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County and foundation say locally run voter-education grants helped boost turnout; another round planned
Summary
Yolo County and the Yolo Community Foundation briefed supervisors on a grants program that funded local nonprofits to reach low-turnout precincts; presenters said outreach reached tens of thousands and contributed to turnout above statewide averages, and staff plan another round for 2026.
County elections officials and the Yolo Community Foundation told the Board of Supervisors that a community-based grants program helped increase voter outreach and produced measurable turnout gains in targeted precincts.
"We piloted the program leading up to the March," Jessica Hubbard, executive director of the Yolo Community Foundation, said, describing a two-phase grant program launched after the Haas Junior Fund approached the county. The pilot in Woodland and Winters awarded three grants of $5,000$10,000. A second round funded seven organizations, mostly with ~$15,000 grants, for a total of about $100,000 plus $16,000 that Haas funded for bulk printing.
Program manager Carolina Valverde said the pilot reached about 11,000 voters and the second round expanded that reach to more than 40,000. "Yolo County is usually 3 to 5 percentage points higher than the statewide turnout rate," she said, and during the grants rollout county turnout was reported at 9% above statewide turnout for the general election.
Presenters credited trusted, locally rooted nonprofits for outreach methodsdoor-to-door conversations, tabling, social media, and multilingual video content that performed well in English, Spanish and Dari. Jesse Salinas, the countys elections official, said the model is being discussed at statewide conferences and that other counties are asking about replicating the program.
Next steps: staff said about $130,000 is planned to support another round of grants for the 2026 primary and general elections and recommended channeling existing voter-outreach funds through community-based organizations to leverage cultural competency and local relationships.
Ending: Supervisors asked for follow-up about grant selection processes and whether the pilot went through an open RFP; YCF staff said the pilot used targeted outreach for selection and later rounds used an open RFP.
