It's essential that every resident of Michigan fill out the 2020 U.S. Census. | stock photo
It's essential that every resident of Michigan fill out the 2020 U.S. Census. | stock photo
With the U.S. Census Bureau still collecting data, the state of Michigan has already met and surpassed its previous self-response rate from 2010 -- 67.7% -- and is third in the nation for self-response to the Census.
Currently, over 68% of Michigan households have opted to take it upon themselves to complete the 2020 Census, according to Second Wave Media Southwest Michigan, choosing to provide answers either online, by phone or by mail.
Joan Gustafson, external affairs officer with the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) and leader of the MNA’s 2020 Census campaign, credits the high response rate to both the early start that Michigan made in encouraging participation in the Census, as well as investment by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation going back to 2017, when planning for the Census began among nonprofits.
The state and private funding provided $12 million for the My Nonprofit campaign, which proceeded in parallel to the state’s own $10 million campaign to encourage participation in the Census.
“That was one of the lessons learned after the 2010 Census because philanthropy and nonprofits started in year nine and didn’t invest nearly the amount of money that was needed,” Gustafson said, according to Second Wave Media. “In order to make an impact, you need to do it a lot sooner. The fact that we got out ahead of it early and talked about what was at stake and the importance of protecting the things that are important to us as a state has made a difference."
The MNA has focused campaigning on areas where people have historically been hesitant to participate in the Census.
Kyra Wallace, president and CEO of the Southwestern Michigan Urban League, told Second Wave Media that she believes the COVID-19 crisis helped people to see the importance of the Census.
“Even with the situation now with the pandemic crisis, people needed to seek medical attention,” Wallace said, according to Second Wave Media. “A lot of the funding for medical insurance is given by virtue of the count of the Census.”
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