August 5, 2020 The Honorable Wilbur L. Ross The Honorable Steven Dillingham U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau 1401 Constitution Avenue N.W. 4600 Silver Hill Road Washington, DC 20230 Suitland, MD 20746 Re: Completion Date of the 2020 Decennial Census Dear Secretary Ross and Director Dillingham: We write in response to the Census Bureau’s announcement that it intends to drastically cut short 2020 Census operations and subsequent, critical data improvement, processing, and review activities. We urge the Census Bureau to maintain its constitutional responsibilities to enumerate every household that has not responded on its own, in order to achieve a fair and accurate count. Given the pandemic, there is every reason to believe the Census Bureau will need to collect data through October 31, a date the Census Bureau itself had earlier announced was needed to meet its obligations. We are leaders of nonpartisan philanthropic institutions from across the country, large and small, giving hundreds of millions of dollars each year to advance the common good and improve the quality of life in the United States. We have different funding approaches, are ideologically diverse, and do not always share the same priorities. But we have come together to support a fair and accurate 2020 Census, with a focus on historically undercounted communities, including people of color, low-income and immigrant families, and young children. We all oppose cutting short the 2020 Census in the midst of a global pandemic. Across our varied institutions, we share a belief that reliable and accurate data are a necessary foundation for a well-functioning government, robust civil society, and thriving business sector in the United States. We rely on accurate census data to help identify community needs and prioritize grantmaking, and our grantees and partners rely on accurate census data to advocate for and improve our communities, through their work on various issues, including poverty, health care, criminal justice reform, racial equity, education, homelessness and housing, and infrastructure. Collectively, many of our institutions have invested more than $100 million in rural and urban communities across the country in support of the Census Bureau’s efforts to educate and persuade households about the importance of participating in the 2020 Census. The census has already faced numerous hurdles this decade, including a pandemic that required operational modifications in order to prioritize the health and safety of the census workforce and the American public. The pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the Census Bureau to recruit, train, and retain enumerators, and is still preventing in-person contact in many areas. According to an analysis by the Center for Urban Research at City University of New York’s Graduate Center, only four states and 14% of the country’s counties have achieved their 2010 level of self-response -- and they had nearly three extra months when compared to 2010. With nearly four out of ten households still to be counted, many of us have deepened our engagement and made additional grants to organizations in support of outreach plans that rely on the Bureau’s announced October 31 end date for field operations. Letter from U.S. Philanthropy Leaders RE: Completion Date of the 2020 Decennial Census August 5, 2020 Page 2 of 27 Rushing the census would unnecessarily impair our nation’s collective efforts to achieve a fair and accurate 2020 Census. It would hurt a diverse range of rural and urban communities, leaving them underrepresented locally and in Congress and cutting their fair share of federal funding for Medicaid, economic development, child care, schools, road and public transit improvements, home heating assistance for senior citizens, and many more vital services. For all the reasons stated above, we urge you to maintain the October 31 end date for the door knocking and self-response operations and ensure that the subsequent quality checks and data processing work is done thoroughly and in accordance with the Census Bureau’s own quality standards. Thank you for your attention. If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Gary Bass at the Bauman Foundation ([email protected]). Sincerely, Katey Kennedy Trevor Storrs Executive Director President & CEO 1440 Foundation Alaska Children’s Trust Scotts Valley, CA Anchorage, AK Anne Bartley R. Randall Royster President President & CEO AB Fund Albuquerque Community Foundation San Francisco, CA Albuquerque, NM Alexie Torres Amanda Joyce-Phelps Executive Director Director Access Strategies Fund Allegany County United Way Cambridge, MA Wellsville, NY Heather Peeler Eileen S. Coogan President & CEO President & CEO ACT for Alexandria Allegany Franciscan Ministries Alexandria, VA