Azavea is committed to working on socially redeeming projects that ask intriguing social questions. As part of this commitment, Azavea employees are able to spend their personal research time (approximately 10% of their time) on pro bono projects. Through these projects, we strengthen our ties to the community and share our geographic analytical expertise with new audiences. One of our recent pro bono projects involved cartographic representation of the reach and services of local nonprofit, MANNA.

Founded in January 1990 by members of the First Presbyterian Church, MANNA is the only non-profit, non-sectarian organization in Philadelphia, which provides freshly cooked, home-delivered meals prepared exclusively for the nutritional needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and has recently expanded their services to homebound people living with cancer. MANNA delivers more than 2,000 meals each day to clients living in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties as well as the New Jersey counties of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, and Delaware’s New Castle County. Azavea used MANNA’s database of customers, volunteers and supporters to create a series of maps highlighting the number of meals they serve, the number of people they assist and the geographic range of their services. These maps serve as a visual tool for MANNA to demonstrate the extent of their services and impact on the Greater Philadelphia region. Initially they were used to show volunteers and supporters the immense reach of the organization, but they have also been used in grant applications and public presentations.