An Update From the
NYS Census Equity Fund

In the last newsletter, we printed the names of every reviewer for the New York State Census Equity fund, however there were a few omissions. Below is the full list of individuals who reviewed grants for the Get out the Count Grants that will be announced next week.

As we prepare for Thanksgiving, on behalf of the entire NYS Census Equity Fund Steering Committee, thank you to you and your Foundation for helping New York State prepare for a complete count in 2020.


Sol Marie Alfonso Jones, Long Island Community Foundation
Doug Bauer , The Clark Estates
Judy Bigelow , Fordham Street Foundation
Monica Brown , Health Foundation of Western and Central New York
Melissa Clark , United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region
Larry Cook , The John R. Oishei Foundation
Lisa Cowan , Robert Sterling Clark Foundation
Maya Crane , Rochester Area Community Foundation
Sally Cross , Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Jennifer Drake , Dyson Foundation
Lisa Fasolo Frishman , Engage New York
Keesha Gaskins-Nathan , Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Sabrina Hargrave , Brooklyn Community Foundation
Nancy Heaton , Foundation for Community Health
Randi Hewit, Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes
Johann Huleatt , Church Communities Foundation
Rick Luftglass , Tisch Illumination Fund
Sue Kittel , Park Foundation
Maria Marcantonio, Charles H. Revson Foundation
Maria Mottola, New York Foundation
Cristin McPeake , Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Robin Melén , Westchester Community Foundation
Dimple Patel , New York Women's Foundation
Marion Russo , LI Unitarian Universalist Fund
Patricia Shaefer , Rauch Foundation 
Robyn Smith, Central New York Community Foundation
Pat Swann , The New York Community Trust (Chair)
Jan Squadrito , Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties
Tonya Thomas , Long Island Community Foundation
Allie Urbanski , Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
Rachel Young , Mertz Gilmore Foundation


To learn more about the NYS Census Equity Fund and its activities,
read this one-pager for more information.

NEW YORK STATE
Read some of the latest headlines, resources, and news stories impacting our State's Census count.

GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES $60 MILLION TO SUPPORT COUNTING EVERY NEW YORKER IN THE 2020 CENSUS
 
State Agencies to Spend up to $40 Million on Census Initiatives
 
$20 Million from the FY 2020 Budget Made Available to Reach Hard to Count Residents
 
 
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will spend as much as $60 million to make sure that every New Yorker is counted in the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census. The State will leverage resources across dozens of agencies, public authorities, CUNY and SUNY that regularly interact with millions of New Yorkers. Together, they will launch a wide-reaching campaign valued at up to $40 million from existing resources that will inform the public about the Census and support efforts to encourage residents to complete the questionnaire. Additionally, $20 million from the FY 2020 Budget is being made available to support targeted efforts in hard to reach communities.
 
"Counting every New Yorker in the 2020 Census is critical to ensuring we are accurately represented in Congress and receive the federal funding we deserve," Governor Cuomo said. "While the federal government has thrown up road block after road block - spreading fear among immigrant communities in the process - in New York we will break through and make sure that even our most difficult to reach communities are counted."
 
The State's support for the Census count builds on findings and recommendations released in October by the New York State Complete Count Commission, which held 10 public hearings and reviewed hundreds of comments, expert testimonies and in-depth analysis of previous census results. The Commission found that the 2020 Census faces unprecedented challenges. For the first time, the Census will be conducted primarily online, and while the Trump Administration failed in its effort to include a citizenship question on the Census, its attempt to do so spread fear among immigrant communities. The Trump administration and Congress have also failed to fully fund Census operations in the years leading up to 2020. As a result of that failure, the Census Bureau has been forced to cut costs, shifting responsibility for on-the-ground work necessary to drive participation in the 2020 Census from the federal government to state and local partners. The number of U.S. Census Bureau field offices in New York has dropped from 35 in 2010 to 21 in 2020. 
 