Palm Harbor, FL Cali Brooks Amy Kitchener President & CEO Executive Director Adirondack Foundation Alliance for California Traditional Arts Lake Placid, NY Fresno, CA John T. Petures, Jr Deborah T. Velazquez President & CEO President Akron Community Foundation Altman Foundation Akron, OH New York, NY Jera G. Stribling Bradford Robb Executive Director Executive Director Alabama Giving Anderson Charitable Foundation Birmingham, AL Austin, TX Letter from U.S. Philanthropy Leaders RE: Completion Date of the 2020 Decennial Census August 5, 2020 Page 3 of 27 Janet L Delaney Shanaysha Sauls President/Trustee President & CEO Andrew Delaney Foundation Baltimore Community Foundation Austin, TX Baltimore, MD David Goodman James E. Canales Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors President Andrew Goodman Foundation Barr Foundation Upper Saddle River, NJ Boston, MA Sampriti Ganguli Gary D. Bass Chief Executive Advisor Executive Director Arabella Advisors Bauman Foundation Washington, DC Washington, DC Anna Lefer Kuhn Rebecca Golden Executive Director Director of Programs ARCA Foundation Ben & Jerry's Foundation Washington, DC South Burlington, VT Vanetta Abdellatif Kevin K. Murphy President & CEO President Arcora Foundation Berks County Community Foundation Seattle, WA Reading, PA Steve Seleznow Peter Taylor President and Chief Executive Officer President and CEO Arizona Community Foundation Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Phoenix, AZ Sheffield, MA Laurie Liles Sara Kay President and CEO Chief Executive Officer Arizona Grantmakers Forum Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust Phoenix, AZ New York, NY Susan W. DeVenny Kenneth Kuchman President & CEO Executive Director Arras Foundation Bernard E. & Alba Witkin Charitable Lancaster, SC Foundation Berkeley, CA Elizabeth Rouse President & CEO Ami Aronson ArtsMemphis Executive Director Memphis, TN Bernstein Family Foundation Washington, DC Audrey Yamamoto President & Executive Director Asian Pacific Fund San Francisco, CA Letter from U.S. Philanthropy Leaders RE: Completion Date of the 2020 Decennial Census August 5, 2020 Page 4 of 27 Claire M Solot Betsy G. Abell Managing Director, President & Founder President Bigglesworth Family Foundation Buena Vista Foundation San Francisco, CA Austin, TX Yolanda McCray Denis Hayes President & CEO CEO Black River United Way Bullitt Foundation Georgetown, SC Seattle, WA Lisa Adkins Jen Ford Reedy President/CEO President Blue Grass Community Foundation Bush Foundation Lexington, KY Saint Paul, MN Debbie I. Chang Anne H Morin President and CEO Interim Executive Director Blue Shield of California Foundation Butler Family Fund San Francisco, CA Washington, DC Karl M. Samp Antonia Hernandez Executive Director President & CEO Brainerd Lakes Area Community California Community Foundation Foundation (BLACF) Los Angeles, CA Brainerd, MN Sandra R. Hernández, MD Betsy Taylor President and CEO President California Health Care Foundation Breakthrough Strategies & Solutions, LLC Oakland, CA Takoma Park, MD Michelle D. Monse Kevin Schwanfelder President President Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation Brindle Foundation Dallas, TX Santa Fe, NM Vartan Gregorian Andrea Perry President Program Officer Carnegie Corporation of New York Broad Reach Fund New York, NY Ellsworth, ME Kathleen D Edwards, Ph.D. Cecilia Clarke President President and CEO Cedarmere Foundation Brooklyn Community Foundation Seattle, WA Brooklyn, NY JoAnn Turnquist President & CEO Central Carolina Community Foundation Columbia, SC Letter from U.S. Philanthropy Leaders RE: Completion Date of the 2020 Decennial Census August 5, 2020 Page 5 of 27 Mark Brewer Heather Flaherty President/CEO Executive Director Central Florida Foundation Chuckanut Health Foundation Orlando, FL Bellingham, WA Caryl Turnow Darrin Goss Sr. Executive Director President & CEO Central Minnesota Community Foundation Coastal Community Foundation of South St. Cloud, MN Carolina North Charleston, SC Peter A. Dunn President and CEO Kyle Rojas Legleiter Central New York Community Foundation Senior Director of Public Policy Syracuse, NY Colorado Health Foundation Denver, CO Merle C. Chambers Founder David J. Scullin Chambers Initiative President and CEO Denver, CO Communities Foundation of Texas Dallas, TX Teri A Hansen President|CEO Tatiana Hernandez Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sarasota, FL Community Foundation Boulder County Boulder, CO Stacy Schusterman Chair Theresa Grimison Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family President and CEO Foundation Community Foundation for Brevard Tulsa, OK Melbourne, FL Ann Phipps Alicia Philipp Chair President Charles H. Phipps Family Foundation Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Dallas, TX Atlanta,