The answer is simple: It’s On Us as nonprofits to use our voting power to fulfill our missions of promoting public good. The 2020 election yielded unprecedented levels of voter turnout that helped to reduce participation disparities nationwide. This historic victory was accomplished in the midst of significant uncertainty, including a global pandemic that prompted a series of changes to state and local election laws. Research indicates that voter engagement conducted by charitable nonprofits made it easier for new and existing voters to navigate a wide range of policy changes and pandemic concerns.
Despite significant progress, nonprofits’ work is far from over as many prospective voters continue to struggle with navigating newly enacted policy changes and procedures. These challenges create downstream problems in terms of nonprofit and community voice as candidates and elected officials are more inclined to engage communities with high voter participation rates. Therefore, when the communities we serve are unable to vote, policymakers are less likely to prioritize the needs of nonprofit constituents nor the policy priorities of nonprofit organizations that serve them. Without a concerted effort to increase voter turnout, we face the grim prospect of people in our communities losing their voices, and nonprofits losing their policy influence, donors, and volunteers.
Action is needed. While there are no perfect solutions or easy fixes to rectify systemic challenges, collective progress cannot be further delayed. If not the nonprofit sector, who will step in to help? If not now, when is a more appropriate time to protect our communities and missions? It’s On Us to protect our missions by ensuring that every eligible voter, regardless of political affiliation, can cast their ballot and by rising to the challenge again, nonprofits can protect the civic gains we worked tirelessly for years to achieve.
Visit Independent Sector's Nonprofit Voter Empowerment Project
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