What We Can Do: Looking Ahead
We did our homework. CVM spent the first months after the election analyzing voting patterns in the newly configured district, as well as having conversations with our grassroots groups. We looked at our outreach efforts in 2022: canvassing, voter registration, voter education, training programs, and more.
Two of our members, Mary Boergers and Robert Deutsch, spent 5 days talking to community leaders in CD 22 to get their perspectives on issues that are important to their neighbors and how they are addressing them. Mary and Robert helped vet Central Valley Empowerment Alliance (CVEA), an exciting new group CVM we will be working with in the future. They are based in Tulare County where civic engagement groups are difficult to find. Central Valley Empowerment Alliance empowers youth and rural communities to become leaders, advocates, and catalysts for change.
For this 2023 cycle, we are fundraising for:
501(c)(3) non-partisan groups:
Valley Voices
Delano Guardians (Fiscal sponsor: Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment)
Central Valley Empowerment Alliance - California nonprofit public benefit corporation - 501(c)(3) pending
501(c)(4) group:
Dolores Huerta Action Fund
Valley Voices held many pop-up community events like this one at the Corcoran Cotton Festival to register, engage and educate Latino voters in Kings County.
Valley Voices
As the sole grassroots engagement non-profit 501(c)(3) in Kings County, Valley Voices (VV) is itself an important community resource. They use a multi-pronged approach to increase civic engagement. With CVM support, they have grown their staff and become a trusted messenger on redistricting, health issues such as COVID, and the importance of voting. Beyond meeting people where there are (the swap meet, church, grocery store), VV is engaging voters with a targeted method that draws on the interests of the community, such as hosting culturally relevant events and hybrid candidate forums. These events provide opportunities to converse with voters in a fun, friendly, and informative manner. VV also actively engages in the development and training of young leaders who can organize and advocate for their underserved communities.
In addition to its continued outreach for voter registration, Valley Voices sees a huge opportunity in helping immigrants along the path to citizenship. According to the Pew Research Center, voting by naturalized citizens grew by 93% compared to 18% among eligible US-born voters from 2000-2022. (See “Naturalized Citizens” article in “Central Valley in the News” below.)
Delano Guardians recently joined "CARA" California Alliance for Retired Americans. They went to Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office with allies to defend Social Security & Medicaid benefits.
Delano Guardians
Formed in 2013, Delano Guardians, a non-profit 501(c)(3), started as an all-volunteer organization founded by local veteran activists motivated by the lack of attention that local Delano officials were paying to the community’s hardships when they raised rates for utilities and water. Since its early days, Delano Guardians (DG) expanded to serve communities in McFarland, Wasco and Shafter.
DG recognizes that voter education is key. The “how to’s” of voting are as basic as: where is my ballot, do I have to vote for everything, what is a drop box, how to mail in a ballot, and more, especially with new and young voters. With this deep understanding of the local voters in these small communities, DG builds lasting relationships that will further increase voter turnout. They also know that young people are impacting their parents and how they vote, so reaching youth is key. And, they are looking for new ways to counteract the mistrust that has started; doors no longer open as quickly as they did in the past.
But all this requires ongoing commitment…not just appearing right before an election. That’s what DG’s deep roots provide.
Dolores Huerta Action Fund knows that hiring local canvassers who are the neighbors and friends of voters is the key to educating, activating and getting out the vote in CD 22.
Dolores Huerta Action Fund
DHAF is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, a 501(c)(3). As a 501(c)(4), DHAF is able to engage more directly in partisan elections, including direct canvassing.
Camila Chavez, director, believes that repeat face-to-face conversations with neighbors is the key to winning. There is no other magic fix: canvassers matter year-round.
Once again, it is not just about registering voters, but engaging them so they actually vote!
For 2024 elections, DHAF says it would be ideal to have dedicated staff year-round to engage in long-term planning and implementation of electoral work. They will focus on increased efforts for building the bench in local elections such as the board of supervisors, city councils, and local school boards that directly impact local residents. It’s all about turnout.
With adequate resources, DHAF can hire and retain canvassers and team leads so that they can “hit the ground running now” and be ready to go in 2024.
Young people from Tulare county took a trip to Sacramento arranged by CVEA to advocate for farmworker issues and quality of life. They learned how the power of community coming together is greater than the sum of its parts.
Central Valley Empowerment Alliance
Our newest applicant for CVM funding CVEA is a California non-profit public benefit corporation awaiting its final papers to be a tax exempt 501(c)(3). Founded in 2019 by leaders with extensive experience in organizing local and statewide campaigns, CVEA focuses on civic engagement and voter registration in rural Tulare County. Their two key efforts so far have been to create a new generation of community leaders through their Youth Leadership Program and to open a community center in the city of Poplar where neighbors can go for information, voter education, and even voting. As CVEA organizers have said, “Transformative change is possible and within reach.”
CVEA plans to continue with this work and, depending on future funding, increase its outreach through:
Issue-based canvassing - finding out what matters to residents.
Community outreach at farmers markets, swap meets, including voter registration using forms and electronic tablets.
Voter education via text messaging and other media.