Grants

Massachusetts General Hospital

Project Title

For core support to the organization, VotER, a nonpartisan initiative dedicated to increasing civic engagement among eligible voters who utilize emergency healthcare services

Date

Sep. 10, 2020

Duration

12 months

Description

Today, 51 million voting-eligible adults are not registered to vote in the United States. This population is disproportionately comprised of the young, the poor, and communities of color. This demographic also disproportionately utilizes medical emergency services for non-urgent care, largely due to a lack of access to standard healthcare channels. Founded in 2019 as a sponsored program under Massachusetts General Hospital, VotER is a nonpartisan initiative dedicated to increasing civic engagement among a population underrepresented in political discourse. VotER has equipped more than 10,000 physicians, nurses, medical students, and social workers with toolkits that they can use to help patients learn about and access nonpartisan resources for civic engagement education. With Corporation support, VotER will expand its infrastructure and capacity to support the growing number of healthcare professionals across the country who are interested in engaging Americans in the civic process.