Social Compact Launches Exciting New Online Tool in Washington, DC Through Support from the Citi Foundation

Social Compact announced today the launch of its Washington, DC-based ‘CityDNA,’ a new easy-to-use web-based system that will serve as a one-stop-shop for visualizing and analyzing local market data. CityDNA aims to help local governments, investors and community groups understand and respond to the unique market characteristics of their communities.

CityDNA is made possible through support from the Citi Foundation and marks a giant leap forward in the technical capacity available to stakeholders working toward sustainable community development in the District. "The Citi Foundation's support of Social Compact’s innovative technology will help Social Compact achieve its mission, which is to enable community development practitioners and private investors to drive investments and revitalization in underserved communities in Washington, DC, and ultimately throughout the United States," said Ron Guggenheimer, Global Director of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Global Transaction Services, Citi and Executive Vice Chairman of Social Compact.

Developed in partnership with Universal Mind, a cutting-edge web-design and data-management company, CityDNA allows both experts and novice users to easily create their own data solutions, including customizable reports, maps, charts and tables based on their queries about specific communities in the city.

"The launch of CityDNA today heralds the arrival of a new era of information-led development for our community development partners in Washington, DC. Local governments, investors and community development organizations--whatever their size and capacity--will now have access to the very best local market data and information management technology,” said Social Compact’s President and CEO, John Talmage. "Developing tailored, localized data solutions for attracting investment or responding to mortgage foreclosures will now take a matter of minutes rather than days or months,” says Talmage.

CityDNA, a resource for informing market stabilization and revitalization strategies, will store a multitude of data including comprehensive real estate information provided by First American CoreLogic Inc.

"We are delighted to continue our long-standing support of Social Compact with the launch of CityDNA today. CityDNA will collect data generated by First American CoreLogic and is the perfect platform for the community development field to respond to the current real estate challenges and opportunities in Washington, DC,” said Karen Collins, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at First American Corporation.

The Washington, DC-based CityDNA hosts a wealth of information, including:

• A comprehensive database of neighborhood economic indicators resulting from Social Compact’s 2007 citywide DrillDown neighborhood market analysis;
• The recently-completed 2009 District-wide Business Environment Scan assessing the presence and health of the District’s small businesses; and
• A wealth of indicators pertaining to the District’s housing market, including foreclosures, market sales, home values and more.

Social Compact is a coalition of national business leaders committed to catalyzing investment in underserved urban neighborhoods. CityDNA marks a major step towards achieving this mission. The Washington, DC-based CityDNA, followed by Miami, FL, will pioneer the next generation of data tools designed to support sustainable community development. Social Compact plans to expand CityDNA to other cities later this year.

The Washington, DC-based CityDNA launch is marked by an introduction and training session for local District partners to be held Friday, March 12, 2010 from 9:30am to 12:30pm at the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership, 1495 F Street, NW. Among the attendees are representatives from the District Department of Small and Local Business Development, the District Office of Planning, Enterprise Community Partners, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Citi.

The Washington, DC-based CityDNA will be made available to a select pool of registered users. For a nominal monthly fee, additional users can gain access to the tool. For more information on how to access Social Compact’s CityDNA, please contact Carolina Valencia, Director of Research at 202-547-2581 or cvalencia@socialcompact.org.

Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving on its priority focus areas: Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, Education, and Financial Education and Asset Building. In the United States and Canada, the Citi Foundation also supports Community Development programs. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance and Microenterprise, Small and Growing Businesses, and Community Development to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

Social Compact

Social Compact, launched in 1990, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of business leaders from across the country committed to promoting successful investment in lower-income communities. Working in close partnership with community and corporate leaders over the past decade and a half, Social Compact has successfully pioneered its unique "DrillDown” methodology as an accepted analysis of inner-city markets based on accurate, business-oriented profiles of "emerging” neighborhood markets. Drawing on business disciplines and community strength, these DrillDown profiles have a strong track record of catalyzing sustainable, private investment, benefiting communities and businesses alike.

To date, Social Compact has conducted DrillDowns in 20 cities across the country and has consistently found these communities to be larger, safer and with far greater buying power than previously thought. Cumulatively, Social Compact has identified: an aggregate household income $35 billion (22%) higher than census trend projections; 350,000 more households than census trend projections; and 1.25 million more residents than census trend projections.

For more information on Social Compact, please visit our website: www.socialcompact.org.

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