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ASU Lodestar Center hosts 2019 West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference

Inside an auditorium, Robert Ashcraft, the executive director of the ASU Lodestar Center and the 2019 conference chair, stands on a stage giving a powerpoint presentation to an audience sitting at several circular tables. The powerpoint slide reads "2019 West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference, Welcome".

2019 West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference

 

April 29, 2019 (Phoenix, Ariz.) – The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation hosted the 2019 West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference on April 26-27 at Arizona State University's Downtown Phoenix campus , bringing together more than 70 scholars and students from across the country—and even from as far away as Scotland and Taiwan. The annual conference rotates between universities throughout the western U.S.

More than 40 presenters shared new research findings and projects about the nonprofit sector. They received valuable feedback from fellow attendees, who represented dozens of institutions and organizations. Conference attendees networked with colleagues, generated new ideas and left inspired to continue their critical work.

The conference opened on Friday afternoon with remarks from Robert Ashcraft, the executive director of the ASU Lodestar Center and the 2019 conference chair; Will Brown, director of the Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service, a collaborative sponsor of the conference; and Jonathan Koppell, dean of Arizona State University's Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

In a large room, several long tables face white boards and projection screens on the wall.Sitting at the tables are several professional dressed people with laptops, boxed lunches, and papers scattered around the tables.

2019 West Coast Nonprofit Data Conference

After a full Saturday of sessions, University of Arizona professor Joseph Galaskiewicz, who helped found the Data Conference in 2004, closed the event with a provocative presentation titled, “New Frontiers in Computational Sociology.” He challenged attendees to consider the potential limitations of analyzing data using only quantitative statistics (numbers), narratives (words) and/or visualization (images), as he called for the embracing of artificial intelligence modalities as a new frontier for researchers seeking new understanding of the phenomena under study.

The conference was organized with the help of the ASU School of Community Resources and Development, the ASU Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions, and Texas A&M University’s Center for Nonprofits & Philanthropy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Represented Institutions and Organizations

Arizona State University

  • Center for Organization Research and Design
  • College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
  • Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation
  • School of Community Resources and Development
  • School of Public Affairs
  • Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions

California State University Fullerton

Carleton University (Canada)

City University of New York

Indiana University

  • Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
  • O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

National Dong Hwa University (Taiwan)

North Carolina State University

Seattle University

Syracuse University

  • Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Texas A&M University

  • Bush School of Government and Public Service
  • Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy

University of Arizona

  • School of Government and Public Policy
  • Southwest Institute for Research on Women/School of Sociology

University of Chicago

  • National Opinion Research Center (NORC)

University of Florida

University of Maryland

University of Memphis

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of San Diego

  • The Nonprofit Institute

University of Southern California

  • Price School of Public Policy

University of Stirling (Scotland, UK)

University of Texas (Austin)

  • LBJ School of Public Affairs

University of Texas at Arlington

University of Washington

  • Evans School of Public Policy and Governance

Community Based Organizations and Consultants

  • Arizona State Parks
  • Classy (consulting firm)
  • DataLake Nonprofit Research
  • Foster Kinship