The 2020 Census is live! Be counted now!
Census 2020 is our opportunity to shape the future. EVERY person, regardless of immigration status, who resides in the U.S. should be counted and thus represented. Census participation ensures that our community will receive access to federal funding for public education, housing, infrastructure, healthcare, congressional representation, votes in the electoral college and more!
The stakes are high for the Census 2020. For New Yorkers, ensuring an accurate count is particularly important. In the 2010 census, New York lost two congressional seats and missed out on significant federal funding to support critical social services. Another undercount of our population, particularly of immigrant communities and communities of color, poses a serious threat to to our democracy.
Police violence and other abuses of power we are protesting right now are a direct outcome of Black communities being undercounted and underrepresented at every level of government for generations. If we want to make Black lives matter in public policy, we have to ensure Black people count on the census. Census data are used to make decisions about how money and power are shared in our society, so when Black communities are undercounted, the resources and representation our communities deserve are sent to more privileged communities instead.
F.Y. Eye is building awareness, urgency and confidence in the 2020 Census to make sure New York gets its fair share of federal funding and congressional representation.
Note about the coronavirus COVID-19: The Census Bureau is carefully monitoring the situation and will follow the guidance of federal, state and local health authorities. It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail—all without having to meet a census taker. The Census Bureau is encouraging everyone to respond online as soon as you receive your invitation with the provided instructions to go online. The deadline to self-respond is September 30, 2020.
Our Plan + What We’re Doing:
- Expand F.Y. Eye’s PSA NetworkTM to new hard-to-count Census locations
- Distribute Census 2020 PSAs on Department of Sanitation trucks in every NYC neighborhood
- Organize a Get Out the Count Census message contest and place winning messages on 13.2 million fortune cookies distributed across Chinese restaurants in NYC staring in July
- Build capacity for community and ethnic media in hard-to-count communities
- Partner with New York nonprofits and other community-based organizations on Census 2020 outreach
- Join New York Counts 2020 Coalition
- Survey New Yorkers to find the most effective and tailored messages to motivate Census 2020 participation
- Use the power of art and design to inspire Census 2020 participation with F.Y. Eye’s Impact Artist CollectiveTM and young artists living throughout NYC
- Disseminate Census 2020 information and encourage subscription to our newsletters, social media posts and PSA alerts
Your Plan: Be Counted + Get Involved
- Fill out the Census yourself- online, by phone, by mail, in person with an official enumerator. Your response is confidential and protected under current federal law.
- Encourage others to participate
- Help your neighbors, colleagues, friends and family members fill out the Census
- Get paid to ensure your community is fully and accurately counted by becoming an official Census taker
- Spread the word!
Other Useful Resources
- Key Dates
- Census 2020 FAQs
- Census 2020 NYC Resources
- Census 2020 Hard-to-Count Map
- Other Census Resources
