The 2020 Census
WHY THE CENSUS MATTERS
The 2020 Census is essential for our democracy. It determines how many representatives Texas will have in Congress. It is used by the federal government to allocate funds to the states for a range of essential federal programs valued at over $59 billion dollars a year. In addition, the Census is used by businesses to make smart decisions about growth and spending.
OUR VOICE
The Census shows how many people live in an area, which determines the number of representatives Texans have in Congress and the number of electoral votes Texas has in presidential elections.
OUR QUALITY OF LIFE
Much of the Federal tax money we send to Washington comes back to Texas based on Census numbers, and supports housing, transportation, and other services we use.
OUR BUSINESSES
Companies use population and demographic data from the Census to determine where to set up shop and expand, creating jobs and generating opportunities for Texans.
THE NEED
Texas is at a serious risk of an undercount in the 2020 Census. Key issues are:
- High concentrations of hard-to-count (HTC) individuals in urban cities. 25% of Texans living in hard-to-count areas.
- Lack of broadband internet in border and rural areas
- Large populations of young children and immigrants who require greater support and targeted outreach
- Isolation/distrust of the government
- Privacy issues
THE IMPACT
Texas will lose @
$300 million PER YEAR in federal dollars for every 1% not counted. Programs affected include:
- Education
- Heathcare
- Housing
- Food Assitance
- Transportation
THE OPPORTUNITY
Communities Foundation of Texas, Educate Texas and Every Texan joined together to create the
Texas Counts Campaign, an unofficial Complete Count Committee for Texas, and the
Texas Counts Pooled Fund, a statewide funder collaborative to support census efforts across the state by providing grants and technical support to those areas most in need.
TEXAS COUNTS mobilized leaders across the state and multiple sectors, including faith, business, government, education, health care, and community-based organizations to:
- Enlist leaders across sectors to amplify the 2020 Census through their networks and influence;
- Share information, resources, best practices and tools;
- Support and complement the outreach work done by the Census Bureau.
The
TEXAS COUNTS POOLED FUND mobilized funders to invest into a statewide pooled fund to:
- Create an accessible source for Census outreach funding;
- Identify high need and hard-to-count areas that may need additional resources and support;
- Connect high need and hard-to-count areas that may need additional resources and support to potential funders.
To date, the Texas Counts Pooled Fund has invested $1.6M in funds to grantees mobilizing to help Get-Out-The-Count. See the list of our grantees here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Visit Texascounts.org, the hub for the Texas Counts Campaign. Learn more about the Census, share resources and best practices and find out how to get involved in your area.
Ensuring a complete 2020 Census count is a major project now playing out at the local, statewide, and national levels. Read more about these efforts in Texas and find out how you or your organization can be involved.
The 2020 Dallas Complete Count Committee will soon be accepting proposals from local organizations in the City of Dallas and Dallas County to drive Census response in hard-to-count communities.
Stakeholders across Dallas are partnering to ensure that no hard-to-count communities in the city or across the county are left behind. Read more about these city-and-countywide efforts and how you or your organizations can be involved.
For more information about how you or your organization can support our Census efforts, how our statewide and local campaigns and funds are structured, or other topics related to this work, please contact Amy Desler at adesler@cftexas.org.