We envision a State where foundation leaders from every region are engaged in aligning and leveraging resources, developing and implementing inter-sectional approaches to community challenges, and being allies to advocates and community organizers who are addressing the needs of communities impacted by injustice.
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New York State Census Equity Fund Releases its Documentation and Evaluation Report |
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FROM THE DESK OF PAT SWANN @
THE NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST
By now you have no doubt heard the news that the U.S. Census Bureau released its apportionment data with state-level data on population change. This is our take on what we learned:
New Yorkers who worked hard to get out the count have SO much to be proud of. Here’s why:
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Last July, based on population estimates from administrative data separate from the census, authorities predicted that New York was quite likely to lose two congressional seats. Thanks to your efforts and those of countless other people in communities working on GOTC, we only lost one seat and — by the slightest margin of 89 people — we came extraordinarily close to keeping both seats. That is amazing!
- According to The New York Times, "The 2020 census marked the first time the state did not lose at least two seats in eight decades, even as New York has continued to suffer a steady erosion of its influence in Congress — a trend that began in the 1940s, when it boasted 45 members of the House. Now it will have only 26.”
- While NY is not gaining population as fast as many states in the South and West, we still had net statewide population growth of 4.2%, thanks to international immigration to our state (NY had “negative domestic migration,” meaning more U.S. residents moved out of NY than moved in).
New Yorkers worked really hard to count all of our people and performed better than expectations during a census year that could not have been harder for our state. We look forward to analyses being produced in the coming months that will document how our GOTC efforts compare to other states, especially those like Florida and Arizona, which did not have as formidable GOTC efforts and did not pick up as many congressional seats as had been predicted.
THANK YOU to our supporters, our allies, and our nonprofit partners across the state of New York, who persisted despite the many obstacles along the way.
Patricia Swann,
Chair, New York State Census Equity Fund
Senior Program Officer, New York Community Trust
For those who want more information about apportionment data click on the resources below:
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Engage New York and Neighborhood Funders Release its New York State Landscape Scan on Rural Organizing |
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With nearly 1 of every 5 people in the United States living in a rural area, philanthropy must consider how it can make strategic investments to ensure that rural communities aren't left behind. In this month's Stanford Social Innovation article, Philanthropy's Rural Blind Spot, the authors argue that concentrating resources in urban areas is unintentionally increasing the rural and urban divide and is contributing to the rise of health and economic disparities.
Engage New York and Neighborhood Funders Group understands this divide and have been partnering for over two years to address the rising disparities and lack of resources reaching rural communities across New York. In partnership, we commissioned a landscape scan to understand the needs of rural leaders in New York and how they are working to address challenges around immigration, workforce, health care, environmental justice, education, housing to name a few. We are pleased to share the report, Resourcing Rural Organizing Infrastructure: A New York Case Study, with the field, and to invite you to learn and take action with us.
To support our continued learning, we invite you to read the report and join us for a funder conversation on May 20, 2021, from 1:00 - 2:15 pm to hear from the report's author as well as funders and community leaders to reflect on the findings and recommendations. This event will allow for discussion to identify a shared action agenda for funders to collaborate in support of building rural organizing infrastructure.
This webinar is designed for funders both in New York State as well as national and place-based funders working in other geographies who are interested in the critical role that rural communities play in movements for racial, economic, gender, and climate justice.
Event Speakers:
- John Monaghan, Monaghan Consulting, LLC (report author)
- Domenico Romero, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock (IRSG co-chair)
- Community Speaker TBC
- With introductory comments by Lindsay Ryder, Senior Program Manager, IRSG, and Randi Hewit, Co-Chair, Engage New York; CEO of the Community Foundation for Elmira Corning and the Finger Lakes
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Information and Resources for Funders |
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