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Data & Insights

Local data, community perspectives, and nonprofit insights to help inform decisions and strengthen the Midlands.

A stronger community starts with shared understanding. We bring together local data, nonprofit insights, and community perspectives to help people better understand the Midlands and make informed decisions. Whether you are planning a new initiative, investing in a cause, or simply learning more about our region, these resources provide a trusted starting point.

Nonprofit Perspectives

As part of our comprehensive 2026 Community Assessment, we surveyed nonprofit leaders in the Midlands about their perspectives on Midlands' residents experiences, their organization's strengths and challenges, and what are our region's strengths and opportunities.

Survey results will be released as part of the Community Assessment rollout.

2026 Midlands Nonprofit Survey Questionnaire

The 2025 Midlands Nonprofit Survey found that demand for nonprofit services continues to outpace organizational capacity, even as many organizations report declining income. It also identifies the community issues nonprofits see as most pressing—including affordable housing, mental health, and food insecurity—providing valuable insights for donors, nonprofits, policymakers, and community leaders.

2025 Midlands Nonprofit Survey Results

2025 Midlands Nonprofit Survey Questionnaire

Community Perspectives

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.

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. Survey results will be made available soon.

2026 Midlands Resident Survey Questionnaire

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.

18 focus groups were conducted with 159 residents and nonprofit and municipal leaders across the Midlands, in partnership with GOODSTOCK Consulting to facilitate the focus groups.

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.

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.

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.

Founded in 1984, Central Carolina Community Foundation connects and mobilizes people and resources to strengthen our community. We partner with donors to support nonprofits, equip students, advance collaborative solutions, and inspire giving across the Midlands and beyond.