Mid-Hudson Valley Community Profiles Website

POUGHKEEPSIE—Three of the Mid-Hudson Valley’s leading philanthropic organizations have commissioned the respected Center for Government Research (CGR) to create a website that will host comparative information about Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties, providing government and nonprofits throughout the region with an important new tool for assessing and understanding the populations they serve.

The Dyson Foundation, United Way of Dutchess County, and the Community Foundation serving Dutchess, Ulster, and Putnam Counties announced this week that they will jointly commit up to $54,000 per year for the next five years in order to commission CGR to create and maintain the new website, which should become operational early in 2011. The three organizations, with input from local health and human service providers, selected 50 indicators within the following fields to be represented on the site: children and youth, community engagement, demographics, education, financial self-sufficiency, and culture/tourism.  

“This innovative new website will provide an apples-to-apples understanding of regional trends and comparative information that has been difficult to obtain in the past because of variations in how each county reports certain types of information,” said Michell Speight, Program Director for the Dyson Foundation. “We are pleased to be collaborating with the Community Foundation and the United Way to offer this service, particularly because this has been a goal of many of Dutchess County’s human services agencies for several years.”

“The Community Foundation is pleased to join the Dyson Foundation and United Way on this significant project.  Through our support of the Community Indicators website, we will provide organizations the ability to track community conditions, develop programs and affect change that will contribute to the well-being of citizens in the Hudson Valley,” said Andrea Reynolds, President of the Community Foundation serving Dutchess, Ulster and Putnam counties.

 “Along with the Dyson Foundation, the Community Foundation and CGR we are pleased to bring this information to the community, nonprofit partners and residents,” said Anne M. Beaulieu, CEO and President of United Way of Dutchess County. “Knowing more about our area will help us celebrate and make use of our strengths and address areas for growth. Working together – collaboratively – nonprofits, government and other sectors will improve lives.”

• One regional profile website that will include charts, data tables, and analysis of the three-county region (Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster).
• Three separate community profile websites (Dutchess, Orange and Ulster) to include charts, data tables, and analysis specific to the individual county with comparisons to the region.
• Four complete community profiles (region, plus three individual county profiles) based upon a consistent set of 50 indicators.
• Key Trends analysis for the six main fields (e.g. education) for each of the four community profile websites.
• Summary Report compiling key trends for each of the four profile websites.
• Demographic indicators, including total population, age of population, population by race and ethnicity, and household type, for each of the four profile websites.
• Regular updating of indicator data, charts, and analysis, as well as county and regional summaries.