I was recently asked for a “Top 10″ list of data sets that might be used in a project with Jute. While there is no “one size fits all” of data sets, I thought it’d be good to compile a list of links that helps someone get started. Most projects end up combining 2-4 data sets, so it’s seldom that all of those can be identified ahead of time. It’s also important to remember that most organizations have not just an internal database, but email address books and social software accounts like LinkedIn–all of which are databases.
So, this list isn’t perfect and it isn’t complete–but it should be a good starting point.
Feel free to comment if you have any questions about a specific type of data set that is not listed here. I’ll get back to you…
Blackbaud’s ResearchPoint service culls together a variety of data points on individuals and helps you see not only there giving history, but also critical information like net worth.
Foundation Center Online A compiled list of grants and granting institutions.
NOZA Search Data pulled from across the web on major donors to non-profits, sorted by sector, location and a variety of other attributes.
Charity Navigator’s “Charities performing similar types of work” feature would be helpful on certain projects.
Guidestar A well known data provider for donors and non-profits.
Dunn & Bradstreet / Hoovers The 800 lb gorilla of databases, D&B provides a huge range of data about companies, markets, industries and even individuals.
VentureDeal.com Tracks the deals that take place in the venture capital space around North America. Good balance of accuracy and economics at $25 / month.
The Director’s Database A database of corporate governance.
Dow Jones Factiva
FollowTheMoney.org (National Institute on Money in State Politics) Tracks political donations and money flowing through lobbyists in all 50 states. Allows users to see which lobbyist represents which clients. [API]
OpenSecrets.org Provides a variety of data points focused on exposing the role money plays in political influence. Available for personal use or for purchase. [API]
Data.gov As part of the Obama Administration’s plan to make government more transparent, they have created this site to open up unclassified government data. Currently, there’s only 597 data sets, but it grows every day. Hoping to find a history of the Toxic Release Inventory in American Somoa? Data.gov is for you…
LittleSis.org “We bring transparency to influential social networks by tracking the key relationships of politicians, corporate executives, lobbyists, financiers, and their affiliated organizations.” [API]
iWave Prospect Research Online Aggregates ZoomInfo, NOZA, Guidstar, High Net Worth Alert, HEP GiftsPlus, Prospects of Welth, Foundation Finder and Pro Data. I’ve never used this service, but it looks very promising. If it really does provide all that for a $3k subscription, it’s a great deal! (Interestingly enough…they have a caveat that their service is available exclusively to not-for-profit purposes.)
StrikeIron has created web services out of a range of popular data products, ranging from address verification to business intelligence / market research data.
WealthEngine Aggregates regulatory data, voluntarily reported data and statistically modeled data to provide a view of an individual’s habits, interests and resources.
DBpedia Converts Wikipedia into a database, which allows for interesting things like seeing the connections between Presidents and their Cabinets. (And the million other interesting things you can find in Wikipedia…)
Datamob.org Datamob highlights the connection between public data sources and the interfaces people are building for them.
InfoChimps.org An “open marketplace for data” where people access huge data sets and obscure data sets: from corporate reporting to the top 100k crossword puzzle words of all time, you can find almost any type of data here.
Swivel.com Web community of data enthusiasts who create many types of chart / graph visualizations for the data sets they submit.
It’s important to remember that some of the best data comes from local and / or localized data sources. Chamber of Commerce directories, business council directories member-based organization directories (think: churches) and alumni databases can all be very valuable in expanding your network.
Another incredible set of data that is too diverse to list here is Industry Trade Association data sets. Whether it’s the rubber industry or the Green Building Council, getting access to the key players and their association’s local, regional and national structures will benefit your network data by leaps and bounds.
Trust Networks’s wiki of networked data sets. (Awesome list!)