Project 990

Matthew Baggetta, Julie Maloney-Beasley, and I were awarded a $904,265 research grant from AmeriCorps to expand our Observing Civic Engagement Project. Through this project we’re using the Systematic Social Observation method to collect data on the internal dynamics and activities of community organizations. We currently have 31 research assistants that we’ve trained and who are helping us collect observational data from 25 nonprofits in Bloomington. Our leadership team includes Project Administrator Claire Woodward and PhD student Ashlea Raemer. This project has been a great opportunity to involve students in high impact learning experiences, connect with the broader Bloomington community, and publish award-winning research. A special thanks to Indiana University Research who provided seed funding for this project in 2020. Thanks! We are also beginning to implement this project in other settings. If you’re interested in collecting and analyzing data on the internal dynamics and activities of organizations such as grantees, student groups, congregations, or community partners, send me an email.

Here's a link to the Philanthropy Desert slide deck: https://lnkd.in/gh8_iEit

Check out some of our most recent visualizations here: https://lnkd.in/gfehE4eE

We are excited to announce that Shivani Latkar(She/Her) will be joining Project 990 as a summer intern. Shivani was selected to participate in this project by IU's Vice Provost for Research via a competitive process through their Faculty Assistance in Data Science program. https://lnkd.in/gmPqp8SY   It's a highly selective program and a well-earned achievement for Shivani. Indiana University Research Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

We are excited to announce that Vedika Halwasiya will be joining Project 990 as a summer intern. Vedika was selected to participate in this project by IU's Vice Provost for Research via a competitive process through their Faculty Assistance in Data Science program. https://lnkd.in/gmPqp8SY   It's a highly selective program and a well-earned achievement for Vedika. Indiana University Research Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

We are excited to announce that Sahithi Vangala will be joining Project 990 as a summer intern. Sahithi was selected to participate in this project by IU's Vice Provost for Research via a competitive process through their Faculty Assistance in Data Science program. https://lnkd.in/gmPqp8SY   It's a highly selective program and a well-earned achievement for Sahithi. Indiana University Research Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

Whether you've only heard of Large Language Models (LLMs) in passing or you're a data scientist trying to explain LLMs to your supervisors, this LLM Cheat Sheet is a great resource. At Project 990, our top-tier data scientists (including Devna Ramesh, Varun Sreedhar, Pavan Anvesh, Diksha Adke, and others) are using LLMs daily to transform unstructured text data on millions of foundations and grantees to classify these entities and generate customized recommender models for foundation directors and nonprofit executives. Beyond being computationally fascinating, LLMs are transforming what's possible with data, and they can help you do your job more effectively and efficiently. https://lnkd.in/gjTgjCMN

Ever since Covid, an increasing number of civic organizations (e.g., schools, congregations, etc.) have begun live streaming their programming. This practice has really helped to increase engagement. However, . . . What often gets overlooked in such reporting is the percentage of organizations located in areas with unreliable, insufficient, or no broadband service. Yes, such places still exist and in many more areas than you’d think. Even in areas where high-speed internet service is available, not every household has broadband service. Yes, some people still use dial-up (or have nothing at all). To identify these broadband desert areas, Project 990 compiled, cleaned, and analyzed the data. Sai Teja Burla then combined all of the data and created this impressive interactive visualization. https://lnkd.in/gZewfrWq Although this broadband desert analysis focuses on congregations*, it could easily be applied to schools, libraries, and other civic organizations seeking to engage with the public online. *A special thanks to David King and Lake Institute on Faith & Giving for collaborating to create the map of congregations in the U.S. used in this analysis.

Ever since Covid, an increasing number of civic organizations (e.g., schools, congregations, etc.) have begun live streaming their programming. This practice has really helped to increase engagement. However, . . . What often gets overlooked in such reporting is the percentage of organizations located in areas with unreliable, insufficient, or no broadband service. Yes, such places still exist and in many more areas than you’d think. Even in areas where high-speed internet service is available, not every household has broadband service. Yes, some people still use dial-up (or have nothing at all). To identify these broadband desert areas, Project 990 compiled, cleaned, and analyzed the data. Sai Teja Burla then combined all of the data and created this impressive interactive visualization. https://lnkd.in/gZewfrWq Although this broadband desert analysis focuses on congregations*, it could easily be applied to schools, libraries, and other civic organizations seeking to engage with the public online. *A special thanks to David King and Lake Institute on Faith & Giving for collaborating to create the map of congregations in the U.S. used in this analysis.

We are excited to announce that Sahithi Vangala will be joining Project 990 as a summer intern. Sahithi was selected to participate in this project by IU's Vice Provost for Research via a competitive process through their Faculty Assistance in Data Science program. https://lnkd.in/gmPqp8SY   It's a highly selective program and a well-earned achievement for Sahithi. Indiana University Research Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering