Grants

Rock the Vote

Project Title

For general support

Date

Jun. 05, 2025

Duration

24 months

Description

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, youth voter turnout declined to 42 percent in 2024, down from 50 percent in 2020. Despite previous record turnouts, young voters aged eighteen to twenty-nine continue to face barriers to voting, including information gaps and disinformation campaigns. Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan organization that harnesses culture, media, and technology to engage young Americans. Rock the Vote has a comprehensive suite of civic engagement tools, including its Online Voter Registration (OVR) platform that provides online voter registration, personalized and interactive content throughout the platform, and voting information, to reach young voters. With Corporation support, Rock the Vote will work to increase youth voter turnout and engagement in both local and mid-term elections, using digital strategies, innovative media campaigns, and partnerships that amplify youth voices.

Project Title

For general support

Date

Jun. 09, 2022

Duration

36 months

Description

Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote is a nonpartisan organization that uses culture and technology to tap into the civic potential of young Americans. Rock the Vote recruits and partners with a diverse range of cultural influencers, including athletes and sports teams, entertainers, and corporations with significant youth reach. These partners participate in Rock the Vote’s many civic engagement campaigns and help to register voters. Rock the Vote’s comprehensive voter education resources, both federal and state-based, are accessed by millions of people every year. These resources help voters research candidates and elected officials, locate their polling sites, and understand local voting laws, identification requirements and policies on early voting and absentee ballots. Rock the Vote also hosts a national voter registration platform that is not only used by thousands of partners across the country but is also officially integrated into the systems of eight state governments. With Corporation support, Rock the Vote will continue to use its strategic expertise to foster a culture of civic engagement that can empower a new generation of young voters.

Project Title

For general support

Date

Sep. 10, 2020

Duration

18 months

Description

According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), 79 percent of voters between ages 18-29 say that the COVID-19 pandemic has helped them realize that politics impact their everyday lives. Moreover, 60 percent now believe that their peers are motivated to express their views through voting. Yet, more than 50 percent of survey participants were either unfamiliar with online voter registration or incorrectly assumed their state allows online registration, suggesting a lack of adequate information around the political process. Founded in 1990, Rock the Vote is a leader in civic engagement technology and maintains an exceptional record in mobilizing young voters. Rock the Vote partners with a broad range of cultural influencers, state governments, and companies in entertainment and media technology to promote a popular and informed culture of voting. With Corporation support, Rock the Vote will grow its nonpartisan voter engagement infrastructure, and partner with state governments and cultural influencers to make the franchise more accessible to young voters.

Project Title

For general support

Date

Sep. 13, 2018

Duration

24 months

Description

By 2020, Millennials will comprise 34 percent of the eligible electorate and post-Millennials, also known as Generation Z, will represent another 3 percent. However, inadequate investments in civic education, insufficient engagement by candidates and elected officials, and outdated voter engagement systems have contributed to consistently low turnout among millennial voters, especially in non-presidential cycles. Rock the Vote is a leader in civic engagement technology and maintains an exceptional record in mobilizing young people to register and vote in federal elections. For example, more than 81 percent of voters registered by Rock the Vote in 2016 turned out to vote, and 60 percent were new voters. With Corporation support, Rock the Vote will continue to improve its nonpartisan voter engagement infrastructure and educational resources, in addition to partnering with business leaders and state governments, to make voting more appealing and accessible to young voters.

Project Title

For its Online Voter Registration Innovation Lab

Date

Sep. 11, 2014

Duration

12 months

Project Title

Toward support

Date

Mar. 04, 2010

Duration

24 months

Project Title

Toward support

Date

Dec. 06, 2007

Duration

24 months

Project Title

Toward a CNN forum on youth and voting

Date

Feb. 05, 2004

Duration

12 months