Grantee Spotlight:

Texas Connector & OneStar Foundation 

 

A sea change is underway in the nonprofit sector as more organizations recognize the need for making decisions informed by data.  The sector is now recognizing the power that data can bring to grant writing, strategic planning, identification of service needs and partnership development, and ultimately supporting a nonprofit's quest for impact.  Yet most nonprofits are also finding some data to be inaccessible, inaccurate or just too time-consuming to wade through.

In steps the Texas Connector, an online, interactive geo-mapping and data tool that enables users to access critical data sets on social service needs and resources. The Texas Connector displays statewide nonprofit information pulled from a variety of state and national databases (including GuideStar  and Texas 211) and overlays it with requested demographic and socioeconomic data derived from multiple sources that will enable users to:

  • Identify nonprofit providers, geographic service areas and pressing community needs;
  • Connect resources with local priorities by facilitating or motivating collaboration among public agencies, funders and service providers;
  • Equip communities with relevant, actionable knowledge and information to improve planning;
  • Analyze nonprofit infrastructure in relation to social indicators;
  • Create customized statistical reports for user-identified regions or interests.


Based on feedback from the field, the Connector recently integrated transportation and public education information (including graduation/dropout rates).  The Texas Connector provides a visual snapshot of social service needs and resources to allow funders, local and state government leaders, researchers, and the nonprofit community to more effectively meet Texas' growing needs.  The Texas Connector bridges the information gap between the areas served by nonprofits and the underserved communities of Texas.

Testimonial from Neighborhood Centers


For Neighborhood Centers, and probably most nonprofits, today is a new age.  While external stakeholders, including funders, have been traditionally impressed by things like numbers served and success stories, they are now asking deeper questions about outcomes and impact.  Rightfully so, as these are the same questions we are asking ourselves: how do we prove that our work makes a sustainable difference, and how do we improve our work even further?  Data is central to everything Neighborhood Centers does - not just fundraising and marketing, but also quality improvement and strategic planning.  It is an essential element to how we do better, in every facet of our work.

The big challenge for us is accessing high quality data that we can integrate it into our decision-making processes.  But finding timely, consistent, verifiably accurate data is difficult - not just internal data (our programs), but especially external data (the larger communities and populations that Neighborhood Centers serves). 

Whenever we are asked to go to a new area, or become involved in a new initiative, it is important that we "know what we don't know".  Texas Connector really gives us a head start in understanding basic information about the community - the scope and types of demographic data.  The "on the ground" work of demographically assessing a community has been reduced from dozens of hours to 60-90 minutes.  Texas Connector is absolutely an invaluable resource for doing what we do better and more efficiently, and for sharing the value of our work.

To learn more


The Texas Connector is an initiative of OneStar Foundation, which was established by the Office of the Governor as the Texas Center for Volunteer Action in 1976. Since then, OneStar has assumed authority and administration of the State's volunteerism and community service programs and initiatives. Its mission has expanded to include capacity building roles such as: encouraging partnerships among state agencies, nonprofits, universities, corporations and foundations; studying and analyzing the state's nonprofit statistics and trends; providing capacity building learning opportunities and grants, particularly connecting faith- and community-based organizations to resources; coordinating the Governor's Nonprofit Leadership Conference and the Governor's Volunteer Awards; and administering the AmeriCorps*Texas Program.

OneStar Foundation connects partners and resources to build a stronger nonprofit sector in Texas using three strategies:

  • Connecting faith-based and community organizations, businesses, government and foundations to resources and information about the nonprofit sector.
  • Promoting the nonprofit sector, innovative strategies and public-private partnerships to drive community solutions.
  • Convening nonprofit networks, developing a coordinated approach to building the strongest, most impactful nonprofit sector.


To learn more about how the Texas Connector can help your organization, visit www.texasconnects.org.

 

Texas Connector 
A screenshot of demographic data using Texas Connector.