➜ Begin advocacy efforts and conversations with elected state officials to secure funding for a statewide 2030 Census GOTC campaign, which should include support for community-based organizations in 2028, 2029, and 2030.
- Use Roadmap to the 2030 Census resources to help develop a localized roadmap.
➜ Identify at least one staff person dedicated to census issues part-time.
- Have them join the States Count Action Network (S-CAN) to receive census updates and resources. \
➜ Begin reviewing 2020 Census evaluations and 2020 Census Barriers, Attitudes and Motivators Study (CBAMS) results to inform 2030 Census planning at the local level.
- If available, review 2025 HTOPS results related to public perception of the census, previously tested through CBAMS, to inform development of an initial 2030 GOTC and advocacy plan.
➜ Start to gauge interest in 2030 Census involvement within your professional network and build out a strategy to bring in key partners for census engagement, such as funders, elected officials, educators, community-based organizations, advocacy organizations, experts in relevant sciences (e.g., demographers and sociologists), local service providers, businesses, faith leaders and others.
➜ Identify potential community partners to form a coalition led by community-based organizations to engage with the Census Bureau and census champions.
- Begin to collaborate with tribal, state and local governments in forming Complete Count Committees (CCC).
➜ Identify geographic areas and specific population groups (such as communities of color, people with disabilities, and immigrants) at greatest risk of being undercounted to inform 2030 Census campaign strategy and funding decisions.
- Review HTC maps and available Census Bureau resources to inform outreach strategies.
➜ Identify state philanthropy organizations that are providing aligned and/or joint funding for community-based organizations in your state.
➜ Offer broad briefings/webinars for funders, cosponsored by interested affinity groups, to get buy-in for engagement in 2030 Census GOTC efforts.
➜ Expand LUCA operation education – Since the Census Bureau is planning to eliminate most pre-census address canvassing, LUCA participation becomes even more critical.
- Use the LUCA Resource Guide – This resource, developed by the 2030 Census National LUCA Working Group, helps community stakeholders understand more about the LUCA operation and how to support participating tribal/state/local governments.
- Host a dedicated LUCA briefing for local government and tribal partners emphasizing the higher stakes for the 2030 Census and the importance of LUCA and updating the census address list.
➜ Monitor testing and planning decisions for the 2030 Census, educate communities about the importance of the ACS, and support efforts to adequately fund the Census Bureau.
➜ Monitor OMB race and ethnicity standards implementation efforts, if any.
- Educate communities about the new combined race/ethnicity question and new MENA category.
➜ Begin preparing advocacy materials for the April 2027 “topics to Congress” deadline. This is the first official opportunity to see whether a citizenship question and/or OMB standards will be added to the census questionnaire.
➜ Optional: Partner with local organizations and community leaders to advance proclamations or ordinances that designate the census as a priority and secure funding for local census infrastructure and outreach. Refer to Project On Government Oversight (POGO) factsheets to understand how the census shapes funding in your state.
