EVENT RECAP | April 2025
Connecting with Tarrant County: Advancing a Complete Count
On April 16, 2025, the Texas Census Institute (TxCI) co-hosted a Census round table in Tarrant County in partnership with the Rainwater Charitable Foundation and The Morris Foundation. The event brought together nonprofit leaders, community advocates, and organizational partners to explore how undercounts in the Census directly impact funding for essential local services—such as education, healthcare, housing, and more.
TxCI led a discussion on how local communities can take action to support a fair and accurate count across Texas in advance of the 2030 Census. Attendees gained valuable insights into the role of the census in shaping resources and representation for the communities they serve and began a discussion around planning and collaboration for future census activities.
Key Takeaways:
Tarrant County undercount numbers – In preparation for this event, TxCI compiled undercount research for Tarrant county, highlighting key issue areas and their impact. TxCI shared that Tarrant County lost over $1.6 billion in funding for housing, education, infrastructure, and other key areas due to undercounting. It was demonstrated that $1 billion of this funding could have gone toward health initiatives alone, such as SNAP and free school lunch programs, affecting services provided by community nonprofits.
Our Roadmap to 2030
TxCI shared our multi-year strategy to ensure all Texans are counted in the next census. The plan begins with assessing regional capacity to educate and engage historically undercounted communities, conducting research to better understand areas with low self-response, and preparing for the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA). As the decade progresses, the focus will shift to convening partners, building capacity, and fostering collaboration to drive community engagement. Most importantly, we outlined where and how community members can get involved to make a lasting impact on Texas’ census efforts.
TxCI shared our multi-year strategy to ensure all Texans are counted in the next census. The plan begins with assessing regional capacity to educate and engage historically undercounted communities, conducting research to better understand areas with low self-response, and preparing for the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA). As the decade progresses, the focus will shift to convening partners, building capacity, and fostering collaboration to drive community engagement. Most importantly, we outlined where and how community members can get involved to make a lasting impact on Texas’ census efforts.
Connecting Local Action to Statewide Legislative Strategy – The roundtable introduced participants to TxCI’s efforts at the state level, including our budget request in the Texas legislature for the Texas Demographic Center to support census preparation efforts.
Hosts and Speakers
Angela Broyes, President & CEO, Texas Census Institute – LinkedIn
Kaitlin Guthrow, Director of Partnerships, The Morris Foundation – LinkedIn
Jeanelle Davis, Senior Principal, Rainwater Charitable Foundation – Linkedin
Event Material
For more information about the event or our work, please contact Angela Broyles, angela@texascensus.org.
