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Nonprofit organizations are leaders in efforts to create healthy communities. To effectively perform this important work, they need the same tools and capabilities as governments and commercial enterprises. A new program sponsored by Esri makes ArcGIS software and support resources available to qualifying nonprofit organizations that are working on environmental or humanitarian iniatitives.
GIS has long been used by nonprofits and other organizations to promote healthy communities. It is being used in support of healthy communities on scales from local to global. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases. Cutting in half the number of people who lack access to improved drinking water and sanitation is one of the United Nations-sponsored Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
This goal is being realized through a project that helps improve access to clean drinking water in Mayange and other communities across sub-Saharan Africa. Two professors from the University of Redlands in California, Max Baber and Katherine Noble-Goodman, and a group of students mapped water sources and collected water use data using GIS and GPS. This information will improve the health of communities in this area.
Esri was originally founded as a nonprofit. Although Esri later became a private company because the commercial model provided a better way for developing professional GIS tools, a passion for helping society and the environment remain core company values. Through a variety of grant programs, Esri has donated many millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations, many of them nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), in the form of software, training, consulting, and project support.
"We have always provided our software to NGOs around the world," said Jack Dangermond, president of Esri. "We want geospatial technology to be available to NGOs of all types so they can build their own data, use government data, and be more active participants in maintaining the health of our planet."
The program, which includes ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Server, and enterprise license agreement options, provides single-seat licenses of ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Desktop extensions, ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS Server extensions, and community and self-help support to eligible organizations. Visit esri.com/nonprofit for additional information.
