UNITED WAY BAY AREA AWARDS NEARLY $1.1 MILLION TO NONPROFITS SEEKING A COMPLETE COUNT IN CENSUS 2020

SAN FRANCISCO (October 24, 2019)—United Way Bay Area (UWBA), the state-designated, regional Administrative Community-Based Organization (ACBO) for Census 2020, has awarded a total of $1,082,000 in grants to 57 nonprofit, community-based organizations leading grassroots efforts to support a complete count of all Bay Area residents. The grants will fund critical outreach such as door-to-door canvassing and phone banks as well as education in hard-to-count communities. More than 30 of the organizations that received grants also will operate Questionnaire Assistance Centers in their communities between March and July 2020.

“We received 130 applications from local organizations requesting a total of $5.5 million. It shows a lot of positive interest in a complete count for Census 2020, but also a deep need for financial assistance to make sure the necessary outreach happens,” said Anne Wilson, CEO of United Way Bay Area. “In our first round of funding we carefully selected trusted community groups that can reach hard-to-count populations. We will be making additional grants as we continue to coordinate with the counties and the Bay Area Census Funders Collaborative to fill gaps in our efforts to reach hard-to-count communities.”

UWBA was selected through a competitive application process to serve as the ACBO for the State of California’s Complete Count efforts and was awarded a $2.8 million contract to support a complete and accurate count in the seven-county Bay Area region (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano counties) . UWBA will distribute more than $1.5 million in grants and subcontracts to support and amplify the work of dozens of community-based organizations doing census outreach in their local communities. The remaining funds are being used to create regional resources that will enhance all outreach efforts, including a census education campaign in 12 languages, a unique “opt-in” texting program for residents, media buys and technical assistance.

The Children’s Network of Solano County will use $65,000 received from UWBA to collaborate with 30 other organizations on a multi-faceted outreach campaign designed to ensure the youngest residents of Solano County are counted.

“Children ages 0 to 5 have been undercounted in the past,” said Ronda Kogler, Executive Director of the Children’s Network. “Support from UWBA will allow us to work closely with our local partner agencies, businesses, grassroots organizations and neighborhood groups to engage at least 3,000 families in hard-to-count areas in Solano Kids Count: a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of counting every child in our community in Census 2020

A grant of $10,000 awarded to Jakara Movement will fund outreach to South Asian communities in Santa Clara and Alameda Counties. The organization expects to reach more than 5,000 residents via phone and another 2,000 households by knocking on their doors—everyone will be encouraged to complete the census and offered resources to make the task easier.

“Many South Asian communities feel marginalized and disenfranchised. For the 2020 Census we hope to change the narrative and engage and reach many of these groups, including Punjabi-speakers,” said Naindeep Singh, Executive Director of Jakara Movement. “While Punjabi is one of the top 10 most spoken languages in the state and one of the most prominent in Alameda County, this was only reported by the Census Bureau in late 2017. We must do better at engaging and inspiring communities to participate and connect why the census is so important. The Jakara Movement is committed to one of the largest grassroots canvassing campaigns in South Asian American history, especially in the Bay Area.”

UWBA is working diligently with funding teams in every county and with the Bay Area Census Funders Collaborative—a partnership of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the East Bay Community Foundation, Northern California Grant makers and numerous other funders—to help ensure a fair and complete 2020 census count.

UWBA “Bay Area Counts 2020” Round 1 Grantees:

• African Community Health Institute (ACHI)

• Alameda County Homeless Action Center (HAC)

• Allen Temple Health and Social Services

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice

• Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC)

• Children’s Network of Solano County

• Chinese for Affirmative Action

• Chinese Newcomers Service Center

• Chinese Progressive Association

• City of Fremont – Fremont Family Resource Center

• City of South San Francisco

• Community Action Marin

• Community Clinic Consortium

• Community Youth Center of San Francisco

• East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO)

• East Palo Alto Center for Community Media

• Fuerza Educational Coalition CO Alameda County Labor Council

• Golden State Opportunity

• Immigrant Legal Resource Center

• International Children Assistance Network, Inc

• Jakara Movement

• Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley

• Korean Community Center of the East Bay

• LEAD Filipino

• Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

• Mission Economic Development Agency
• Monument Crisis Center

• Monument Impact

• National Japanese American Historical Society

• Operation Dignity

• Pars Equality Center

• Peninsula Family Service

• Planned Parenthood Northern California

• Project Access, Inc

• Puente de la Costa Sur

• Richmond Community Foundation

• RYSE Center

• Sacred Heart Community Service

• San Mateo County Community College District (Skyline College)

• San Mateo County Union Community Alliance (SMCUCA)

• Self-Help for the Elderly

• Services Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN)

• Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits

• Social Good Fund, Inc. (Safe Return Project)

• SOMOS Mayfair, Inc

• SparkPoint Contra Costa

• St. Mary’s Center

• Tax-Aid

• The Unity Council

• Thrive Alliance

• Tri-Valley Career Center

• Urban Strategies Council

• Vietnamese American Roundtable

• Village Community Resource Center

• West Valley Community Services

• Working Partnerships USA

• YMCA of San Francisco

Total Grantees: 57

Total Award amount: $1,082,000

About United Way Bay Area

United Way Bay Area (UWBA) fights for financial stability and equal opportunity for residents in eight Bay Area counties. UWBA takes an innovative, holistic approach to ending the cycle of poverty through advocacy and programs that support all ages—providing free access to family support, financial and career coaching, job opportunities and basic needs. www.uwba.org