Those who do not have a valid address are being contacted personally. At the end of the year, the compiled census data will be sent to the President. In Tennessee, it is very important that we count as many of our citizens as possible. The census will be used to draw districts for everyone from members of Congress and state legislators to even county commissioners and school boards members. To keep Tennessee s nine seats in congress, we must be careful to continue counting as many of our residents as possible.
Federal dollars are also at stake.
Federal taxpayer dollars for everything from roads and schools to hospitals are allocated based on population. If we do not accurately count our citizens, taxpayer dollars that should be destined for Tennessee may end up going somewhere else. The private sector also benefits from census data. Businesses use the numbers to decide where to locate and to determine what products to manufacture. Non profit agencies use the numbers to estimate volunteers and needs in a community.