Over the past several years we have dramatically increased our involvement in sweeping outreach to our neighborhoods to engage residents in crucial civic processes that impact their lives. We have developed the skills, team and technology to reach out to thousands of people in a matter of weeks, in both San Francisco and Oakland. Our Civic Engagement work is making a dramatic impact on elections in the Bay Area and is ensuring that our communities count and are counted.
In 2010, we:
- Conducted and coordinated a massive “Yes We Count!” census outreach drive, reaching approximately 40,000 residents of San Francisco and Oakland and increasing the return rate by up to 3% in some census tracts.
- Co-founded San Francisco Rising, sister organization to Oakland Rising, built by local organizing groups to increase our political influence and grassroots power in local elections.
- Conducted major voter education drive in Oakland for the City’s first implementation of Ranked-Choice Voting, an empowering form of voting that allows voters to choose who they want for office, rather than just who they think will win.
- In the November election, we challenged San Francisco to raise money for services by taxing the sale of properties valued over $5 million with Measure N. We won big. 65% percent of voters supported the measure and we are looking forward to the $26 million that will be raised annually for services our neighborhoods need.
