The Piton Foundation, as part of Gary Community Investments, has always been committed to supporting children and families by fostering community and providing youth and early childhood developmental opportunities. Community Facts launched in 2004 to provide individuals and organizations with free neighborhood-level data about Denver-area neighborhoods, communities and families.

An updated version of Community Facts launched in early 2015 and is the first web-based application using expanded geographic reach provided by Shift Research Lab. The website is powered by the Colorado Data Engine and provides neighborhood-level data for the Denver metro area’s seven counties. By employing census-level data and analysis, community change initiatives can be better supported for community organizations, researchers and direct service providers.

In building the Community Facts tool, functionality and ease of use were pivotal to the success of the tool, and to supporting the legacy created by the Piton Foundation. Always shareable URLs (a fully-stated web application) allow users to share a direct link to the specific data set they’re looking at. Census-level data provides a greater depth of information for the community, and all data is geo-coded based on location and pulled from an API created by the Colorado Data Engine. Users can access the single set of information they need by utilizing the map view of the website or they can compare multiple indicators across different locations.

Providing access to opportunities and information is the core of The Piton Foundation. With a newly updated Community Facts tool and philanthropic community efforts (including tax help and health coverage outreach), The Piton Foundation is always working for Colorado’s children.