Case Study

Ability Central Licenses GC Insights Nonprofit Data to Power Nationwide Disability Resources Directory

Learn how the leading philanthropy for communications disabilities harnessed a GC Insights custom dataset to create a new online tool transforming information access for disability communities.

Ability Central is the philanthropic wing of the California Communications Access Foundation. Its goal is to expand communication and information access for people with disabilities.

The Ability Central grants program distributes grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 with more than $1M available annually. Ability Central has recently expanded its activities beyond grantmaking. It now offers technical support to other nonprofits working to help people who are Deaf or disabled.

It also provides online information and resources for people with questions about disabilities and communication access.

Problem:

Ability Central wanted to expand their national database of nonprofit service providers supporting the more than 61 million Americans who are Deaf, disabled, or neurodiverse. However, collecting and organizing information on these nonprofits from the IRS and other online sources manually is time consuming and expensive.

Solution:

  • Ability Central licensed a custom curated dataset from GC Insights to power their Service Locator.
  • The dataset includes information from the IRS on more than 3,000 nonprofits providing services to people with disabilities and their caregivers - including address, focus area, NTEE code, website url, revenue and more.
  • As part of the license, GC Insights provides regular updates to the dataset ensuring the most up to date information is available to the Ability Central team and Portal users.

See the Ability Central Portal's Service Locator here.

Results:

  • Ability Central saved over 660 hours of manual work seeking information on over 3,000 nonprofits related to disabilities in each state to centralize information in a resource portal.
  • Over 3,000 nonprofit organizations serving people with disabilities now have greater reach with new visibility through the online portal.
  • Ability Central will use GC Insights insights to understand service gaps and share with advocacy organizations and policymakers to create additional access to those in need.

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Released on Q3 2022

"Whether technology provides a lifeline for people with disabilities or isolates them further often depends on easy access to practical information and support [...] Our first-of-its-kind disability site cuts through the hours of wasted effort to help people discover the best technology for their needs, connect with community resources, and share news and information."

Matt Cherry
Director of Philanthropy, Ability Central

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