Tracking population level data is closely aligned with our Results-Based Approach to grant-making. We use many sources of publicly available data to help us determine how to target Foundation resources. In a similar way, we ask applicants to tell us about the date they use to determine where and how to use resources available to them in their requests to us.
In 2018, the Foundation commissioned the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York (CCC) to take a comprehensive look at the well-being of children and families living on the North Shore of Staten Island in order to deepen our understanding of the factors that lead to disparities in outcomes for people living in low-income communities.
CCC compared both quantitative and qualitative data about factors impacting the lives of North Shore residents with residents in other parts of Staten Island, and New York City as a whole, across eight key categories of well-being:
- Demographics
- Economic Conditions
- Housing and Homelessness
- Health and Mental Health
- Early Care and Education
- Education
- Youth
- Child Welfare and Community Safety
The findings of this research are striking, and confirm what many already suspected: North Shore residents experience significant disparities in every category, and as a result struggle to raise healthy children and access opportunities that residents in other neighborhoods have as a given.
CCC’s Keeping Track Online is a database that tracks thousands of data points from local, state, and federal sources for all New Yorkers “to know the facts, share the facts, and be part of solutions in every community.”
CCC’s North Shore report followed an earlier participatory study conducted with support from the Foundation that engaged a cross-section of community members to explore: what can Staten Islanders do to improve their lives, and the lives of others in the community? Through this study, thousands of ideas were collected from over 900 people who live and work in the Borough. The ideas were organized into policy areas, explored through moderated discussions between experts and the public, and translated into recommendations for real-world action.
For The Staten Island Foundation, data like this informs everything we do – and is a call to action.
To learn more, read:
The North Shore of Staten Island: Community Driven Solutions to Improve Child and Family Well-Being, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Report Commissioned by The Staten Island Foundation, 2018
Vision for Staten Island: Staten Islanders Building Their Future, prepared with support from The Staten Island Foundation, 2010