U.S. Census 2020

The population of the United States must be counted every ten years under the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 2. The data collected determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and how hundreds of billions of federal dollars are allocated to states and localities for key programs, many of which are administered through nonprofits. The 2020 Census began in Alaska on January 21 and will officially begin for the rest of the country on April 1 (with notices to be sent mid-March).

The National Council of Nonprofits is concerned that without an accurate count billions of dollars will not flow to where resources are most needed to help communities. Our statement to Congress explains the significance of an accurate count, and the amicus brief filed by the National Council of Nonprofits, joined by the National Human Services Assembly and YWCA USA, with the U.S. Supreme Court breaks down the main reasons nonprofits should get involved: dollars, data, and democracy.

Charitable nonprofits can help ensure that hard-to-locate individuals are counted because they are trusted members of the community with direct access to many populations. The questions to be included on the census are available online. The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring hundreds of thousands of temporary census workers as enumerators and to get out the count.

Why It Matters

Results of the U.S. 2020 Census will influence individuals, communities, governments, for-profit entities, and nonprofit organizations throughout the next decade. Data obtained will inform decision makers in all sectors and lead to allocation of political power and financial resources. If the data are wrong, there will be inequitable distribution of resources for basic community needs, such as education, food and income security, health care, housing, transportation, and much more. The allocation of $1.5 trillion in federal funds hinges annually on the decennial data, including funding for state and local governments, as well as for nonprofits to deliver services to individuals and communities. Key programs that receive funding specifically from federal grants include the National School Lunch program, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Head Start, and Early Head Start.

Where We Stand

“Budget decisions at all levels of government are often based on census data. It is imperative that the federal government adequately fund the 2020 United States Census to ensure that the process for counting residents across the nation is fair and complete. The National Council of Nonprofits opposes inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census questionnaire because of the likelihood that, among other things, it will suppress participation and lead to an unfair, inaccurate, and incomplete count. ... In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau will conduct the decennial census pursuant to the enumeration clause of the U.S. Constitution. A fair, accurate, and complete count of all persons is important for our democratic institutions as the census determines how representatives are apportioned among the several stats, as well as how hundreds of billions of federal dollars are allocated to states and localities for key programs, many of which are administered through charitable organizations. Undercounts of individuals and demographic groups that charitable nonprofits serve can lead to inadequate representation and funding, which in turn put more pressure on nonprofits and foundations, state and local governments, and businesses in undercounted areas to do even more to address unmet needs. The National Council of Nonprofits believes that it and all charitable nonprofits have a significant stake and role to play in ensuring that all residents are counted as part of the 2020 Census.”

Public Policy Agenda

What Nonprofits Can Do / Take Action

Nonprofits are encouraged to engage and help ensure a fair, accurate, and complete count, particularly in hard-to-count areas. Several ways to engage on the issue include:

• Convene and educate community leaders and other stakeholders, including the media, about the Census.
• Identify and partner with organizations and community stakeholders that are already connected to hard-to-count communities and have built strong relationships and trust.
• Advocate to federal, state, and local lawmakers for funding to support census outreach efforts.
• Work with state, county, tribal, and local government leaders to create and engage in Complete Count Committees (volunteer committees of government and community leaders from different sectors established to increase awareness about the census and promote participation).
• Connect to national hubs (e.g., Census Project) that are providing resources to learn more about and engage in census advocacy.
• Use the Census Project toolkits to take action.

Status

On December 20, the Congress passed a bipartisan “minibus” spending package that includes $6.7 billion for the 2020 Census as part of $7.3 billion total funding for the Census Bureau. This new funding level was the stakeholder ask and $1.4 billion more than the president funding request. 

Senators Schatz (D-HI), Murkowski (R-AK), and others introduced a bipartisan resolution on December 11 to encourage “individuals, families, and households across the United States to participate in the 2020 Census to ensure a complete and accurate count.” More than 100 state and local organizations, mostly nonprofits and including many state associations of nonprofits, signed on in support of the measure. The resolution was agreed to by unanimous consent in the Senate and awaits approval in the House. The Census Bureau applauded the resolution.

On July 11, 2019, President Trump announced the Census Bureau would not include the citizenship question on the 2020 Census questionnaire and would seek information from other government records. In its June 27, 2019 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Commerce Secretary's claimed rationale for adding the citizenship question and sent the case back to the district court, allowing the federal government the opportunity to provide a separate rationale for inclusion of the question. The National Council of Nonprofits attended the Supreme Court oral arguments, and, joined by the National Human Services Assembly and YWCA USA, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition of inclusion of the citizenship question. Read What the US Supreme Court's Census Decision Means for Nonprofits for further analysis of the case. The federal judge overseeing the New York lawsuit formally blocked the citizenship question on the census form on July 16, 2019.

