The U.S. Census Bureau officially began its decennial census of the United States on April 1.  The census is intended to count everyone living in the country regardless of citizenship status. The count data will serve as the basis for critical decisions about the distribution of government funds to local communities, the allocation of congressional seats, and the shape of election districts for the next ten years.

The U.S. Census Bureau began mailing Census forms to households across the country on March 15 and extended the mail-back deadline to April 16. Census Director Robert Groves has announced that early reports indicate a 72% response rate. The Census Bureau has begun following-up in person to obtain responses from any address that has not mailed back a form. The Census Bureau completed its non-response follow-up (NRFU) campaign July 10, which involved over 600,000 Census enumerators visiting approximately 48 million homes.

WHY IT MATTERS

Lower income and mobile populations, both of whom receive a variety of services from nonprofit organizations, are frequently undercounted by the census, reducing funding for critical programs and under-representing them in government. As frontline service providers to historically miscounted populations, nonprofits can play a key role in educating them about the importance of the census and helping to mobilize their participation.

The Brookings Institution released a report in March that analyzes the role of Census data in determining funding allocation by program function, state, and the largest counties and metropolitan areas in the country.

To address concerns about the confidentiality and privacy of census information, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that Census information is protected and not subject to the information gathering and sharing provisions of the Patriot Act.

HOW YOU CAN HELP COUNT EFFORTS

• Incorporate Census messaging in on-going meetings and events
• Distribute talking points to partners, affiliates and media
• Distribute Census read-made materials
  
• Learn more about what other nonprofits are doing to aid census efforts and how you can get involved on our Census resources page.
• Visit the official U.S. Census 2010 website for more information.