Non-Profits & Foundations
Nonprofits are uniquely poised to provide education and motivation around Census participation. Nonprofits maintain ongoing, trusting relationships with the people they serve. As such, nonprofits can be powerful vehicles for encouraging their communities to return the Census questionnaire or respond to Census enumerators.
Communities served by nonprofits are at the greatest risk of being undercounted in the 2010 Census. They need nonprofit organizations and community service providers who have the reach and trust of hard-to-count populations to engage their communities for a complete count. Every person not counted puts ten years worth of government funds, political representation and public infrastructure at risk. The government cannot conduct the Census alone.
Location: Nonprofits are densely located in hard to count areas.
Access: Nonprofits have everyday contact with communities most at risk of being undercounted. Without inventing a new program, nonprofits can provide basic information to the thousands who pass through their doors on how and why to participate in the Census.
Trust: Nonprofits have trusting relationships with the communities they serve and can act as powerful vehicles for education about the importance of Census participation. When the message to be counted comes from a trusted entity, people are more likely to participate.
Multilingual: Nonprofits connect to a range of constituencies and cultures. Most nonprofits serving communities, who speak languages other than English, can provide access to Census education materials in their communities’ languages.
Visibility: Nonprofits are out in the community at events, meetings and everywhere people live, work and play.
A Vested Interest: Nonprofits driven by social missions have an inherent interest in ensuring that their communities have access to the funds, services, representation and physical and social infrastructure impacted by the census count.
Top 5 low-cost ways your business can participate in the Census 2010 outreach for a complete count in California:
1. Download and upload creative effective outreach activities and tools on this website (videos, in-language materials, talking points, brochures, presentations and more).
2. Coordinate with your Local Census Office (LCO), connect with local Complete Count Committees, Community Based organization and local foundations/community based organizations that are already doing Census outreach.
3. Talk to your community members about the confidentiality of the census.
4. Identify existing ways your nonprofit touches/serves “hard-to-count” populations in your area and include Census messages in publications.
5. MARCH 20, 2010 is the BE CALIFORNIAN. BE COUNTED DAY – plan a event to “get out the count”.
Local Complete Count Committees (Local CCCs)
Many local jurisdictions and community groups have already formed Complete Count Committees (CCCs) in partnership with the US Census Bureau. Coordinating with the CCCs in your area will help identify gaps in outreach coverage and duplicative efforts.
Hard-to-Count Maps (HTC Maps)
To best focus your limited outreach resources, we recommend using the Hard-to-Count Maps by County. If you need your more detailed District map, please contact us.
