USAFacts is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and website that provides data and reports on the United States population, its government's finances, and government's impact on society. It was launched in 2017.

History and background

USAFacts was founded by former

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

CEO and owner of the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American business magnate and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Associ ...

. Ballmer invested his own money in the project. USAFacts was launched on April 18, 2017

Tax Day In the United States, Tax Day is the day on which individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government. Since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on or just after April 15. Tax Day was first introduced in 1913, when th ...

, with the goal of making government data about tax revenues, expenditures, and outcomes more accessible and understandable. USAFacts's platform is designed to provide information to the public about government spending and impact at all levels, from federal to local. It includes information about border apprehensions, climate, immigration, active shooters, medicare, education, military spending and opioids. It also helps entrepreneurs to figure out the best location to launch or invest in businesses. At launch, the website gathered data from over 70 government agencies and pulls data from more than 130 US government statistical databases and reports. Only official government data is included in the site. In September 2018, USAFacts launched a new Voter Center. This compares government data with the positions members of Congress state publicly and shares information about education, healthcare, tariffs, jobs, immigration, economy, guns, etc. Partners of the Vote Center are Countable, BallotReady and TurboVote. In November 2018 USAFacts partnered with

GeekWire GeekWire is an American technology news website that covers startups and established technology companies. The site launched in March 2011 and is based in Seattle. It was founded by journalists Todd Bishop and John Cook with investment from Jona ...

, to produce the podcast Numbers Geek. In October 2019, USAFacts linked up with U.S. News & World Report. This provided an outlet to share their data in visual form and in the context of the relevant daily matters to and at the same time increasing U.S. News' 2020 election coverage. In November 2019, USAFacts in cooperation with AP-Norc, conducted a poll which showed that more than 50% of Americans glean their government-related news from social media, while only 11% would trust its correctness and 64% saw it as untrustworthy information. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, USAFacts launched its USAFacts COVID-19 impact and Recovery Hub. It uses information of government sources, the

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official economy of the United States, macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic ...

and the

Department of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

. On March 20, 2020, USAFacts announced its

Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

Hub and Map which gives a frequently updated metrics on the daily spread and effect of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

throughout America. In 2020, USAFacts partnered with the global nonprofit

Earth Day Network Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...

. President Poppy MacDonald testified in front of the

United States House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress was a select committee that was established by H.Res. 6 on January 4, 2019, and is tasked to investigate, study, make findings, hold public hearings, and develop recommendations to make ...

in an October 2021 hearing called Strengthening the Lawmaking Process: How Data Can Inform and Improve Policy. She urged the government for more datasets are timely, contextual and relevant to Americans, and the need for more cross-agency and cross-government collaboration.

Awards and recognition

In May 2020, USAFacts won the

2020 Webby Award The 2020 Webby Awards ceremony was posted online on May 19, 2020, and was hosted by Patton Oswalt. Named Webbys From Home, it recognized the best of Internet content. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the award ceremony was held virtually at the organi ...

for Government & Civil Innovation in the category Web. In August 2021,

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

named USAFacts 14th on its third-annual Best Workplaces for Innovators list.

References

External links

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2022 State of the Union in NumbersState of the EarthThe US 2022 Governments 10-K

POLITICO CEO Conversations
{{DEFAULTSORT:USAFacts Non-profit organizations based in the United States Demography Organizations established in 2017 American political websites Internet properties established in 2012 Fact-checking websites

History and background

Awards and recognition

See also

References

External links