Understanding the local community served by the social enterprise and local competing organizations is essential to strategic planning.  The databases listed below can be used for local research and nonprofit research.

Depending on the focus of the organization you are consulting for and the scope of your engagement, many other library subscription databases not listed here will be helpful.  For example if your team is consulting for an organization that provides psychological services, the PsycInfo database will be helpful.  Similarly if your consulting project involves services to formerly incarcerated people, searching the databases focused on criminal justice or counseling may be beneficial.   Use the Databases A-Z  "More Options" to find relevant databases or ask a librarian for tips on which databases to use and how to search them.

Community Profiles

  ESRI Business Analyst Online  Tutorial  Access Instructions
Provides geographic analysis tools. Includes demographic, consumer spending, and business data.
Access courtesy of the Department of Geography & the Environment.

  Social Explorer
Provides access to demographic reports by geography

  PolicyMap  Tutorial
Offers a tool for mapping and analyzing U.S. national data on a wide variety of topics including education, income, employment, public health, crime, housing, transit, and more. Researchers can conduct demographic and socioeconomic analyses on a variety of geographic levels, from the national level to the neighborhood census block group as well as custom regions. Time series data covers 2000 to present.

Nonprofits & Grants Databases

  Chronicle of Philanthropy
Provides news and information for executives of tax-exempt organizations as well as fundraisers, professional employees of foundations, institutional investors, corporate grantmakers, and charity donors. Along with news, it offers such service features as lists of grants, fundraising ideas and techniques, statistics, and reports on tax and court rulings. Coverage goes back to 2015.

  Foundation Directory Online Professional (Foundation Center)
Offers information on foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking charities. Grantmaker profiles include private and independent foundations, corporate foundations, U.S. federal funders, public charities, and international foundations.

  GuideStar Pro
Provides detailed information about nonprofit organizations including IRS Form 990 with financial statements. Also offers self-reported information about programs and activities.
Partially funded by Villanova School of Business.

social enterprise associations

Listed here are associations directly related to supporting social enterprise. Professional associations focused on specific industries or services can be found by scanning industry reports.

  B Lab
A nonprofit that certifies B (benefit) corporations by evaluating social and environmental impact. Offers standards, guidelines and data on B corporations.

  Society for Nonprofits
Professional organization for nonprofits that offers a services directory, job postings and practice oriented articles.

Schwab Foundation

local news

  Access World News (NewsBank)  Tutorial
Provides full text access to national and international newspaper articles and radio and television news transcripts. Many newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, offer full-image “page view” format. Includes user-friendly subject browse feature, as well as full text searchability. Coverage varies.

  Factiva (Dow Jones)
Provides access to international, national and local news sources. Many different news media such as newspapers, magazines, wires, blogs and transcripts are aggregated in English and foreign languages. The content is current and archival. Industry, company and market profiles are also provided.

  Regional Business News (EBSCO)
Provides full text coverage of regional business publications including journals, newspapers, and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.

  Philadelphia Business Journal (American City Business Journals)  Limitations on Use  Access Instructions
Local business news beyond the Philadelphia metro area too.

Local business directories

  Reference USA (Data Axel)
Provides directories for US & Canadian businesses, healthcare professionals, US & Canadian individuals. Supports searching for consumer lifestyle interests and demographic characteristics. Offers a job/internship module.

  D&B Hoovers
Offers public and private company and industry information including company profiles, market research reports from Marketline, Freedonia, Euromonitor, and RMA updated with recent news, executive profiles, and analyst reports.

  Nexis Uni  Limitations on Use
Formerly known as LexisNexis Academic. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.

  Mergent Online  Limitations on Use
Provides detailed financial statements for U.S. and international public and private companies, including SEC filings and current and historical annual reports for U.S. and international public companies. Data can be downloaded in a variety of formats. Also includes country profiles.

best Practice Books

The library has many ebooks on best practices related to nonprofit and social enterprise managment, strategic planning, volunteer recruitment, governance, fundraising and many other topics.  

  Books & Media