Miscellaneous Tools and Tips

I also found a great article by Phil Rabinowitz (Ed. Bill Berkowitz).  It tackles just about everything you might want to know about why and how to use GIS technology.  It can give you a good idea about how much effort you want to put into your maps.

What is GIS?
Why would you use GIS?
When would you use GIS?
Who should use GIS?
How do you use GIS?


Visit the Community Toolbox for answers: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/MainSection3.16.aspx

or visit Map Together's "The Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and Online Mapping" http://maptogether.org/sites/default/files/images/MapTogether-NPGIS-v.0.99.pdf
(Yes there are cartoons)

Did you check out a bunch of websites, see what looked like alphabet soup and get discouraged?  Don’t worry.  Esri hosts an online dictionary to help you wade through the jargon http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/Gisdictionary/browse.  PS.  If you are using Esri tools and are highly confused then you didn’t buy a beginner’s guide to GIS systems!  Hard copies will be much more useful than closing your eyes and hoping for the best (unless you decide to hire someone else to program for you).

Trying out ArcGIS from ESRI

View Larger Map


With Arc GIS you can differentiate between types of landmarks.  Landmark categories are not very inclusive, but they do allow a fair amount of info to be input into the pop-ups.

The map is both interactive and highly informative, but requires more effort than Google Fusion.  I have not found any way to plot tables of info without manually inputting each point (note: it is implied that this is possible if you buy the software rather than use the free download).

Embedding your map is simple (but slightly counter-intuitive).  First you must search the arcGIS site for your map (I suggest using keywords from you map’s title).  Next you need to open the map in the arcGIS.com viewer.  From there you can click the “share” button and the “personal website” button that follows.  The necessary html code should appear in a box.  Copy it and insert it into your blog/website.

Save often!  I accidently exited from the online version’s window and lost all the changes I made.  Just because it appears on the map doesn’t mean it’s saved!

If you are looking for more powerful mapping tools, arcGIS is your best bet.  It is more complicated than Google Fusion, but there's a lot you can do with it.  I recommend buying a beginner's book before trying to conquer the intricacies of GIS mapping.  I recommend the following book, but there are a variety of users guides available online.

Google Fusion Tables

Have you ever wondered where HandsOn Network operates?

This is a simple Map of HandsOn Affiliates made using Google Fusion Tables

Google Fusion Tables is by far the easiest tool I've tried.  It works especially well if you have a lot of data that you want to plot.

 Step 1: Create a table (I cheated and exported one from Salesforce, you can too!). 

Step 2:  Make sure this table has labeled columns.  Mine included “Billing Cities” and “addresses.” Google   uses the billing cities as the site location in order to plot the map.  Google layered my data over existing Google Maps so there is no need to map your entire community before attempting to create this map.  The columns without plotting data will appear on the scroll-over pop-ups so make sure to include any information you want viewers to know.  You will need to go back into the table format to hide any columns you don’t want viewers to see.

           Note: If you want the location of your plotted variables to be more exact then include as much address information as possible in ONE column (the other columns will appear in text format as you scroll over the plotted dots).  

Step 3: To provide a link to your creation look above the top right corner of the map (below your account options).  There is a button that says “get Link.”  This will give you a link to your map.  It will NOT upload the map to your website.  To do that you must share the map or buy a license.  I suggest sharing the map.  Next to the “get Link” button there is a “share” button.  Click it and change options to public.   

Step 4: Copy the “Get embeddable link” code and post it to your webpage.  Know whether you or not your website can interpret the code itself or if you need a software engineer to administer changes (most cloud websites will interpret the code and post the map rather than the string of code that you copied)

There are options for you to change the map markers, layer additional data sets, or edit your original table.

GIS Tools: Software that makes non-profits into cartographers- no B.A. required!

Example map ideas for non-profits :

·         Social services in the community you serve

·         Partner and potential partner organizations

·         Regional demographics

·         Calculate the density of aid recipients vs service locations in their areas

·         Calculate the density of receivers of aid vs. volunteers

·         When expanding your organization, use GIS for community needs assessments

·         Use GIS to determine community assets

·         Monitor Crime data to provide support to much needed neighborhood

·         Let individuals who are typically reticent to self-report abuse (great for educational and justice campaigns!)

There are many free tools available.  Those which are not free often provide discounts for non-profits and NGOs.  Layering datasets onto area maps gives your projects a professional look. 

You can use readily available archives to create your maps (www.policymap.org , www.dataplace.org, www.arcgis.com , www.geocommons.com , www.nonprofitgis.org).  This allows small firms to create maps without hiring expensive contractors or maintenance staff- or just use resources as a jumping off point.