May 14, 2026
Central Carolina Community Foundation is undertaking a comprehensive Community Assessment to better understand the strengths, opportunities, and evolving needs across the Midlands.
Guided by the approach of “Listen, Analyze, Reflect, Apply,” this process will bring together community voices, public data, nonprofit perspectives, and Foundation insights to help shape future grantmaking, community leadership efforts, donor engagement, and partnerships.
Through this work, Central Carolina Community Foundation will serve as a resource for the region by producing regional and county-level reports that highlight key data, trends, and community perspectives gathered through the assessment.
The Community Assessment will take place from May – December 2026 in six phases, some of which run concurrently.
1: Gather Community Perspectives (May - June 2026)
The first phase focuses on listening directly to the people and organizations that make up our community. Through surveys of residents and nonprofit leaders, we will gather insights about community priorities, strengths, and areas where additional support may be needed.
This phase helps ensure the assessment reflects lived experiences from across the Midlands.
The resident and nonprofit leaders surveys are closed, and incentives have been distributed.
View Resident Survey Instrument
View Nonprofit Leaders Survey Instrument
2: Analyze Publicly Available Data (May - July 2026)
In this phase, the Foundation will review publicly available, quantitative data to better understand community conditions and trends. This includes demographic, economic, housing, health, education, and social indicators.
By combining community input with trusted data sources, we can identify both broad patterns and areas where challenges overlap or opportunities exist.
3: Facilitate Community Focus Groups (June 2026)
Focus groups will provide opportunities for deeper conversation and shared learning among residents, nonprofit leaders, and community stakeholders.
These discussions will help add context and nuance to survey findings and data analysis while ensuring diverse perspectives are represented throughout the process.
The Foundation is proud to partner with GOODSTOCK Consulting to facilitate the focus groups.
4: Understand the Foundation’s Position (June - July 2026)
The Foundation will examine its own organizational data to more deeply understand where resources are currently being invested and how those investments align with community priorities. A funder landscape analysis will also be done to understand the Foundation’s position in the broader ecosystem.
These analyses will help identify opportunities to strengthen impact, deepen partnerships, and align philanthropic resources with areas of greatest need and opportunity.
5: Reflect with Stakeholders (July - August 2026)
In this phase, Foundation staff and Board members will engage alongside community partners, nonprofit leaders, and other stakeholders to reflect on the findings across phases 1-4 and discuss emerging themes.
These conversations will help validate insights, identify priorities, and explore opportunities for collective action. By bringing together diverse perspectives from across the community and the Foundation, this phase will help ensure the assessment informs meaningful, community-centered decisions and strengthens partnerships across the Midlands.
The Foundation is proud to partner with Robin Waites Consulting to facilitate our internal reflections with staff.
6: Share and Apply Learnings (August - December 2026)
The final phase focuses on sharing key findings and applying insights across the Foundation and the broader community. The Foundation will engage community stakeholders in conversations about what was learned through the assessment process and what it means for the future of the Midlands.
Findings from the Community Assessment will help inform future grantmaking strategies, community leadership efforts, donor engagement, and collaborative initiatives. The Foundation also plans to share insights publicly to encourage transparency, strengthen partnerships, and support informed decision-making across the region.
By sharing what we learn and working together around shared priorities, the assessment can serve as a catalyst for collaboration and long-term community impact.
The Foundation is proud to partner with Megascope Data to build public facing data visualizations for the community assessment data.