In 2002, The Delta Strategy and Heart of West Michigan United Way collaborated to develop shared community indicators for Kent County and the Grand Rapids community.  The two organizations facilitated an in-depth process in which over 15 lead organizations and representatives from another 50 organizations participated to identify a set of shared community indicators. 

These indicators categorize goals for the community into five major sections.  These sections include Health and Well-being; Safe homes and neighborhoods; Economic Well-being; Education and Development; and Community Decision-making, Fellowship, and Inclusion.  For each goal set forth, statistics have been developed that allow us to determine whether the goal is being achieved.

The Grand Rapids Community Foundation and Grand Valley State University have joined forces to create the Community Research Institute (CRI), which is housed in the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.  Since 2002, the CRI has continued to partner with The Delta Strategy to provide a yearly update regarding these community indicators.

In 2005, the process continued and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership displays, as a service, the data that make up the indicators at their website (http://www.cridata.org/indicators/sharedindicators/index.html) for use by the community and the nonprofit organizations working to improve the Grand Rapids community.

The 2005 indicators developed by The Delta Strategy for Kent County and the Grand Rapids area are reproduced here in black lettering.  The Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) has added to these statistics similar and comparable data for Muskegon County and the Muskegon urban area.  The information produced by AWRI is included in the following tables using red lettering.

Download PDF of potential indicators for Muskegon compared to Kent

Source: http://www.cridata.org/indicators/sharedindicators/index.html