November has been a big month for the 2020 Census. After months of tireless advocacy from New York Counts 2020 and NYIC pushing for Census outreach funding to be included in the budget and distributed to community-based organizations (CBOs), our efforts finally paid off. Last week, Governor Cuomo announced a $60 million investment in the 2020 Census, including $20 million allocated specifically to CBOs to get out the count. While we have our work cut out for us, this funding comes at a critical moment in the effort to reach every New Yorker across the state, especially immigrants and those considered hard-to-count.

To prepare CBOs for the outreach effort to come, NY Counts 2020 co-hosted the “New York City Census Summit” with A Better New York (ABNY). The convening provided information and resources to support organizations to maximize participation in the Census. With $1.5 TRILLION dollars of federal funding on the line and the health and well-being of our communities at stake, ALL New Yorkers need to be counted in 2020.