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In the era of data-driven decision-making, open data from entities like Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRAs) registered charities emerges as a valuable asset for social planning. Such data sets provide unparalleled insights into community needs, trends, and impacts. Advanced analytics platforms, such as Karto, with its new integration, further simplify this process, transforming data into accessible and actionable insights.
Open data propels a significant shift in strategic decision-making by offering comprehensive, objective information. In the realm of social planning, this translates into a nuanced understanding of the socio-economic landscape. Resources like CRA Charity Data elucidate resource allocation patterns, funding trends, and the impact of various initiatives, allowing organizations to recognize gaps, tailor their efforts, and amplify their social impact.
However, navigating and interpreting such vast data sets can be complex. Hence, we designed Karto, a platform that transmutes diverse data sets into user-friendly insights. This tool empowers organizations to harness the data power, elevating social planning efficacy.
An instance is converting CRA’s Charity Data into intelligible, actionable insights. HelpSeeker partnered with the Northpine Foundation – a leading social impact venture philanthropy fund to explore this topic in our June 22, 2023 webinar.
During the webinar, we outlined a joint initiative to analyze and visualize financial flows, track trends over time, and gain a comprehensive understanding of charity operations and impacts. As HelpSeeker and the Northpine Foundation discussed in the recent webinar, these insights can underscore the importance of philanthropic investments in shaping the charity landscape.
Something as simple as how large the charity landscape is, and how important philanthropic investments are is of note for impact investors looking to understand how and where they fit, who to partner with, and where opportunities lie.
Or even simpler – supporting investment to refine how it aligns and compliments government funding. Even who is who in the charity funding landscape can be a challenge.
On note, many social impact investors are surprised to see how relatively small municipalities and federal government investments are in relation to provincial/territorial counterparts.
It goes without saying that understanding the funding in this complex ecosystem is critical. You want to ensure value add – and avoid unintended consequences that may make things worse at the local level. But at the same time, you want to also unleash capital to fully realize the value proposition to society.
Echoing Aatif Baskaderi, CEO of Northpine, “Scaling ecosystems require an unleashing of long-term investments. With approximately $120 billion in foundation assets, we have a unique opportunity to create sustained impact”.
We recently added a new Financial Flows tool to our platform that was developed in partnership with the Northpine Foundation to enhance collective capacity to analyze and interpret financial data.
The Financial Flows feature has been added to the free version of Karto to allow users to delve deeper into the journey of financial resources, providing insights into how these resources are distributed within communities and used by organizations.
These insights offer a deeper understanding of resource allocation, enabling organizations to maximize their efforts and better meet community needs. Further, the transparency achieved through such insights enhances accountability, promoting trust among stakeholders and fostering stronger relationships within communities.
The integration of advanced data platforms like Karto, and the subsequent enhancements they bring, signifies an important evolution in social planning. The ability to convert raw, open data sets into practical insights is a game-changer, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions and thereby maximize their impact.
Our next steps are to continue driving transformational change and refining the value of data in advancing social impact. Understanding service and funding deserts, where funding gaps exist in relation to community need and potential impact.
By providing a clear picture of how resources are used and distributed, these tools can promote transparency and accountability, essential aspects of effective social planning.
The combination of open data sets like the CRA Charity Data and sophisticated data analytics and insights tools represents the future of social planning. It not only empowers organizations to make informed decisions but also shapes a landscape where transparency and collaboration thrive. As we continue to innovate and integrate more advanced tools, we take a step closer towards realizing a world where social planning is efficient, insightful, and impactful.
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