GoVoteNYC Fund Makes Nearly $1 Million in Grants to Increase Voter Turnout

On the heels of this week’s primary election in New York, GoVoteNYC is announcing new grants to engage low-turnout voters in local elections over the next 18 months.

The New York Community Trust’s GoVoteNYC Fund announced $975,000 in grants to nine nonprofits focused on nonpartisan get-out-the-vote activities. These newest grants bring the total investment by GoVoteNYC funders since 2021 to $3.5 million in grant sand more than $13 million in aligned funding, all supporting nonpartisan voter engagement. Now in its fourth year, the GoVoteNYC funder collaborative brings together nearly a dozen foundations to make grants and learn alongside grantees how best to advance civic engagement.

“GoVoteNYC supports nonprofits that have built close relationships with communities often overlooked in the democratic process,” said Eve Stotland, senior program officer for civic affairs and human justice at The New York Community Trust and a GoVoteNYC co-chair. “It’s inspiring to see the grantees deploy new technologies along with traditional person-to-person contacts to create momentum.”

The grantees include: The Asian American Federation, Center for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, El Puente, Faith in New York, Hispanic Federation, Min Kwon Center for Community Action, New York Civic Engagement Table, New York Immigration Coalition, and United Neighborhood Houses.

“There is no time off when it comes to civic participation. In 2024, we have a presidential election, potential ballot measures, and several highly competitive congressional elections in New York State,” said Martha King, senior program officer at the Charles H. Revson Foundation and a GoVoteNYC co-chair. “And we also know that for issues like affordable housing, public safety, and education, the city elections in 2025 will be key. That’s why GoVoteNYC is providing funding now for our grantees to build and sustain capacity through next year’s elections.”

In 2021, for example, voters of color, including Asian American, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx voters, canvassed by GoVoteNYC grantees voted at nearly double the rate of voters of color who were not contacted: 37 percent of those canvassed by GoVoteNYC partners voted, versus 20 percent of those not contacted.

The grant to the New York Civic Engagement Table (NYCET) will support the other grantee nonprofit partners to build targeted voter lists and refine outreach efforts by providing data support and training on the use of new tools. NYCET also offers field support to grantees as they implement programs. It will receive a $175,000 grant to continue this work. The other eight grantees will receive grants of $100,000 each.

The current GoVoteNYC funders are the Altman Foundation, Brooklyn Org, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The New York Community Trust, New York Foundation, New York Women’s Foundation, Scherman Foundation, Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock.