Announced Census 2020 mini-grants will help reach hard to count communities in Northeastern Ohio, Franklin County, and Hamilton County
Columbus, OH | February 7, 2020
For Immediate Release
February 7, 2020
COLUMBUS – Over 73,600 Ohioans are at risk of being missed in the 2020 Census according to a report by the Urban Institute, which will spell big trouble for the Buckeye State. A study by George Washington University shows that every Ohioan missed in the census means approximately $1,200 lost in federal funding for critical programs that impact children, families, and communities. These dollars lost are not just for one year, but for every year for the next decade. The people of Ohio matter and they should be counted.
Based on 2010 results and other factors, Ohio communities who are expected to be missed or undercounted in the 2020 Census are African American communities, families with children under the age of 5, immigrants and new Americans, and individuals and families living at or close to poverty. There are a variety of reasons for people being missed and we want to make sure that we give people every opportunity to be counted.
“An accurate 2020 Census will be critical for Ohio. A mere 0.8 percentage change in population could mean the difference between Ohio keeping its Congressional seats or losing one or more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. It could also have a significant effect on more than $33.5 billion of federal funding distributed to Ohio based on the Census count for important programs,” said Gavin DeVore Leonard, executive director of Ohio Voice.
Today the Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition (OCAC) is proud to announce that 45 mini-grants will be awarded to community organizations in Hamilton, Franklin, and Cuyahoga County to support Census get out the count efforts to reach hard to count communities. The funding for these mini-grants are through the Cleveland Foundation and the Census Equity Fund, a national consortia of philanthropic organizations working to support a complete count. The grants awarded range in size from $1,000-$6,000 and total $73,000. (For a complete list of organizations receiving a mini-grant, please click here).
The grants awarded will be used for community organizations that serve hard to count communities to host public education events, complete count events for individuals to fill out their Census forms, canvassing in local communities, and to augment existing communications efforts. “We are thankful that our philanthropic community is demonstrating leadership in supporting a complete count,” said Keary McCarthy, executive director of the Innovation Ohio-Education Fund.
“The results of the 2020 Census count will impact Ohio families for the next decade and beyond. Through these mini-grants, we hope to amplify the outreach efforts of organizations already doing the work in our community. The OCAC has been a great partner and on the frontlines of advocating for more Census funding on a statewide and federal level,” said Juan Galeano, 2020 Census Consultant for the Cleveland Foundation.
The Ohio Census Advocacy Coalition (OCAC) is a nonpartisan network of statewide nonprofit organizations, advocacy organizations, and trusted faith, business, education, and community leaders working to prepare for and conduct outreach to encourage full participation in the 2020 Census, with a focus on historically undercounted or ‘hard-to-count’ (HTC) populations.
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