Did you know?

There are four sub-committees facilitating the work of the NYS Census Equity Fund. Any funder who contributes to the fund is eligible to participate in one of the sub-committees, and all funders who contribute can participate in the grantee selection committee. Learn more about the sub-committees here:

Funders Engagement & Education Committee – Chaired by Jen Drake, Senior Program Officer, Dyson Foundation, the sub-committee organizes quarterly briefings for funders on relevant census-related topics to foster their engagement in increasing the 2020 count in New York State.

Grantees Selection Committee – Chaired by Randi Hewit, President, Community Foundation for Elmira-Corning and Finger Lakes. All donors of the Fund can participate in the sub-committee. Sub-committee members review LOIs and/or proposals submitted for funding consideration and make funding recommendations to the Steering Committee.

External Relations Committee – Chaired by Robyn Smith, Program Officer, Central New York Community Foundation. The sub-committee maintains relations with national and regional funders’ census initiatives to share information, best practices, and resources; and coordinates strategies with statewide census advocacy groups such as NY Counts 2020, the New York Civic Engagement Table, the Association for A Better New York, the Governor’s Office, and the Regional Census Bureau.

Documentation & Evaluation Committee –Chaired by Sabrina Hargrave, Program Officer, Brooklyn Community Foundation, the sub-committee is responsible for developing and implementing an evaluation plan with appropriate indicators of success and mechanisms for data tracking and analysis. The sub-committee also will disseminate evaluation findings and lessons learned.
Dear Colleagues:

Here is this month's update from the NYS Census Equity Fund. Anyone involved in Census 2020 will tell you there is a lot happening and a lot of information to track. To stay on top of everything happening, the Steering Committee meets every week to discuss what is happening at the state and local level in New York, we discuss how to connect and bring national resources to our state, as well as track the progress from other state tables. We will continue to provide updates to you via this newsletter and through the New York Community Trust, where the Fund is being stewarded. Here are some highlights about what the Fund has been doing to date:

Citizenship Question: The citizenship question controversy has been put to bed (for now). Click here to read the the article, authored by The New York Community Trust President Lorie Slutsky along with two other community foundation leaders, that appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy calling on the field to continue to advocate and support Census activities to ensure a complete count. link to a posting on the issue from the New York State Census Equity Fund Steering Committee for the Philanthropy New York website. And for those who are really interested—a link to a recent New York Times article that gives historical context to the census and citizenship .

Fundraising: Thanks to generous donors like you and institutional funders from across the state, we have raised just under $2.5 million. I anticipate that we will reach our goal of $3 million before the end of the year. Of course, that is just a drop in the bucket compared to the need, so we have carefully built relationships with government officials throughout the City and State, and are looking forward to using our grants strategically to complement and amplify government dollars that have been allocated for census outreach, since we know that government funding will not reach all the organizations that can have an impact.
 
Grants made and soon-to-be-made: We have disbursed close to $700,000 in grants to date - click here for a complete list of grants. The Fund will soon release our largest invitation for proposals, and we anticipate distributing one million dollars in additional grants over the next two-to-three months. These grants will give community organizations with close ties to constituencies that are hard to count the resources they need to get them counted.
 
Sincerely,
The NYS Census Equity Fund Steering Committee:
  • Jennifer Drake – Dyson Foundation
  • Allie Urbanski – Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
  • Lisa Fasolo Frishman– Engage New York (ex officio)
  • Maria Marcantonio – Charles H. Revson Foundation
  • Maria Mottola – New York Foundation
  • Randi Hewit – Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes
  • Robyn Smith – Central New York Community Foundation
  • Sabrina Hargrave — Brooklyn Community Foundation
  • Sol Marie Alfonso Jones – Long Island Community Foundation
  • Patricia Swann – The New York Community Trust (Chair)

Latest Census News and Resources









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News from the Bureau



Census Bureau Teams up with Tech Giants to Connect with Millennials and Other Hard to Count Populations


Microsoft Joins the Census Bureau as a Partner in Defending Democracy


Census Department Releases Schedule for Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Statistics and American Community Survey Data


Bureau still in Need of Census Workers - Hiring is Underway



CUNY's HARD TO COUNT MAPS KEEP GETTING BETTER
A few months ago, we let you know that the HTC maps included:

  1. Type of Enumeration Areas
  2. Area Census Office Boundaries

The team at CUNY has just announced the addition to the following updates :
  1. Contact information for local Census Bureau offices
  2. Organizations working on GOTC efforts in communities
  3. Visualization of areas with a lack of internet access


If you have any questions, contact the Mapping Service at CUNY Graduate Center for more information.
Upcoming Census Events
ABFE, NFG, and FCCP to host upcoming webinar on July 25th at 1:00 pm



When you can see "2020" you have perfect vision. 2020 is also the year when the nation can create a more perfect vision for many years to come. Participation in the 2020 Census is one civic activity for communities to secure voice in our democratic processes and access to federal funding. But the fair allocation of political power and resources are not guaranteed. Communities of color, among other populations, are historically undercounted in the decennial Census. The addition of the digital self-response and the chilling impact of the current climate, put the count at risk. We must answer the call to mobilize and support trusted voices in communities. Our response is our responsibility.

