ABOUT THE FUND
The Massachusetts Census Equity Fund’s mission is to support community organizations and grassroots leaders who are organizing within their community to ensure the most accurate count in the Commonwealth. We are focusing especially on those who are often undercounted and in areas facing historic barriers to this Census.
Click here to learn about the organizations who received grants from MCEF.
HISTORY: Massachusetts Census Equity Fund 2010
In 2010 Massachusetts faced numerous challenges regarding redistricting and were at risk of losing a legislative seat. We also faced the ramifications of fraudulent actions at the state legislative level resulting from unfair use of data from the 2000 Census.
Facing this reality Access Strategies Fund reached out to funders across the state to partner and launch the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund with the following goals:
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Increase Census response turnout by 5% in our Hard to Count(HTC) communities
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Increase the capacity of community organizations for civic engagement and community organizing.
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Foster funder collaborations on civic engagement and develop best practices in the area of census outreach.
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Document lessons learned from organizations involved in census activities.
In just a 6 month period we accomplished so much!
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12 funders came together to commit resources, time and talent to raise over $1 million and awarded 30 grants across the state.
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Over half the communities where grantees worked increased their mail participation rates from 2000.
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96% of organizations stated that participating in census outreach increased their capacity for civic engagement and community organizing.
What we learned during this process was long lasting:
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Reaching HTC communities requires creative strategies and dedicated on-the-ground staff and volunteers that represent the communities being reached.
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Appropriate language and cultural outreach strategies are essential to increasing participation of HTC communities.
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Funder and grantee initiatives are critical for statewide collaboration, particularly for rural and underserved communities.
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Organizations and communities need more time to educate and inform their constituents about the importance of the Census.
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Partnership is key - State, Census, Elected officials, grasstops and grassroots ALL need to be in communication with one another as much as possible, and we can help make that happen.
ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING GRANTS
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African Television Network of New England
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Agencia Alpha
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Asian American Resource Workshop
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Asian Community Development Corporation
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BAGLY
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BayPath Elder Services, Inc., Marlborough
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Berkshire Immigrant Center
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Boston Senior Home Care, Boston
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Brazilian American Center, Framingham
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Brazilian Women's Group, Brighton
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Brazilian Worker Center
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CAIR-MA
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Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Lowell
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Center for New Americans
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Central Mass Agency on Aging
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Centro Las Americas, Inc.
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Chelsea Collaborative, Chelsea
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Chinese Progressive Association, Boston
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City Life/Vida Urbana, Boston
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City Mission
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Coalition for a Better Acre, Lowell
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Community Foundation for Nantucket
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Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Mass, New Bedford
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Council on American-Islamic Relations, Massachusetts, Boston
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Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, Dorchester
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Edwards Church, United Church of Christ, Framingham
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Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, Lawrence
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Fenway Community Health Center, Boston
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Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Greenfield
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Friendly House, Inc., Worcester
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Groundwork Lawrence, Lawrence
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Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center
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Immigrant Assistance Center of Greater Brockton, Brockton
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Immigrants' Assistance Center, New Bedford
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Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, Jamaica Plain
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Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc., Lawrence
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Lawyers for Civil Rights, Boston
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Lowell Association for the Blind
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Lowell Community Health Center
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LEO, Inc., Lynn
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Madison Park Development Corporation, Roxbury
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Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers
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Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
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Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
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Massachusetts Council of Churches
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Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance
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Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
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Massachusetts Voter Table
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MetroWest Legal Services, Framingham
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Neighbor to Neighbor, Boston
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New England United 4 Justice, Dorchester
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New American Association of Massachusetts
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New England Bangledeshi American Foundation
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New North Citizens' Council, Inc., Springfield
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North American Indian Center of Boston
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North Shore CDC
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OneHolyoke CDC
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Our Space Our Place
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People Acting in Community Endeavors (PACE)
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Pioneer Valley Regional Ventures Center, Springfield
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Project Citizenship, Boston
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Quincy Asian Resources Inc., Quincy
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Revere Youth in Action, Director
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Somali Development Center
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South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc., Framingham
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Southeast Asian Coalition of Massachusetts, Worcester
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Spanish American Center
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Stavros Center for Independent Living
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United Way of North Central Massachusetts
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Valley Opportunity Council, Holyoke and Chicopee
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Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc., Dorchester
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Women Encouraging Empowerment, Revere
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Worcester Interfaith, Worcester
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YWCA Newburyport
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YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts
FUND PARTNERS
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Herman & Frieda L. Miller Foundation
CONTACT THE MASSACHUSETTS CENSUS EQUITY FUND
