Yolo Voter Education Grant

Yolo Voter Education Grant is sponsored by Yolo Community Foundation. This grant, administered by the Yolo Community Foundation, focuses on voter education.

Yolo Voter Education Grant - Yolo Community Foundation 2026 Yolo Voter Education Grant – Overview 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 implanted in advance of the 2024 general elections.

It was developed to educate local covers about how to vote in light of the California Voter’s Choice Act, which change voting procedures 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. Funded outreach will focus on registered voters from the geographic and demographics communities that have historically been least likely to vote.

We recognize that nonprofits are trusted partners in the 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.

Grant Program Focus: The purpose of the Yolo Voter Education Grant is to use nonprofits as trusted messengers to educate Yolo County registered voters on when, where, and how to vote.

The focus of the outreach should be on registered voters from low-turnout precincts (list or map to be provided by YCF or the Yolo County Elections Office), and/or voters from demographic groups with a history of lower turnout, specifically Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and young voters ages 18-24.

Eligibility Requirements and Criteria: Grant recipient 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 available upon request. Demographic priority communities include Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander, and young voters. Programs should be executed between early April and early November 2026.

(Planning and any materials development should take place between early April and September 2026; outreach should take place between April 1, 2026-June 2, 2026 for the primary elections and August 1- November 3, 2026 for the general elections.) Voter registration activities may NOT be funded with this grant.

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. The total grantmaking pool is $130,000; our goal is to develop a portfolio of grantees that will collectively reach all of our priority geographic and demographic communities, leading up to both the primary and general elections.

Grant requests may be up to $20,000 total; organizations can propose to complete outreach during one or both of the election cycles. (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.

Announcement: Week of March 23 Information Sessions and Office Hours: Information Session: Wednesday, February 11 12pm-1pm Register Here Office Hours 1: Thursday, February 19 10am-11am Register Here Office Hours 2: Friday, February 27 1pm-2pm Register Here Grant Contact: Carolina Valverde, Interim Executive Director, Yolo Community Foundation at