CNY Vitals is an initiative of the Central New York Community Foundation. This ‘state of the community’ website provides a common source of data and interactive visualizations on critical topics that affect the health and progress of our region in order to inform community members, spur discussion, identify emerging issues and plan community investments. CNY Vitals analyzes and tracks data points on topics including the economy, housing, health, demographics, poverty and education in Onondaga, Madison, Cayuga, Cortland and Oswego counties — the five counties in which the Community Foundation and its donors support communities and initiatives. Visualizations were custom-designed by Data Wheel, a data visualization company that strives to make the world’s information accessible and digestible for the benefit of all.
About
About CNY Vitals
Visualizing our community with data.Why Local Data Matters
CNY Vitals aggregates and monitors local information that tells the story of Central New York. By analyzing and then planning action from a common set of data, we can work together to measure our progress and transform our region for the better. The purpose of CNY Vitals is to:
- Present an accurate, up-to-date picture of our community.
- Prompt discussions amongst community members, leaders and organizations.
- Monitor the community’s well-being over time and visualize whether it is improving, declining or staying the same.
- Help target resources and monitor the impact of our collective efforts toward addressing emerging challenges and community priorities.
- Serve as a platform to encourage further research into community needs.
- Inform residents and encourage them to take part in community change.
The data contained in this site draws from a variety of sources, including the US Census Bureau American Community Survey, the US Department of Labor, the Syracuse City School District and the New York State Education Department Report Card Database.
How You Can Use CNY Vitals
The information available on CNY Vitals can be used for a wide range of purposes, be it to drive conversation, encourage collaboration around an issue, assist with research projects, inspire charitable efforts or inform the general public.
Visitors to CNY Vitals can:
- Interact with data visualizations and regional maps to see trends over time.
- View statistics for each county and their five largest cities — Syracuse, Oneida, Oswego, Auburn and Cortland.
- Download graphs as image files.
- Embed interactive data visualizations for sharing on a website or social media platforms.
- Connect the presented data to real people and their everyday lives through narratives and stories.
- Read timely announcements of local news, research or efforts pertaining to local data.
- Download the raw data for each indicator in a variety of formats.
- Connect current data to apps, maps, widgets, and other programs via API.
In addition, CNY Vitals Pro, the specialized arm of CNY Vitals designed for grant writers, researchers, community organizers and data professionals, offers the ability to drill down into local information by smaller segments for all neighborhoods in the five-county region.
Visitors to CNY Vitals Pro can:
- Compare indicators at the local, state and national level.
- Drill down to view statistics at the town, zip code or census tract level.
- Examine trendlines to determine where we are doing better, what is staying the same and what needs more work.
The Central New York Community Foundation’s
Commitment to Local Data
Data is a guiding element of the Community Foundation’s work in Central New York. For decades, we have used local data to spot regional trends and direct our funding priorities. Now, through CNY Vitals, we are able to provide residents with access to the same consolidated data on key indicators through elegant and intuitive visualizations, so that we can measure progress and plan action together.
In addition to CNY Vitals, the Community Foundation has supported the development of complementary websites such as HealtheCNY and DataCuse that help nonprofit organizations and municipalities make their internal data public. In addition, our Performance Management Learning Community helps nonprofit agencies measure their impact in order to improve services and make them more competitive for new funding opportunities. We also participate in a Community Data Group, a coalition of social sector members who share ideas and data and coordinate efforts to help our community improve more effectively than working alone.
About Us
The Central New York Community Foundation
The Central New York Community Foundation is a public charity established in 1927 that receives contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time and then distributes funding to local charities to help them thrive. It is the largest charitable foundation in Central New York with assets of more than $366 million and has invested more than $230 million in community improvement projects since its inception. As a grantmaker, civic leader, convener and sponsor of strategic initiatives, the Community Foundation strives to strengthen local nonprofits, encourage better understanding of the region and address the most critical issues of our time.
For Additonal Information About CNY Vitals
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