Well-known artists supporting voter engagement in their hometowns.
The Hometown Outreach Fund is an advocacy organization that recruits well-known artists to support voter engagement and education initiatives in their hometowns. The efforts bring attention to the importance of voting in local, down ballot elections and encourages voter participation in each and every election.
What we do
The Hometown Outreach Fund supports Voter Education and local Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaigns and voter mobilization initiatives in many states across the country. Scores of influential Hometown Energizers, including Kerry Washington, Selena Gomez in Texas, Billy Crudup in Florida, Sarah Jessica Parker in Ohio, Kate Walsh in Arizona, Phillipa Soo in Illinois and Wanda Sykes in Virginia have appeared in geo-targeted video messages to help mobilize voters and increase turnout in local elections in their hometowns and promote statewide GOTV efforts in their home state.
Our theory of change is that this localized approach to influencer engagement has important value in down-ballot elections, where turnout is historically low and small margins determine the outcomes of elections, and that this strategy is effective in both educating voters as well as increasing voter turnout.
Samples of our work
Selena Gomez
Texan Selena Gomez is here with a message — it's time to VOTE! To make progress on education, advancing civil rights, and fighting climate change - we need to vote in the critical local elections happening across Texas.
Jason Mraz
Only Jason Mraz can make the local elections in his home state of Virginia sound this good! Watch as he passionately sings, “There’s important elections coming up soon in my home state… make sure you’re registered, and vote louder, vote louder!”
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington is promoting the importance of voting all the way down the ballot in state and local elections, where the outcomes are often decided by just a few hundred votes. In this piece, she encourages people to take the time to learn about their local candidates and what they stand for, and how these local leaders can positively impact our daily lives.
Programs
The Hometown Outreach Fund partners with regional or state based organizations to get out the vote during local elections, by recruiting well-known people who hail from the area to amplify the messages of the local organizations. This dynamic forum is a means to motivate voter turnout and to build an informed, educated electorate.
The Hometown Outreach Fund encourages cultural leaders from all walks of life to actively participate in their hometowns, bringing attention to the importance of local civic engagement, and raising awareness surrounding the issues important to their communities.
Get Involved!
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Register to vote!
Sign up to register to vote. Voter registration time takes an average of two minutes or less to complete.
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Who's on your ballot?
Research your local elections, confirm your registration, learn about candidates and referendums and ballot measures.
Our Mission & Goals
The Hometown Outreach Fund aims to support organizations and programs interested in promoting civic participation and engagement at the local level, particularly in underrepresented constituencies and communities.
Our programs create compelling ways to motivate individuals in hometowns across the country to understand the leadership positions in their community and how they impact our daily lives.
We are focused on representation, equality and human rights, with a geographic focus across the U.S.
We seek to positively impact various constituencies including students, women, young adults, low income communities, BIPOC communities, LGBTQ, and people with disabilities.
We are actively raising new funds to support programs.
Our Board
The Hometown Outreach Fund has a small Board of Directors focused on revenue and grant making in the civic engagement portfolio.
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Shannon Meneses
Educational Media Producer
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Joseph Wetzel
Attorney
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Steve Salett
Musician & Producer