Panelists: Desmond Meade, President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRCC) Nana Gyamfi, Executive Director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) Anthony Robinson, Environmental Justice Equity Organizer, Fathers and Families of San Joaquin
Moderated by : Keesha Gaskins-Nathan, Director for Democratic Practice - United States, Rockefeller Brothers Fund


TUNE IN
Statewide Broadcasting on NY and Census 2020

 Connect: NY -- By the Numbers: Ensuring an Accurate Census Count

A public broadcast discussing New York State and Census 2020 will air on the following dates and stations:

Sunday, July 29, 9:00 pm on WCNY in Syracuse
Sunday, August 4, 12:00 pm on NYC/LI stations WNET/WLIW
Sunday, August 25, 10:oo am on WNED in Buffalo
(future dates are being scheduled for Rochester and Albany)

Moderator : Susan Arbetter, Report for WRVO Public Media
Richard Tobe, NYS Census Complete Count Commission
Jeff Wice, NY Counts 2020
Nicholas Simons, Rockefeller Institute
Sharon Owens, Syracuse Deputy Mayor
Fabiola Ortiz, NY Immigration Coalition 

ABNY, City Parks Foundation and Local Leaders Launch SummerStage Census Awareness Campaign
The Association for a Better New York (ABNY) has announced that it has joined with City Parks Foundation and community partners to conduct outreach about the 2020 United States census at Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage concerts throughout New York City this summer. The effort is one of a variety of ways local leaders, community groups and ABNY’s Census 2020 for a Better New York committee are working to educate New Yorkers about the census and help ensure the most accurate census count possible in 2020.
 
Volunteers and staff from ABNY, the offices of local elected officials and community-based organizations will be onsite at more than two dozen SummerStage concerts to distribute information and answer questions about the 2020 census. People interested in volunteering to raise awareness about the census in their communities will be able to sign up with the help of tablets that were donated by Google in partnership with  Tech:NYC .
 
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is New York’s largest free outdoor performing arts festival, and hosts more than more than 100 shows in 18 parks from June to October. The census outreach effort began last month at concerts in Brooklyn, and the locations include:
  • Brooklyn – Herbert Von King Park (June 20 – 23) and Betsy Head Park (June 27 – 29)
  • Queens – Springfield Park (July 5 – 7) and Queensbridge Park (July 11 – 14)
  • Staten Island – Corporal Thompson Park (July 18 – 21)
  • Bronx – Soundview Park (July 25 – 28) and Crotona Park (July 31 – August 3)
  • Manhattan – East River Park (August 8 – 11) and Marcus Garvey Park (August 14 – 18) 

Organizations partnering with Census 2020 for a Better New York and City Parks Foundation on the SummerStage outreach include: 
  • The US Census Bureau
  • Offices of the Borough Presidents of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx
  • NAACP – Brooklyn Branch and Youth Council
  • Catholic Charities
  • New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO 
  • Community Voices Heard
  • Ocean Hill Brownsville Coalition of Young Professionals
  • Queens Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
  • MinKwon Center
  • Chhaya Community Development Corporation
  • Brooklyn Community Board 16
  • Queens Community Board 4

To read the full press release, click here .
FOUNDATION RESOURCES
Early Childhood Funders and the Census Undercount of Young Children

Children under 5 are one of the hardest to count populations in the country. To assist in increasing the number of children being counted, here are a list of resources for funders interested in supporting a complete count of this specific HTC population.







Find out Why Your Foundation Should Become a 2020 Census Official Partner by clicking here .
GRANTEE RESOURCES
For grantees looking to engage in census-related activities, refer them to   NY Counts 2020.   NY Counts 2020 is a coalition of nearly 100 diverse nonprofits/groups from across New York State developing a state-strategy focused on advocacy efforts, and providing information, resources and technical assistance as it relates to 'get out the count' measures to community-based organizations. 

This email was generated by Engage New York in support of the NYS Census Equity Fund; a pooled fund focused on supporting and mobilizing get out the count efforts to ensure every New Yorker is counted in Census 2020.