The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore (CFES) will host a workshop designed to show local nonprofits how to benefit from data from the U.S. Census Bureau in a variety of ways on Thursday, April 13 from 9 a.m. – 12 noon at the Foundation’s offices in Salisbury.
“Whether you’re conducting a needs assessment, producing a community profile, a program evaluation, or applying for a grant, credible statistics give you the ability to tell your story with more insight, credibility and creativity,” said Erica Joseph, CFES President.
The Census Bureau releases statistics annually about communities for more than 69 indicators. Their website also provides access to this data using several online tools. In addition to learning how to leverage Census figures, nonprofit attendees will learn more about the Maryland ALICE report, a statewide project that began last year with the United Way to quantify the number of households in Maryland who are living above the poverty level, but still struggling every day to make ends meet.
The program’s acronym, ALICE, stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. These individuals and families are working, often more than one job, but still have many needs which go unmet, and are just one accident, or car breakdown, or one health issue from financial disaster.
Amy Luppens, of the United Way Lower Eastern Shore, will provide a brief breakdown of information from Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester Counties, to help identify those barriers and challenges that ALICE households face. This information is beneficial to the nonprofit community when sourcing grant funding and planning programing to meet local needs in the community. Nonprofit organizations wishing to register for the workshop should visit www.cfes.org.
