About the Project

The Mid–Hudson Valley Community Profiles project represents a commitment by three of the region’s leading philanthropic organizations to provide the public with continuously updated comparative information regarding Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties. The project is designed to provide government and nonprofits with an important new tool for assessing and understanding the populations they serve.

The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, the Dyson Foundation, and the United Way of the Dutchess–Orange Region jointly commissioned the Center for Government Research (CGR) to collect and analyze the data and maintain the website. With input from local health and human service providers, the three organizations selected 50 indicators within the following fields to be included on the site: Children & Youth, Community Engagement, Demographics, Economy, Education, Financial Stability, Health, and Housing.

This website provides an “apples–to–apples” understanding of regional trends and comparative information that had been difficult to obtain in the past because of variations in how each county reports certain types of information. The site enables organizations to track community conditions, develop programs, and affect change that will ultimately contribute to the well–being of citizens in the Mid–Hudson Valley.

Some of the comprehensive features included on this site are:

• One regional profile section that includes charts, data tables, and analysis of the three–county region (Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster) based on a consistent set of 50 indicators.
• Three separate community profile sites (Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster) that include charts, data tables, and analysis specific to each individual county with comparisons to the region.
• Key trends analysis for the eight main fields for each of the four community profile sites.
• A summary report compiling key trends for each of the four profile sites.
• Demographic indicators, including total population, age of population, population by race and ethnicity, and household type for each of the four profile sites.
• Regular updating of indicator data, charts, and analysis, as well as county and regional summaries.
• The ability for users to export data into a CSV format such as Excel.

Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley’s mission is to strengthen our communities by offering donors the means to establish charitable legacies, by making grants, and by providing leadership to address community needs in a manner that is responsible, responsive and lasting. The Foundations currently administer more than 450 charitable funds established by donors who primarily live in Dutchess, Putnam and Ulster counties. Since the Community Foundations’ inception, through its affiliates the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, Community Foundation of Ulster County, and Community Foundation of Putnam County, more than $16 million in grants and scholarships have been awarded in our communities.

Dyson Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation headquartered in Dutchess County and directed by the Dyson family under the leadership of Foundation President Robert R. Dyson. The Dyson Foundation focuses on improving and enhancing the quality of life in the Mid–Hudson Valley region for all of its residents, especially those most vulnerable or economically disadvantaged.

United Way of the Dutchess–Orange Region is one of the area’s premier community–impact organizations, serving as a resource and convener to help increase community capacity to meet community needs. Its mission is to build a stronger, healthier community by raising resources and developing partnerships to make a measurable difference in people’s lives. More than 50,000 county residents each year rely on a United Way funded program, partnership or initiative for assistance.

The Center for Governmental Research was founded in 1915 by George Eastman as a bureau of municipal research in Rochester, N.Y. to serve as an “independent, non–partisan agency for keeping citizens informed.”  Today, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with offices in Rochester and Albany, CGR’s activities focus on issues that affect the quality of life in communities both inside and outside of New York State.