6.3.2026 Leveraging Census Bureau Data for Funding Applications: An Overview of the Census & ACS

On June 3, 2026, Steve Sconfienza, PhD, Chief Research Scientist at the NYS Office for the Aging presented the first webinar in a two-part series on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and how it can be used to support value propositions and funding applications.

Attendees learned how to navigate census.gov, understand the difference between the Decennial Census and ACS one-year and five-year estimates, and access and download ACS data for their communities. The session also covered how to interpret margins of error and confidence intervals, which are essential skills for anyone using ACS data to inform program planning or policy decisions.

The slide deck can be accessed here.

The webinar recording can be accessed here (passcode: @7QKg2V&).