Results of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute Regional Mapping Project for Cherokee County were presented at the Cherokee FOCUS collaborative meeting held on Friday November 19th at the Canton First United Methodist Church in Canton. The church is located just off hwy. 575 and Exit 16. The meeting began at 9:00am and ran until 11:00am to allow for discussion of findings.
In 2010, Cherokee FOCUS worked with The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute to help them with their Regional Data Mapping Pilot Project. Six Partnering organizations collaborated on an initiative to learn more about the assets and needs of nonprofit organizations in Cherokee County. They were the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Families First, Kaiser Permanente, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. The results of this survey will help these organizations prioritize resources for addressing community issues specific to our County.
In February of 2010, representatives from The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute came to the FOCUS collaborative meeting and conducted focus group meetings with 48 non-profit representatives from Cherokee County. In May, the project facilitators conducted both personal and phone interviews with local community leaders to get their thoughts and feedback on issues concerning the children and families of Cherokee County. Also in May, non-profit providers of children and family support services were emailed an online survey by Cherokee FOCUS that went directly to Georgia Tech for the Regional Data Mapping Project.
Butts, Clayton and Rockdale counties were also a part of this regional project. Butts county was the first county to participate in the focus groups, one-on-one interviews and non-profit survey.
