American FactFinder, a data tool from the United States Census Bureau, is a rich source of population, housing, economic and geographic information that can be used to strengthen your grant proposal's statement of need.
In particular, the narrative profile report offers a "canned" explanation of Census community data that can be easily integrated into a needs statement. For example, in the narrative profile of Tulsa County, you not only get a chart that visually represents educational attainment of residents, but you also get this narrative explanation:
"In 2011, 26 percent of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 30 percent had a bachelor's degree or higher. Eleven percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school."
To access a complete narrative profile for your target community:
2. Go to "Advanced Search."
3. In the "Topic or Table" search box (left side) enter: NP01. In the "State, County, or Place" search box enter your location of choice.
4. From the results, select your desired report.
For more information on how to incorporate Census data into your grant proposals, check out these resources:
