 visitors, and we receive several hundred print media mentions.
Where We Get Our Data
We collect and compare data from a variety of sources to provide the most accurate picture of New Orleans. Source examples include the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Postal Service, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Department of Social Services, and FEMA. We only use data that can be updated, and we cite sources for all of our work.
How We’re Funded
GNOCDC is supported in part by Baptist Community Ministries, Community Revitalization Fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Metropolitan Opportunity Fund at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area, and other community contributors. We are also grateful for support from the Ford Foundation, Foundation for Louisiana, and Surdna Foundation. Thanks to this support, we are able to make data about New Orleans available to all. For more than a decade, we have been New Orleans’ go–to source for data, and we’ll continue to fulfill that role in New Orleans for decades to come.
