Foundation Center Launches Foundation Maps Professional 2.0 With Free Trial
New Features in Data Visualization Platform Deliver In-Depth Picture of Philanthropy in Communities in the U.S. and Around the World
New York, NY — March 19, 2015. Foundation Center, the leading authority on information about philanthropy worldwide, has launched Foundation Maps Professional 2.0. The Foundation Maps data visualization platform, which illustrates the distribution and purposes of funding around the world through maps and charts, has incorporated two new major features. The geographic "Area Served" functionality outlines on maps the places where grant dollars are targeted apart from the locations of organizations receiving the grants. "Constellations" is a new hub-and-spokes view of the philanthropic universe that reveals funder-grantee networks in an innovative visual format. Foundation Center has also introduced a 24-hour free trial of Foundation Maps Professional 2.0 and a series of free monthly webinar demonstrations.
"Funders are skilled at using their networks, practical experience, and issue-based knowledge to be effective in their work," said Lisa Philp, Foundation Center's vice president for strategic philanthropy. "Foundation Maps Professional 2.0 greatly supplements this personal expertise by revealing potential new partners with similar interests, assisting in a strategic analysis of trends, and providing data that can tell stories through compelling visuals."
Foundation Maps Professional 2.0 offers a variety of interactive maps, charts, and other visualizations that, when combined with robust search and filtering options, creates a picture of almost any slice of philanthropy a user can conceive. It currently includes more than 3 million grants made by 38,000 foundations to 350,000 recipients, and new data is added every week.
The new geographic Area Served feature produces maps that provide a deeper understanding of where funding is benefitting communities. This additional layer of information about where grant dollars are actually being used — beyond the location of the grant recipient — provides a critical level of knowledge that heretofore has been difficult to obtain, and which users have requested.
The new Constellations feature illustrates at a glance the broader ecosystem of particular philanthropic networks, which can be defined by the user using the Foundation Maps standard search filters. Constellations highlights the relative size of funding relationships in a network, providing a simple way for users to explore which organizations are (and aren't) connected to their areas of interest and see patterns among their peer groups. For additional context, it also offers comparative data on selected key indicators for each network.
The Foundation Maps platform, first launched last October, shows who is funding what and where around the world, helping funders and other nonprofits understand the philanthropic landscape and acquire the insights that inform strategic decision making. It is available by subscription and free access and serves as the basis for a variety of barter and custom projects.
To help potential users better understand its many powerful interactive features, including Area Served and Constellations, Foundation Center has introduced a convenient 24-hour free trial of Foundation Maps Professional 2.0. In addition, a series of free webinars held on the first Wednesday of each month offers a personal conversation with Foundation Center experts and developers who reveal the hidden depths of the application and its practical uses. Register for the first webinar on April 1.
Foundation Maps and the free trial can be accessed at https://maps.foundationcenter.org.
Cheryl Loe
Communications Project Manager
Foundation Center
(888) 356-0354 ext. 701
communications@foundationcenter.org
About Foundation Center
Established in 1956, Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. Through data, analysis, and training, it connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to succeed. Foundation Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector. It also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy at every level. Thousands of people visit Foundation Center's website each day and are served in its five regional library/learning centers and its network of more than 470 funding information centers located in public libraries, community foundations, and educational institutions nationwide and around the world. For more information, please visit foundationcenter.org or call (212) 620-4230.
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