OREANDA-NEWS. Changemakers around the globe are discovering data is a powerful ally in their effort to create a better world. Tableau Software, working through the Tableau Foundation, is helping to accelerate change by making free licenses of its powerful visual analytics software to small non-profits, NGOs, and charitable community-based organizations in 192 countries. The company has also created the Tableau Service Corps, a volunteer network of Tableau employees who are eager to help non-profits see and understand their data.

"We started the Tableau Foundation with a mission to encourage the use of facts and analytical reasoning to solve the world's problems," said Neal Myrick, Director, Social Impact at Tableau. "By removing the barriers to entry, small non-profits can better manage programs, tell impactful stories, or increase the effectiveness of fundraising efforts through data."

Data can have enormous value to these organizations, enabling them to increase transparency and accountability, expand their relationships with funders, discover new trends in their programs, and tell more powerful stories about their communities.

Tableau Desktop is drag-and-drop software that helps people to analyze and answer questions with data in real-time. Results can be shared with other Tableau Desktop users through the free Tableau Reader, or posted online with Tableau Public.

The Tableau Service Corps is a volunteer network of Tableau employees who are eager to help non-profits see and understand their data. Regardless of organization size, a non-profit can request help on a data-focused project from one of the many volunteers listed on the Tableau Service Corps website. While separate initiatives, the two programs are launched simultaneously so that any non-profit can use Tableau software and have access to experts who can help make the most of it.

The Global Journal estimates that there are approximately 10 million non-profits and NGOs globally, and a 2013 Johns Hopkins University study projects that 7.4 percent of the global workforce is involved in non-profit work. However, few organizations are harnessing the vast volumes of data that exist in and around their work.

This announcement also fulfills the commitment that Tableau made to the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data in October 2015. At the launch event, Tableau pledged to make its business intelligence software available to small organizations in all non-embargoed countries to promote inclusiveness and data driven development in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

To qualify for the software donation, organizations must be recognized as a charitable institution in their home country and have an annual operating budget under USD $5 million. Organizations of any size can request volunteers through the Tableau Service Corps.