Without adequate fundraising, Census 2020 GOTC efforts are difficult to implement. This blog will cover resources available to for funders to engage in the census, efforts that funders have already supported, and fundraising strategies for organizations on the ground.

With the 2020 Census less than a year away, community organizations have begun to ramp up their get out the count (GOTC) efforts around the country. Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC recently hosted a webinar with CommunityConnect Labs to discuss exciting digital tools they are developing to help organizations on the ground with their GOTC efforts.

Faith can play a major role in the lives of members of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community. Thus, it is important to engage communities of faith as a partner in sharing information about the significance of the census and how it can impact the people in their faith community.

The census form is primarily a straight forward survey that asks people basic questions about themselves and their household, such as age. However, when it comes to the race and ethnicity questions, understanding and answering these questions can become slightly more complicated. Through our webinarwith Dan Ichinose, Director of the Demographic Research Project at Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Los Angeles, we provide some clarity and context for these questions by exploring the history of the Race question. We demonstrate how it has evolved over the decades, what changes to these questions were suggested to achieve more accurate data collection, and how these questions will be asked on the 2020 Census form.

When engaging in Get Out the Count activities within AANHPI communities, it’s important to know your audience and gauge their awareness and outlook of the 2020 Census. With the assistance of Lake Research Partners, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC conducted research on AANHPI communities in Mandarin, Urdu, Hindi, Korean, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Hmong, Tagalog, and English to assess which subgroups could use more education on the census, which were the preferred methods of filling out the survey for the different groups, and what messages motivated communities to fill out the census.

There have been three censuses in my lifetime, and I’ve never been counted. Not in 1990, when I was just two years old and among the nearly two million children who went uncounted that year. Not in 2000, as the daughter of then undocumented immigrants in a mixed-status family. And not in 2010, as a college student where campuses in California showed some of the lowest response rates. I have never been easy to count.* Three decades later, and I’m still a “hard to count” person in the hardest to count county in the hardest to count state. It’s only now as part of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) that I understand the depth of that indelible label.

While April 1 is Census Day, planning and preparation for the census begins much earlier. The decennial census enumeration process is unbelievably extensive and intricate, where the count starts several months before the official April 1st date and doesn’t cease until the end of July 2020.

Who exactly is counted in the census? According to the U.S. Constitution, all persons living in the United States regardless of their legal status must be counted. With regard to where people are counted, it depends on a person’s living situation. The rule of thumb is that a person is counted in their “usual place of residence” or where they live and sleep most of the time. But what about people who do not have a usual place of residence, such as college students or those who are homeless?

Who exactly is counted in the census? According to the U.S. Constitution, all persons living in the United States regardless of their legal status must be counted. With regard to where people are counted, it depends on a person’s living situation. The rule of thumb is that a person is counted in their “usual place of residence” or where they live and sleep most of the time. But what about people who do not have a usual place of residence, such as college students or those who are homeless?