How Your Nonprofit Plays a Valuable Role This Election Season

November 3rd marks the next U.S. presidential election, and nonprofits have a critical role to play in boosting voter turnout. At a time where political parties, candidates and interest groups spend billions of dollars on elections, the social sector still has influence and an opportunity to make a difference at each step in the voting process. 

In fact, data shows that between 2011 and 2016, foundations granted more than $150 million to support voter education, registration and turnout. Our team at Resilia is here to share some additional insights on how nonprofits have the opportunity to encourage civic participation in advance of the upcoming presidential election.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Foundations have provided millions of dollars in grants to address civic participation and voting access; however, turnout has remained relatively stagnant over the last 40 years and remains below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Stanford Social Innovation partnered to release a series of articles to address several approaches to boosting voter participation, including addressing the costs and sharing the benefits of voting.

Learn more about the 15-part series here.

Johnson Center

While voter turnout numbers are a focus point when it comes to election season, it is also important to address the number of Americans registered to vote; ensuring citizens are properly registered is a key factor in making sure everyone’s vote counts on election day. Importantly, the Johnson Center shared research from Nonprofit VOTE, demonstrating that people contacted by trusted nonprofit organizations were more likely to vote than others in their same demographic.

Learn more about the influence nonprofits have in encouraging turnout and the importance of partnerships, staff buy-in and engaging multiple audiences.

National Council of Nonprofits

Instead of focusing on the election outcome, nonprofits seek to communicate with under-reach communities to ensure people are properly registered to vote, support thoughtful voting decisions and ensure all Americans are represented in the electorate. Nonprofits can share candidate guides, information about voter registration and tools to create interactive ballots personalized to voting locations so people can learn more about the issues and candidates involved in upcoming elections.

Click here for more information about valuable educational tools nonprofits can use to encourage voter participation.

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Our team at Resilia seeks to help nonprofits and grantors achieve their missions through support, resources and more. This election season, we are committed to sharing information to help organizations have a meaningful impact this November.

There are many ways nonprofits can use their voice to encourage a healthy and representative democracy. Sharing and providing important resources to communities often neglected by traditional campaigning helps to increase the number of informed registered voters and helps everyone to be election ready.

Visit Vote.org for everything you need to know leading up to the next presidential election and to ensure your voice is heard.