Please apply here for grants from $500-$2000 to fund work related to the follow-up Census response period. Due to the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic coincided with the 2020 Census, libraries have had to innovate in order to complete their follow-up work promoting a complete count. We are providing a limited number of cash grants to New York Libraries and Library Systems to fund this work. These grants can be used for programs such as:

Procuring mobile hotspots
A marketing program using radio or internet or physical ads
Creating a traveling hotspot-mobile
An educational campaign targeting low-response areas

Grants will be given on a rolling basis. Priority will be given to libraries and systems in low-response areas. This is a reimbursement grant; we will issue the money after grantees submit receipts.

Besides submitting receipts, you must also provide follow-up documentation to summarize the results from your initiative. This can be accomplished in one of the following ways: short presentation, a newspaper/magazine/newsletter article highlighting your census activities, social media campaign summary, or an alternative reporting tool that provides an accounting of the initiative you launched, funded by this grant.

We have limited funds to distribute for these grants. Once the money has been distributed, it is gone. First come, first serve - so apply early!

These grants are made possible by funds granted from the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The statements made and views expressed, however, are solely the responsibility of Empire State Library Network.