Early Childhood Census 2020 Fund

The U.S. Census serves as a fundamental building block for our democracy, with direct implications for representation at the federal level as well as the allocation of billions of federal dollars for critical public programs. Los Angeles County, in particular, is home to some of the most undercounted populations in California, including children ages 0-8, who are considered the hardest-to-count population across all demographics. To bolster census education and outreach efforts to families with young children in LA County, a group of 8 funders joined forces and pooled nearly $1 million to create the Early Childhood Census 2020 Fund in the summer of 2019.

This summary provides key highlights from an evaluation of the Early Childhood Census Fund conducted by Engage R+D. Learnings from this evaluation are based on interviews with the grantees and managing funders as well the review of grant reports and observations of funder meetings.