Community Needs Assessment

The 2015 Assessment of Needs and Priorities in Clark and Floyd Counties has highlighted our area’s greatest needs, the highest priorities for funding, as well as the gaps and overlaps in services and in funding. This report will help the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana focus our grant making from the unrestricted Community Endowment Fund to directly address the greatest needs of our region as identified by our community’s residents, businesses and community leaders, and nonprofit service providers.

Top Priority Areas

Priorities tend to be things that people value and think are important.

1. Safety, security and civility
2. Meeting the basic needs of our community members
3. Opportunities for education and enrichment across the life course
4. Clean and safe environment
5. Meaningful work and broadly shared economic security

Top Needs

Needs are those areas where the largest number of respondents indicate that the community does not perform well, and more needs to be done to address these areas.

1. Financial security
2. Care for the homeless
3. Care for the mentally ill
4. Education and skills to build and attract strong businesses that provide living wage jobs
5. Living wage jobs

Three Overall Goals

The three overall goals (below) bring together the top priorities that need more attention. These goals reflect the highest overall priorities identified in the region combined with those areas where the largest number of respondents indicated the community does not perform well:

1. Meet the basic needs of community members, particularly the homeless and the mentally ill.
2. Build a qualified work force to attract good jobs by supporting education and enrichment across the life course.
3. Sustainably develop the economy to provide meaningful work and broadly shared economic security through living wage jobs and a clean and safe environment.

Download the Community Needs Assessment

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