Eighty Four, PA – The Washington County Community Foundation has officially launched a first-of-a-kind, online community needs and assets resource, CommunitySnapshot.org.
The Community Snapshot website is designed to be user-friendly for donors, nonprofit partners, local leaders, and others to examine the Washington County community through different lenses. Visitors to the online database will get a panoramic view of the community’s overall needs through concise narratives on eight broad focus areas, or they can delve into the current, most pressing need of a particular nonprofit.
The website, which was programmed by the Tungsten Creative Group, is mobile-friendly and also includes an accessibility tool allowing individuals with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments to navigate the content without barriers.
To gather data for the website and to provide the opportunity for a broad cross-section of the community to be represented, the Foundation conducted an electronic survey and convened focus groups around its eight funding areas. These focus areas are animal welfare, arts & humanities, community improvement & economic development, conservation & environment, education, health & fitness, human needs, and religion & faith-based. Rather than duplicating efforts, the Foundation also partnered with other community groups who were already assessing data in a specific area. Links to the websites of those local partners, as well as links to other resources, are provided on the website for anyone wishing to learn more about a particular topic.
All IRS approved nonprofits, educational institutions, and government entities or instrumentalities serving Washington County are eligible and encouraged to register on the website. Currently, close to 70 local organizations have already joined, but many more are eligible. Eligible community organizations who are interested in having a free profile on the website may register at CommunitySnapshot.org. Questions may be directed to the Foundation at (724) 222-6330 or info@wccf.net.
To ensure the information on the website remains current and accurate, the Foundation will annually conduct a community-wide survey and convene focus groups. Organizations will also be able to update their information on the website on an annual basis.
“To the best of our knowledge, never before has a comprehensive community-wide needs assessment been conducted for Washington County, nor has there ever been a centralized location for community data,” said Betsie Trew, WCCF President & CEO. “We are excited to provide this new service for Washington County!”