Yolo Voter Education Grant

Yolo Voter Education Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Yolo Community Foundation
Amount: Up to US $15,000
Last Updated: February 09, 2026

Summary

The Yolo Voter Education Grant aims to enhance voter understanding in Yolo County ahead of the 2024 elections. Funded by the Walter & Evelyn Haas Fund, the initiative focuses on educating communities about the voting process, including changes in voting locations and methods. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to leverage existing relationships and resources to maximize outreach effectiveness. Training and multilingual materials will be provided to support grantees in their efforts to engage priority communities.

Overview

Yolo Voter Education Grant The Yolo Voter Education Grant, funded by the Walter & Evelyn Haas Fund and Yolo County, was piloted in advance of the 2024 primary elections and is being launched in advance of the 2024 general elections. It was developed in response to the California Voter’s Choice Act, which changed the way Californians vote, in order to increase convenience and flexibility for voters. The Voter’s Choice Act was implemented in Yolo County starting in 2022. The goal of the grant is to increase local voter understanding of how to vote – this includes changes to when (longer timeframe leading up to the election), where (fewer but centralized voting locations, mobile voting locations), and how (in person, by mail) voters may cast a ballot. The Yolo County Elections Office and the Yolo Community Foundation will provide grantees with training, including with detailed information on when, where, and how Yolo County voters may vote. We will also provide sample outreach materials (flyers, door hangers, graphics, etc.), developed in multiple languages, in both a government and nonprofit voice; grantees may choose to use these materials as is, adapt them to the grantee’s own voice and audience, or create their own outreach materials. We recognize that nonprofits are trusted partners in the geographic and demographic communities that we seek to reach with this important message. Nonprofits are also experts in these communities and have existing infrastructure for reaching them, including existing relationships, communications channels, events, etc. Our intention is that our nonprofit partners will integrate this messaging into existing activities and leverage existing assets, rather than developing complex initiatives from scratch. For example, grantees may carry out activities such as hosting or tabling at an existing event, sharing the message at a planned training or service delivery site, delivering messaging and/or materials door to door, training community members to share the message within their own networks, including educational materials with other products being distributed to community members, publishing a letter to the editor or short article in a local news platform or in the organization’s own media (newsletter, etc.), posting boosted social media posts, conducting online advertising or direct mail, text or phone banking, etc. Of course, we recognize that our nonprofit partners are the experts in the communities they serve and we welcome a wide range of creative ideas for delivering these messages. Please note that the Haas Fund is conducting research on voter education efforts and grantees may be asked to spend a limited amount of time sharing their experiences as part of this grant with a researcher. Grantees will also be expected to report on outputs (e.g., number of flyers distributed, number of households visited, number of post views, etc.). YCF will provide support in this process and will work to ensure that the post-grant reporting process is simple, streamlined, and minimally burdensome for our partners.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligibility Requirements and Criteria: Grant recipients must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization or be fiscally sponsored by such an organization. Recipients must have demonstrated expertise in working with the geographic and/or demographic priority communities. All recipients should have extensive experience working in Yolo County. Geographic priority areas are those with lower voter turnout in recent elections, as indicated by lighter shading in the map available here. Demographic priority communities include Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and young voters. Programs should be executed between early August and early November 2024. (Planning and any materials development should take place between early August and September 2024; outreach should take place between September 24 and November 5.)Proposals will be evaluated based on their anticipated effectiveness and reach in delivering the voter education messaging, as well as the applicant’s demonstrated capacity for delivering it effectively. Grant Amount: The total grantmaking pool is $75,000; our goal is to develop a portfolio of grantees that will collectively reach all of our priority geographic and demographic communities. Organizations that plan to conduct outreach in multiple cities/regions within Yolo County may request up to $15,000.Note: Organizations are welcome to submit proposals below these maximum numbers, which may be especially appropriate for small or volunteer-run nonprofits. Of course, small and volunteer-run nonprofits are also welcome to request up to the maximum.7/12 Update: We recently secured additional funding to cover outreach material printing costs. Grantees will receive an estimated $1,500-3,000 in printing credits (above and beyond the grant check they receive from us). Applicants may include additional printing costs in their proposed budget if they anticipate spending more than $3,000 to print outreach materials. Our goal here is to coordinate amongst the grantees to minimize the burden on our partners and to minimize printing costs through bulk orders. As such, this printing credit will most likely only apply to printing the outreach materials that we provide – applicants that propose to design their own materials should plan to print those on their own and include the printing cost in their proposed budgets.

Ineligibility

Voter registration activities may NOT be funded with this grant.