Following multiple court cases and extensive national advocacy work – with significant leadership from philanthropy and philanthropy serving organizations - the census forms are being printed without the citizenship question.

For the past two years, CMF has advocated alongside philanthropy serving organizations throughout the country in requesting that the federal government not add the citizenship question to the Census 2020 form because it had not been field tested. All questions on the census form to-date have been tested. 

In November, the U.S. Census Bureau released the findings of its own study citing that “the citizenship question may be a major barrier” to participation. Of the 17,500 people who responded to the survey, 37 percent were unsure if the data would be used to locate undocumented individuals and 10 percent believed it would.

As part of a message to its community of members, the United Philanthropy Forum shared, “Funders and stakeholder groups worked tirelessly to stop the addition of the citizenship question. Funders signed letters, joined together on legal briefs, organized convenings, invested in research, educated other funders and the public and helped fund stakeholders to lead the opposition. We should be proud of our efforts and appreciative of the talent and commitment among the stakeholder groups who led this fight. It was a victory for democracy and removed a significant barrier to achieving a fair and accurate count. Now we can move full steam ahead on Get Out the Count efforts.”

While the citizenship question will not be on the census form, the Forum shares that the turmoil around it has created confusion and fear among historically undercounted communities.

“Stakeholders still need substantial investments in order to convince vulnerable households to be fully counted,” the Forum shared.

As the Michigan Nonprofits Complete Count Committee (NPCCC) has shared there’s still a lot of work to do before the census launches.

“We have always been committed to a fair and accurate count and now that the citizenship question controversy is finally over, we have more clarity moving forward with Get Out the Count plans,” Donna Murray-Brown, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) and co-chair of the NPCCC said. “The communications strategies for the motivation and persuasion phase of the campaign are being completed.”

Murray-Brown shared that the NPCCC and New Michigan Media are hosting a media event this Wednesday in Detroit, along with two more in August in Grand Rapids and Gaylord.

“The aim is to learn first-hand about the fears and obstacles to filling out the census from members of the media that communicate directly with the populations we hope to reach,” Murray-Brown said.

Meanwhile, census hubs around the state are also in full swing, accepting applications and deploying mini-grants to grassroots organizations doing on-the-ground outreach efforts to historically undercounted communities.

The Berrien Community Foundation recently wrapped up a series of informational meetings on its census mini grants.

“Our local nonprofit organizations are key to the grassroots efforts to count every resident in the 2020 Census,” Lisa Cripps-Downey, president, Berrien Community Foundation said. "Nonprofits, including churches and schools, are key contact points to residents who may not fill out the census form. These grants will help support nonprofit efforts to educate residents about the importance of the census and plans to get out the count.”

The Berrien Community Foundation is one of 11 CMF member community foundations serving or partnering as a regional hub through the NPCCC.

The NPCCC is led by MNA in partnership with CMF. It launched in 2017 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The campaign is supported by more than 40 CMF members and the Michigan Legislature, growing the campaign’s assets to more than $10.4 million.

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