Philanthropy Fills the Census Funding Gap: Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference

Home » Philanthropy Fills the Census Funding Gap: Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference

EVENT RECAP | October 2025

Philanthropy Fills the Census Funding Gap: Philanthropy Southwest Annual Conference

Summary:

The Philanthropy Southwest Conference is an annual gathering of foundation leaders, grantmakers, nonprofit executives, and philanthropic professionals across the Southwestern United States. The 54th conference was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, bringing together hundreds of participants for keynote presentations, interactive panels, and peer-led workshops.

This year’s theme was “Elevating Impact,” offering opportunities for learning, networking, and collective reflection on how funders can deepen their influence in communities across the region. Texas Census Institute’s (TxCI) Founder, President & CEO, Angela Broyles, joined “The 2030 Census: A Strategic Moment for Philanthropic Impact” panel discussion. The panel was led by Melina Sanchez, who leads national efforts to build state and philanthropic support for census work, and Abby Hughes Holsclaw, who guided philanthropic efforts in Arkansas for the 2020 Census and is developing early support for the 2030 Census in her state.

Panel Overview

The 2030 Census: A Strategic Moment for Philanthropic Impact

Description: Together, these leaders explored how early, coordinated philanthropic engagement can help ensure that the next decennial census accurately reflects every community through a complete count, and in turn, determines how trillions of federal dollars are distributed across the country.

Panel Takeaways

Economic Impact for Texas & Arkansas – In the 2020 Census, Texas was undercounted by more than 500,000 people, resulting in an estimated $25 billion loss in federal funding over the decade. Arkansas experienced an undercount of nearly 150,000 people with an estimated $11 billion loss in federal funding from 2020 to 2030.

Young Child Undercount (Ages 0–4) in the PSW Region – States in the U.S. Census Bureau’s PSW Region experienced significant undercounts of young children (ages 0–4) in 2020:

Arizona: 33,597 (-7.9%)
Arkansas: 7,401 (-4.0%)
Colorado: 11,332 (-3.5%)
Nevada: 10,993 (-5.9%)
New Mexico: 4,549 (-3.8%)
Oklahoma: 13,112 (-5.2%)

These undercounts lead to millions of lost dollars for programs like Head Start, child nutrition, and early education across the region.

Lessons Learned from 2020 – Early preparation is key. Limited participation in LUCA, the Local Update of Census Addresses program, left many Texas communities unrepresented in the Census Bureau’s address files. Only 40 of 254 counties took part, one example being Hidalgo County who participated in early engagement. In partnership with local groups, Hidalgo added more than 14,000 missing addresses and helped return hundreds of millions in federal dollars to the region.

Challenges Facing the 2030 Census – The next census will bring new logistical and communication challenges that may impact participation and accuracy. Addressing these issues will require strong coordination between state and local partners, sufficient resources to support outreach, and trusted community networks that help ensure every household is counted.

Why Census Participation Matters to Philanthropy – Philanthropy plays a crucial role in bridging the gaps left by limited state resources. For instance, it supports early census preparation initiatives in Texas, such as funding research efforts like the Hard to Count (HTC) index. It also helps fund LUCA activities like address block-walking led by community organizations.