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Contributing to AVSOPS State Data

Thank you for helping keep veteran resource data accurate and current. This guide explains how to contribute — no coding experience required.

Who Should Contribute

This repository welcomes contributions from:

  • CVSO staff — You know your county's data better than anyone. Corrections and updates from you are the most valuable contributions we receive.
  • State DVA employees — If your agency maintains official data, we'd welcome a direct partnership. Open an Issue labeled state-partnership and we'll be in touch.
  • VSO volunteers — Post commanders, adjutants, and service officers who notice outdated information.
  • Researchers and journalists — Anyone working with this data who finds errors or gaps.
  • Civic technologists — Developers who want to improve data quality at scale.

Ways to Contribute

Option 1 — Report an Error (Easiest)

If you spot something wrong — a phone number changed, an officer retired, an office moved — the simplest thing to do is open a GitHub Issue.

  1. Go to the Issues tab
  2. Click New Issue
  3. Include: state, county, what's wrong, and the correct information
  4. Submit — we'll make the fix

You don't need a GitHub account to flag an error; you can also email corrections to us via AVSOPS.com.

Option 2 — Edit a File Directly (No coding required)

If you want to fix something yourself in an existing CSV:

  1. Navigate to the state folder (e.g., IN - Indiana/)
  2. Click the CSV file you want to edit
  3. Click the pencil icon (Edit this file) in the top right
  4. Make your changes directly in the browser
  5. Scroll down and click Propose changes
  6. GitHub will walk you through opening a Pull Request

GitHub will prompt you to create a free account if you don't have one.

Option 3 — Add a New State's Data (Larger contribution)

If you want to contribute a full CVSO directory or other data file for a state that doesn't have one yet:

  1. Check the State Status page to confirm the state is open
  2. Review the Data Format page — all columns, required fields, and the geo tag format are documented there
  3. Open an Issue labeled new-state-data so we can coordinate and avoid duplicate effort
  4. Prepare your CSV following the format spec
  5. Submit a Pull Request placing the file in the correct state folder

File naming: {StateName}_{data_type}.csv — for example, Ohio_cvso.csv or Texas_veteran_programs.csv.

Data Standards

To keep the data consistent and usable:

  • Use UTF-8 encoding for all CSV files
  • Leave cells empty for missing values — do not use "N/A", "none", or dashes
  • Phone numbers should include area codes: (260) 724-5371
  • URLs should include https://
  • Multiple values in one cell can be separated with semicolons (;)
  • Geo tags follow the pattern {state_abbrev}_{fips_code} in lowercase — e.g., in_18001. FIPS codes are available at Census.gov.

See the full Data Format page for complete column specifications.

Data Sources

We collect data from publicly available sources only. Acceptable sources include:

  • State DVA / DVSA official websites
  • County government websites
  • Official VSO national and state department directories
  • VA.gov and related federal resources

Please note the source URL in your Pull Request or Issue when possible. This helps us verify data and attribute it correctly.

What Happens After You Submit

  • Issues are reviewed and addressed by AVSOPS maintainers, typically within a few days
  • Pull Requests are reviewed for formatting and data accuracy before merging
  • Merged data flows into AVSOPS.com on the next site update

We review every contribution carefully. If something needs adjustment, we'll leave a comment explaining what to change.

Questions

Open an Issue with the label question, or reach out through AVSOPS.com.

This data exists to help veterans find the services they've earned. Every correction matters.