Recent News

• Along The Rim of Alaska, The Once-A-Decade U.S. Census Begins In Toksook Bay, NPR, January 21, 2020.
• Census count is 'an act of rebellion', Indian Country Today, January 20, 2020.
• Nonprofits around the US Push for Census 2020 Participation, NonProfit Times, January 9, 2020.
• 2020 U.S. census plagued by hacking threats, cost overruns, Reuters, December 4, 2019.
• Census is important for Oklahoma to get federal funding, Tulsa Beacon, October 24, 2019.
• 'Money and Power': Fearing an undercount, states and cities pour millions into 2020 census, NBC News, October 5, 2019.
• Can Nonprofits Promote Census Engagement?, National Council of Nonprofits, August 12, 2019.
• Census 2020: Focus on the Real Work in Communities, Not the Legal/Political Morass, Philanthropy New York, July 11, 2019.
• What the US Supreme Court's Census Decision Means for Nonprofits, Nonprofit Quarterly, June 28, 2019.
• Everyone Counts: How Nonprofits Can Help Ensure a Full 2020 Census Count, Barr Foundation blog, April 19, 2019. 
• More

General Resources

• Census 2020, United States Census Bureau
• About the Census, United States Census Bureau
• Community Outreach Toolkit, United States Census Bureau
• Language Guides, United States Census Bureau
• 2020 Census Jobs, U.S. Census Bureau
• 2020 Census PSA: Census Made Simple, United States Census Bureau, Nov 7, 2019.
• GOTC Toolkit, Census Counts 2020 and Leadership Conference
• Census Resource Library, Census Counts 2020
• Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM), National Conference of State Legislatures
• NCSL Census Resources and Legislation, National Conference of State Legislatures
• Everyone Counts: How 2020 Census Data Matter to Your Bottom Line, National Association of Counties
• Counting for Dollars 2020: The Role of the Decennial Census in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds, GW Institute of Public Policy, November 18, 2019.
• Census Advocacy: What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know, Bolder Advocacy
• How Nonprofits Can Ensure an Accurate Census Count, Bolder Advocacy
• What Is the Census? Video (3:15), The Arc of the United States, December 20, 2019.
• More

State Resources

• Alaska Counts 2020 Census, The Foraker Group (AK)
• Census Policy Advocacy Network, consortium of California nonprofits
• Census 2020 Toolkit for Nonprofits, Connecticut COUNT Me In 2020
• DANA's Mission Minute: CENSUS 2020, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, April 10, 2019.
• Forefront (IL) Announces New Democracy Initiative, Forefront (IL), January 19, 2018.
• Census 2020: KY Nonprofits Count, Kentucky Nonprofit Network
• 2020 Census: Resources for Nonprofits, Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
• Massachusetts Census Equity Fund 2020, consortium of Massachusetts nonprofits
• Be Counted Michigan 2020, Michigan Nonprofit Association
• MI Voice Counts, Michigan Nonprofit Association
• Census 2020, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
• Montana Census 2020, Montana Nonprofit Association
• Montana Census 2020 - Make It Count, Montana Department of Commerce
• 2020 Census, New Mexico Thrives
• Census 2020, North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations
• Why Does the Census Matter to Nonprofits?, Washington Nonprofits, May 18, 2018.
• State-by-State Resource Map, Census Counts 2020 and Leadership Conference
• More

Hard to Count Resources

• Mapping Hard to Count Communities for a Fair and Accurate 2020 Census, Hard to Count 2020 Interactional Map, City University of New York
• Preparing for the 2020 Census: Estimating Outreach Costs for Hard-to-Count Communities, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY, the Fiscal Policy Institute, State Voices, and The Leadership Conference Education Fund
• Mail Contact Strategies Viewer, U.S. Census Bureau
• Type of Enumeration Area (TEA) Viewer, U.S. Census Bureau
• More

Funding and Communication Resources

• Census 2020 Toolkits, Florida Nonprofit Alliance
• The Complete Count Grant Fund, webinar (00:47:45), Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, December 5, 2019.
• MA 2020 Census Grant Information, Massachusetts 2020 Census
• 2020 Census Action Kit for Nonprofits, Washington Nonprofits
• Helping to Protect the 2020 US Census, Facebook, December 19, 2019.
• Census Messaging Strategy, Article 1, November 2019.
• 2020 Census Research, Operational Plans, and Oversight, United States Census Bureau, July 19, 2019.
• Funding the Census, Brennan Center for Justice
• Census Solutions: Solutions Built for 2020 Census Outreach, CensusOutreach.org
• Stakeholder Toolkit, The Census Project
• Recommended FY 2020 Appropriation for the 2020 Census: The Stakeholder Case for Sufficient, On-Time Funding, Terri Ann Lowenthal, Consultant, March 27, 2019.
• More

Citizenship Question Resources

• Department of Commerce v. New York, U.S. Supreme Court, June 27, 2019.
• Nonprofits Celebrate Supreme Court Decision That Keeps Citizenship Question Off the 2020 Census, National Council of Nonprofits, press release, June 27, 2019.
• Brief of National Council of Nonprofits, National Human Services Assembly, and YWCA USA as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents, Supreme Court of the United States, April 1, 2019.
• Citizenship Question Packs Supreme Court for Oral Arguments, National Council of Nonprofits blog, April 29, 2019.
• 2020 Census Resource Page, Brennan Center for Justice
• Census Citizenship Question Decision, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
• More

Statements and Letters to Congress

• Business for the 2020 Census, For-Profit Businesses and Associations, June 18, 2019.
• Letter to the House Appropriations Committee on Full Funding of the 2020 Census, National Council of Nonprofits, May 16, 2018.
• Letter to Chairman Gowdy, Together SC, May 11, 2018.
• Statement to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, National Council of Nonprofits, May 8, 2018.
• Statement to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, CT Community Nonprofit Alliance, May 7, 2018.
• More