Yes or No: Will your business support the 2020 Census? 

It’s a simple, yet incredibly important and urgent question every business must ask itself. We wanted to share the below resources and information not to raise awareness, but to drive action from the business community, whether you are a Fortune 500 company or local business committed to serving your community. Every action, no matter how small, can have an impact.  

For many reasons including the following, we call upon the business community to support the 2020 Census: 

1. Businesses make data-driven strategic and operational decisions that require an accurate Census count 
2. Your employees, customers and their communities may be largely impacted by the $900 billion in federal spending allocated based on Census data (view this infographic to see how 9 million children from low-income families will be impacted) 
3. If there is an undercount, businesses will be asked to cover the funding gap to support nonprofits and the communities they serve (a 1 percent undercount can cost a state millions of dollars) 
4. Most important, it’s the right thing to do. An accurate Census is good for business, our communities and our country

Below are business and state-specific resources from 2020census.gov and ReadyNation we encourage you to explore and use in your outreach efforts: 

• Partner outreach materials (toolkits, fact sheets, infographics, social media graphics, brochures, handouts, posters, etc.) 
• How Business Can Contribute to an Accurate 2020 Census 
• Examples of how businesses are supporting the 2020 Census 
• Outreach materials (toolkits, press kits, fact sheets, handouts, posters) 
• State-specific outreach toolkits 
• Employee email and newsletter messaging templates 
• Additional resources

We also wanted to share a timeline from ReadyNation to help businesses plan their outreach efforts to support the 2020 Census: 

• Mid-March – April 2020: This is a critical time for business to help with the effort around the count, because households will now be able to complete their census forms. Beginning in mid-March, households will receive census information inviting them to complete their questionnaires. These will be sent by mail or delivered by a census worker in some rural and all remote areas. Messages to employees, customers, and the public should explain why the census is important for their communities and encourage them to complete their questionnaires.
  
• April 1, 2020 (Census Day): This is neither the beginning of the Census nor the deadline, but, instead, a day that is designated to promote the census around the country. Companies can help by participating in local Census events, posting messages on social media, and communicating with employees, among a range of other strategies.
  
• May 2020: By this time, residents would have had several weeks to complete their forms, so if they have not yet self-responded, a census worker will visit their home to help them complete the questionnaire in person. Households, though, can still self–respond at any time — encouraging their participation is still important.
  
• Summer 2020: Census wraps up.
• By December 31, 2020: Congressional reapportionment determined; state population totals sent to the president. 

On January 1, 2021 how will your business be able to respond to the question, “yes or no, did your business support the 2020 Census?” 

If your business is not planning to do anything, ask why not? And if they are, ask what other businesses and organizations they can bring along from their ecosystem to amplify this critical work.