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NEW YORK STATE CENSUS EQUITY FUND
Announces the Third Round of Funding


Just announced, the NYSCEF is inviting proposals from nonprofits that are working to reach, educate, and mobilize hard-to-count populations to participate in the 2020 Decennial Census. The focus of the Requests for Proposals will seek organizations that:

  • Can demonstrate an existing relationship with the population and/or census tract(s) the grant will serve
  • Have projects in place that will be operational immediately after funding is awarded
  • Focus on increasing self-response rates
  • Serve areas of New York State outside of NYC and Long Island counties of Suffolk and Nassau

Examples of eligible activities include but are not limited to:
  • Buying or printing materials for Census outreach
  • Expanding technological capacity for use by people completing the census questionnaire online
  • Convening costs
  • Volunteer incentives, promotional materials, travel mileage

The purpose of this grant cycle is to support regions of the state that have received limited funds to date to support Get Out the Count efforts. Grants will be in the range of $1,000-$4,000 and funds will be awarded on a rolling basis until expended. The expected timeline for this grant round is between February 15th and March 31st.

Foundations outside of Long Island and New York City are encouraged to share the following link with organizations positioned to lead this type of work. www.communityfund.org/census-equity-fund

In early April, the NYSCEF is planning to announce a fourth round of census grants that will correspond to real-time data self-response rates reported by the Census Bureau (see below). More information will provided in future updates.
NEW YORK STATE

Read some of the latest headlines, resources, and news stories impacting our State's Census count and Redistricting








Reporting to the Director of Upstate Advocacy, the Temporary Upstate Census Organizer is a time-limited, full-time position working in Western and Central New York, focused on organizational outreach and program development/support. The organizer will play a strategic role in supporting organizations in Western and Central New York to join and participate in New York Counts 2020. Click on the link above to learn more about this position.



NEWS FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU



In February, the Bureau will be publishing its Response Rates Challenge Map , which will show comparable data for the 2010 self-response rates. Starting on March 20th, the Bureau will publish self-response rates. (Note this is the data tool the New York State Census Equity Fund will use to award grants during the rapid response grantmaking, which will begin in early April.)

Click on this link to learn more about the 2020 Census Response Rate Challenge Toolkit

The Bureau is encouraging anyone conducting door-knocking operations to review the recently updated Questions and Answers for Stakeholders Supporting the 2020 Census. This guide provides helpful tips that will ensure the community receives a clear message about the census and understands their rights when sharing sensitive information. Important reminder that only Census Bureau employees can collect Census responses.

NEWS ABOUT THE CENSUS
CENSUS RESOURCES
Useful One Pagers, Toolkits, and Media for A Complete Count
As Complete Count Committees and nonprofits prepare for Get Out the Count, understanding best practices and compliance is key. Here are a few key resources to assist localities with their efforts:

CUNY Hard to Count Maps

CUNY Hard to Count Maps has integrated the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) data that helps identify the communities with the highest risk of undercounting young children during Census 2020.


To focus GOTC efforts, anyone can now select Census tracts within a county based on any of the demographic data available in the map. This will help agencies and nonprofits determine how to prioritize census tracts based on self-response rates in 2010. This feature is call Advanced Tract Search.

Also, the new state Maps will also visualize the tract-level contact strategies the Census Bureau will use in 2020 to ask individuals to participate in completing a questionnaire. The team at CUNY will be releasing this data by county soon.

Feature updates planned by CUNY include:
  • Real-time response data will be available starting on March 20, 2020. This will capture the Census Bureau's real-time daily data reflecting self-response rates.
  • Analysis of the real-time self-response rates.
  • Population updates for the 2014-2018 American Community Survey estimates
CENSUS EVENTS
AAJC Webinar: Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Libraries
February 27 | 4pm ET 
 
This webinar will focus on how libraries will play a crucial role as Questionnaire Assistance Centers during 2020 Census operations and the self-response phase. 

CENSUS HOTLINE NUMBERS
• Arab American Institute: (833) 333-6864; (833) 3DD-OUNI ("Count me" in Arabic)
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC: (844) 2020-API or (844) 202-0274 (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali/Bangla)
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights: 888-Count20
• NALEO Educational Fund: 877-EL-CENSO (877-352-3676) (Spanish)

Hotlines will run through July 2020 and will be a mixture of live operators responding in real-time and voicemail messages returned in 24-48 hours. Hotlines will cover broad areas related to the Census, from basic information requests to legal questions to incidents requiring significant follow-up.
RESOURCES FROM THE
NY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TABLE
The NY Civic Engagement Table has released a resources folder for nonprofits to access information and materials to help them implement their get out the count (GOTC) programming. You are encouraged to share this resource with your nonprofit partners and CCCs preparing and interested in implementing GOTC programming.

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. 

To receive emails with tips, events, and resources from NY Counts 2020 click on this
link and add a name and email address. Each week, NY Counts 2020 is sending out Mobilize Monday and We Count Wednesday so foundation leaders and
nonprofits are encouraged to sign up.
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.