To break through these barriers, CUNY, SUNY and dozens of other State agencies and authorities will use their resources and ongoing contact with the public to develop and deploy an up to $40 million from statewide Census awareness campaign using existing resources. These state entities, including the Departments of Labor, Motor Vehicles, Agriculture and Markets; the offices of Mental Health, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and People with Developmental Disabilities; Empire State Development; and the Division of Veterans Affairs will conduct outreach and provide Census-related information across their millions of contacts with the public. While the U.S. Census Bureau is only providing translation for a fraction of the languages spoken in New York State, State employees are already trained to use the Language Line, which provides on the spot translation services for more than 200 languages. Examples of how State entities will leverage their resources include, but are not limited to:
  • The Department of Labor, which reaches more than 9 million workers, 550,000 businesses and serves more than 500,000 New Yorkers directly, will open all 96 of its Career Centers as census assistance centers where members of the public can securely complete their 2020 Census questionnaire online. Career Centers will also display Census information on TV monitors in the waiting room, posters and handouts in multiple languages. The Department of Labor has also already promoted Census Bureau jobs at more than 100 jobs fairs and other recruiting events it hosts in every region of the state.
  • Every New Yorker lives within 30 miles of one of SUNY's 64 campuses and CUNY adds 25 campuses across New York City's five boroughs, all of which can serve as nodes that combine outreach efforts with resources. The two university systems, including community colleges, will also collaborate with the State to ensure their nearly 700,000 students are counted. Empire State College will open dozens of computer labs across the state for members of the public to use to complete the Census.
  • The Department of Motor Vehicles has 27 state-run district offices and 94 county-run filed offices across the state through which it reaches about 12 million customers annually with 19.5 million connecting with the Department through its website. Census information will be displayed and distributed at every location and staff will be equipped to promote the Census in discussions with all visitors. It will also tap its database of approximately 4 million email addresses.  
 
The FY 2020 Budget also appropriated up to $20 million to support Census outreach. A Request for Expressions of Interest will be released next week with a response due back in 30 days. The funding will be targeted to "trusted voice" not-for-profit organizations and will be focused on reaching hard to count communities, including those with high populations of immigrants, children under 5 years old, and seniors. Funding awards will be determined based on plans evaluated on a variety of factors, including presence of cooperating libraries and other institutions, proven capability of the organizations, and other factors.
 
These efforts will build on action already taken directly by the State that added over 225,000 addresses to the Census Bureau's Master Address file. In addition, following leadership from New York State, local governments added and corrected several hundred thousand addresses. This multi-layered, multi-year effort produced nation-leading results. Governor Cuomo also invested $500 million to leverage $1.4 billion from the private sector to expand high-speed Internet to all New Yorkers with nearly 90% of the funding already awarded. 
The Adirondack Foundation is promoting census hiring via their newsletter by sharing video clips with their stakeholders. Thank you to Cali Brooks and her team for spreading the importance of communities increasing their participation in the Census and complete count efforts throughout the Adirondack Park!


The Council for a Strong America has published a Census Toolkit for Business Owners and Operators . We hope you will take a look at this tailor made resource for NY and share it with your networks. Businesses rely on good data as much as nonprofits and foundations, and therefore they are a key partner for ensuring our State has a complete count. Consider sharing this toolkit with your business stakeholders.
News from the Census Bureau





Census Bureau announces areas to receive 2020 census paper questionnaires first, and areas to receive bilingual invitations. Click here to see which areas in your county are on the lists.

Census Bureau publishes pay rates for census workers by county. Click here to find the hourly rates for your counties, and help spread the word about census hiring. Thousands of jobs will become available in the New Year; many job openings have yet to be filled.


2020 Census Research, Operational Plans, and Oversight office launches language guides to help people complete the 2020 census questionnaire.
Census and the Holidays: A toolkit that includes
Dinner Table Tips for the Holidays
The holidays are coming, and what better time to talk with family and friends about the importance of the census! The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans has created an incredible toolkit to share with family, friends, nonprofit partners, and to push throug your social media outlets. Click here for more information.
FOUNDATION RESOURCES

CUNY Hard to Count Maps now includes TEA's - Type of Enumeration Area - for the 2020 Census. The TEAs will tell a reader which households will be receiving either mailed instructions or hand-delivered instructions, or will be enumerated in-person. The updated data includes statistics by tract, county, and state of the share of households in each TEA. CUNY has added this info to the HTC 2020 map so census stakeholders can use this information to inform their outreach. 


Find out Why Your Foundation Should Become a 2020 Census Official Partner by clicking here .
GRANTEE RESOURCES
Census data is critical for advancing environmental justice and climate action. Researchers, advocates, and policymakers rely on accurate census data to identify the disparate impacts of the climate crisis, enforce an array of environmental protections, and ensure programs meet the needs of diverse communities. This fact sheet is published jointly with WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation.

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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.