About Us

HARC (Health Assessment and Research for Communities) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Palm Desert, California. Founded in 2006, HARC provides research and evaluation services. As HARC’s mission states, HARC is a nonprofit that advances quality of life by helping community leaders use objective research and analysis to turn data into action.

HARC’s expertise is in the social determinants of health. This is the concept that your health depends on where you live, work, learn, and play. A community cannot be truly healthy unless it has a strong educational system, well-paying jobs available, safe and secure housing, and opportunities for individuals to thrive and grow. HARC’s data services are designed to help organizations address these issues so that everyone in the community can live a happy, healthy life.

HARC’s Coachella Valley Health Survey

HARC was initially founded to provide local health data for the Coachella Valley region of Southern California. HARC continues to conduct a community-wide survey of the health of the region every three years. The survey covers a wide variety of health and well-being topics, such as health access, utilization, behaviors, major disease, mental health, and more. Results are provided back to the community at no charge. Results are provided in the form of a written Executive Report, an online searchable database, and a series of special reports and data briefs on topics of interest.

The data that HARC provides in the Coachella Valley Health Survey are used by nonprofits, hospitals, higher education, K-12 education, governmental agencies, and media organizations, among others. These organizations use the information to apply for funding, create presentations/lectures, prioritizing health needs, developing programs to address those needs, writing articles, designing and conducting trainings, and making/changing policy.

The triennial survey helps many nonprofits to make their case for funding and to successfully secure funding for critically-needed programs and services. Organizations who use HARC’s data to support their requests for funding bring in millions each survey cycle. For example, our stakeholder surveys of data users show:

2016 Survey: Local organizations brought in over $1.5 million in the first year since the results were released (January 31, 2017 to February 2018). Many organizations continue to use this data, as it’s the most recent data, and thus, this number will continue to grow.
2013 Survey: Local organizations brought in over $5.7 million in the 2 years after the data was released in February 2014.
2010 Survey: Local organizations brought in over $7.1 million in the three years after the data was released in January 2011.

HARC’s Consulting Services

In 2009, HARC expanded to offer custom-designed research and evaluation services to other organizations. These services are designed to provide organizations with the information they need to effectively and efficiently improve lives. HARC’s services allow organizations that cannot afford to hire a full-time researcher to still reap the benefits of advanced research and evaluation techniques. HARC offers program evaluation, custom designed needs assessments, data analysis services, and more.

HARC’s Structure

HARC is governed by a Board of Directors that are dedicated community leaders in the region. HARC’s offices are located at the RAP (Regional Access Project) Foundation Building in Palm Desert. HARC is funded by a mixture of grants, contributions, donations, and fee-for-service income from the consulting services. Please consider donating to HARC today to help us continue to provide high-quality research and evaluation services to the communities that need them. HARC’s EIN is 20-5719074.