October 11, 2018 - 1:00 pm

Opinion Research to Develop Culturally Resonant Messages

Even before the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 census, we knew it would be challenging to count those who are already historically undercounted given the current political climate towards immigrants and people of color, and the high level of distrust in government. The Census Bureau has conducted opinion research in a few of the languages appropriate for our targets and has future plans for various HTC communities.  However, we don’t know their timing (except they are behind schedule because of funding limitations) or the specifics of what they will test. So additional, immediate testing for the kinds of messages more appropriate for trusted community voices is necessary.

Ideally, there would be opinion research in every language and also in the various audience segments and subpopulations in each group. Of course, that is not feasible given the number of languages, dialects and diversity of population segments that are present in the U.S. as compared with the philanthropic funding available for census work. To get the ball rolling, the funder collaborative identified top priorities for research and has been raising funds to support the following groups to conduct such research (more funds are still needed):

Building on these research efforts, the goal is to develop messages to encompass the different outreach phases: from awareness and positive branding, to persuasion and movement to participation. The plan is that those leading the research will test their messages, mostly through social media, to refine them and verify that they work.

The research findings – including those from the Census Bureau – and the messages derived from the research will be widely shared within our community so that we can maximize our limited resources and not unnecessarily duplicate efforts.  Funders and stakeholder groups are invited to these webinars.

During each webinar, attendees will learn about:

  • The methodology used by each organization
  • The findings of their message testing
  • Recommended messengers and messages

Please come with your questions, we are leaving the majority of the hour for a robust discussion.

Please note: these briefings are open to funders as well as field partners. Please feel free to share with colleagues who you think may be interested in this briefing series.

 

Other Cosponsors: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Associated Grant Makers, Bauman Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Color of Change, Democracy Funders Collaborative Census Subgroup, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Forefront, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, Funders Together to End Homelessness, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Grantmakers In Health, Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Leadership Conference Educational Fund, Minnesota Council of Foundations, NALEO, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, NY Funder Alliance, Philanthropy California, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, Philanthropy New York, Philanthropy Northwest, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders, United Philanthropy Forum

Moderated by Karen Narasaki, Consultant to the Bauman Foundation

Speakers:

  • October 11 – John Yang, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC

Register Here