Building Community Voice Fund

Eligible Counties and Elections: 

• HD 57
• HD 65
• HD 75
• HD 82
• HD 89
• HD 97
• Chesapeake County
• Newport News County

Eligible 501(c)(3) voter registration and turnout initiatives and organizations, including complimentary voter education and protection programs, operating in down-ballot and local elections are encouraged to apply for NAACP Building Community Voice grants. Eligible grant applicants must be or have:

• Agree to work in prescribed BCVF voting jurisdictions.
• Be a nonprofit organization that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code
• Have operational capacity in BCVF priority jurisdictions that are competitive and have significant Black populations.
• Have a demonstrated commitment to and capacity for successful implementation of voter registration and voter turnout activities at the local level in Black communities, including voter education and protection where needed.
• Have the interest and capacity to coordinate with national, state, and local NAACP units and other organizations with similar community objectives.
• Provide information to demonstrate staff and infrastructure available for success; strong financial controls; and processes for reporting and monitoring activities and use of funds.

Funds may be used to support leadership, management, coordination, and operations that increase the political voice and representation of the Black community through greater participation and success in local elections. Specific areas of support include voter registration and turnout and may include complementary activities in voter education and protection. Areas of support, all common to local elections and community impact are expected to fall into three categories:

• Research and data analysis to determine priority down-ballot voting jurisdictions, populations, and resonant messaging for motivating and mobilizing voters
• Central operations, including leadership and management of the grants program and voter contact programming – direct and indirect, that are directed toward down-ballot, local elections
• State-based activities and operations in the substantive areas of voter registration and turnout, possibly complemented by voter education and protection activities, and also including management and coordination, all of which are directed toward local elections significantly affecting Black communities

• The BCVF target for 2025 elections is Virginia.

Texas is the epicenter of America's mass incarceration crisis, locking up more people than any other state. This was the most competitive local election on the ballot in Harris County. The county will have a new district attorney for the first time since 2016, after Sean Teare defeated incumbent Kim Ogg in the March Democratic primary election. The previous prosecutor Kim Ogg was the only Democrat to ever serve as DA in Harris County since 1980. Sean Teare, a progressive prosecutor, faced Republican lawyer Dan Simons. BCVF had one grantee, NextGen Alumni Leadership Council, a civic engagement organization, in this jurisdiction. In the end, Teare defeated Simons with a win margin of 1.9%.

A coordinated coalition of "America First" candidates aimed to take over supervisor of elections positions across Florida. An Election Supervisor is responsible for running elections within their county, overseeing voter registration, designing ballots, conducting voter outreach, and processing mail ballots. Hillsborough is one of six counties where these candidates gained enough momentum to advance to the general election. Supported by prominent election deniers, these candidates remained motivated by Donald Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud. Their outspoken tactics were responsible for the county flipping to DeSantis in 2022 from supporting Biden in 2020. Billy Christensen ran against Democratic incumbent Craig Latimer. Three of BCVF's grantees in FL ran civic engagement programs in this jurisdiction. In the end, Latimer successfully defended his seat with a margin of 5.52%, being an eerily similar margin for other county-wide offices such as county prosecutors.

In 2023, Orange County prosecutor, Monique Worrell (D), was suspended by Florida Governor DeSantis because he disagreed with her sentencing practices for juveniles. Worrell was the only Black woman in Florida elected to serve as a state attorney. Worrell called her suspension a political attack and defended her track record, saying she is both tough on crime and fair. Two of BCVF's grantees ran civic engagement programs in this jurisdiction. In the end, Worrell defeated Andrew Bain to reclaim her job with a win margin of 15.52%

As we work to assess the true impact of the BCVF program in 2024, Ohio serves as a powerful example of how BCVF funding can equip Black communities with the resources they need to make informed decisions about the candidates they choose for local office. Grantees from Ohio shared their pride in the outcomes of the recent elections, emphasizing what was at stake for the Black community in Hamilton County.