Wilkerson said about $1,500 per year in federal funding is lost for each person not counted in the census, and the numbers shape federal funding for the next 10 years.

Alvarez characterized the census as “the one way we really have to twist the government’s arm to represent you and invest in you.”

“We all win when we’re all counted,” he said.

Some of the hardest-to-count communities Schuyler’s organization serves have the most to lose in an undercount. Those communities are often reliant on local health departments, and a complete count is essential to ensuring they receive adequate funding.

“The census numbers are utilized by the US government to determine the government pass-through funds that go to health and well-being programs like health departments, Medicare, Medicaid, the Head Start programs, all kinds of education programs, Pell Grants, school lunches, senior programs like Meals on Wheels, and the various senior transportation systems,” she said.

An undercount could affect schools, roads, bridges and other public improvements that are at least partially funded by government pass-through funds, she added.

The organizers also agreed the pandemic that has so drastically altered this year’s plans is further evidence that an accurate count is needed.