Does Your Nonprofit Need (free) Help from A Data Scientist?

This map is one of a series of 80 global maps describing the state of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats.  It is the result of a collaborative data and data visualization project undertaken by the Nature Conservancy scientists,  working with governments, scientists and conservation organizations around the world.   They are displayed here using new data visualization tool called Google Fusion Tables technology.  I discovered while browsing through the gallery wondering if any of this technology was within the reach of nonprofits.
Google Fusion Tables was one of several tools mentioned in this blog post, “Data for Good:  A Beginner’s Guide for Nonprofits and Social Ventures.”   And while it is true that the tools are low cost and somewhat easy to use, not every nonprofit has those capacities within the organization.    A few months ago, I wrote a post called “Help, My Nonprofit Needs A Data Nerd and Where To Find Them,”   so ever since been looking for more resources where nonprofits can find and work with a data scientist.   Here’s two:
Sumall Foundation:  SumAll.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to doing social good by analyzing data.  Their mission is to provide better data and analysis to gauge the success and impact of a social effort and how to improve.   The foundation — a non-profit entity that’s part of cloud-analytics startup SumAll and funded with a portion of the company’s venture capital investment — is gathering data on specific issues and trying to raise awareness of the problems and highlight some possible solutions. In the process, it hopes to help the non-profits in those spaces understand why they should use data and how they can make the best use of it.   Here’s more about what they do and they are actively looking for nonprofit partners.
Making Sense of Your Data Course:  If your nonprofit needs more help analyzing your datasets,  Professor Bill Howe at the University of Washington is inviting organizations of all types – small businesses, nonprofits, and research labs, to name a few – to join his massively open online course, Introduction to Data Science, in order to connect with students from all over the world in a collective pursuit of data mastery.   More about the project and this opportunity to get free help with your data over at the GuideStar Blog.
Is your organization working with a volunteer or consultant to improve its capacity to use and apply data?