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The Andrew Goodman Foundation is excited to highlight the top nine moments from 2023:

Nine: AGF Platinum Seal / AGF 2023 Top Rated Nonprofit

Earlier this year, Candid awarded The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF) the 2023 Platinum Seal of Transparency. This prestigious recognition is a rating that puts AGF in the top 0.1% of charities nationally in terms of transparency and reflects our unwavering commitment to open communication, responsible stewardship of resources, and the profound impact we strive to create in the realm of youth civic and voter engagement. AGF is also proud to be on The GreatNonprofits 2023 Top-Rated List for another year, a testament to our Vote Everywhere Campus Teams and the Andrew Goodman Network and alumni who remain engaged beyond their time on campuses alone.

Eight: AGF Joined As Amici To Defend Student Voting Rights in Texas and Wisconsin

The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF) and Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s largest nonpartisan political reform advocacy organization, joined as amici in Werner v. Dankmeyer (No. 22-cv-555), a case that centered around a challenge to students’ right to vote from their campus addresses in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. Judge Levine ruled to deny the plaintiff’s request to abridge the constitutional right of students to vote from their campus addresses, protecting student’s right to vote in La Crosse County. 

In Texas, AGF, March For Our Lives (MFOL), and National Vote At Home Institute (NVAHI) filed an amicus brief in Cascino v. Scott (No. 22-50748) before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case, originally brought in 2020 in emergency litigation related to the pandemic election, challenges a law that requires young Americans to satisfy a limited set of statutory excuses to qualify to vote by mail while making vote-by-mail automatically available to voters over the age of 65 who do not need to offer any excuses.

Seven: 4 AGF Newman Civic Fellows / All In Student Voting Honor Roll / Voter Friendly Campus

The Andrew Goodman Foundation is proud to celebrate and uplift four Andrew Goodman Ambassadors who are recipients of Campus Compact’s 2023 Newman Civic Fellowship. Recipients demonstrate a commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world and must be nominated by Campus Compact member presidents or chancellors. 

We are also proud to share how thirteen Andrew Goodman Ambassadors appeared on the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge’s 2023 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll. The Ambassadors received national recognition for their nonpartisan civic and voter engagement efforts to register, educate, and turn out their peers for the 2022 Midterm Elections and ensure equitable access to the ballot box. 

Finally, we are overjoyed that forty-six Andrew Goodman Campuses received the 2023 “Voter Friendly Campus” designation from NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project. The 46 Andrew Goodman Campuses are among 258 colleges and universities across 38 states and Washington, D.C., to receive the designation, recognizing campuses that have committed to voter registration, education, and turnout as part of their institutional mission.

Six: Lasting Impact: Andrew Goodman Alumni Q&A Series

This year, we started Lasting Impact- a question-and-answer style series with Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere alumni. Twelve former Ambassadors shared more about their experiences organizing on campus, where they are now, and advice for current Ambassadors. 

Here are the twelve installments of the Lasting Impact Alumni Q&A series:

• Gabrielle Slaughter, Spelman College
• Evan Malbrough, Georgia State University
• Valencia Richardson, Louisiana State University
• MacKenzie Bills, Simpson College
• Zoë Williamson, Louisiana State University
• Rachel Sondkar, University of California – Berkeley
• Wyn Garfinkle Plymesser, University of Louisville
• Usjid Hameed, Towson University
• Patrick Mehler, Cornell University
• Chandler Nutall, Spelman College
• Annabelle Bangs, Binghamton University
• Sadia Saba, Bard College

Five: Season Three of the Live The Legacy Podcast

Season Three of the Live The Legacy Podcast had six episodes showcasing current Andrew Goodman Ambassadors from five different campuses discussing what’s driving them and their peers to the polls in such record-breaking numbers. We got to hear directly from the next generation of civic leaders. 

“It’s not hard to care. The way in which the systems around us are constantly failing people of color, queer folks, and members of other marginalized communities has been a strong motivating factor for me and my generation to be civically engaged” -Josh Dineros, University of San Francisco; Season 3, Episode 2

All Live The Legacy Podcast seasons are available on our website, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and more! Be sure to give these six and the bonus episodes a listen!

Four: 2023 Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Semesters in Numbers

This year, Andrew Goodman Ambassadors:

• Registered 6,467 voters
• Hosted 576 events
• Recruited 53 poll workers
• Engaged with 24,883 people

Three: The Impact of the 2023 Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Semesters

Between the conflicts we’re facing internationally, the attacks targeting queer people, and the right to choose in the United States, 2023 has been full of reasons to stay informed and involved. Our Andrew Goodman Ambassadors are keenly aware of these issues and how they impact young people. They are also aware of the apathy toward voting that many young people feel and are purposefully organizing to connect the ‘why’ behind the vote for each individual they can speak with. To provide a few examples, Ambassadors at Pace University organized an event, including poster making and voter registration, that connected climate justice issues to why people should vote and walked to a public park to hold up signs and protest climate inaction. Ambassadors at Miami University in Ohio reviewed NSVLE data to identify which majors or departments on campus were less civically engaged than others on campus and decided to meet the students where they were to connect them with voter and election information. On Election Day, two separate Campus Teams, Pace University in New York, NY, and Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX, organized poll walks to gather students to get out the vote and encourage civic engagement. We look forward to continuing this momentum with Vote Everywhere into 2024, which will be Vote Everywhere’s tenth year!

Two: AGF Elects Amy Chiou as new Board Chair

A member of AGF’s Board of Directors since August 2022, Amy has led the organization forward since her time as Board Chair began in March. 

“I am excited to serve as the incoming Chair of The Andrew Goodman Foundation and look forward to working alongside our incredible young leaders to increase access to voting and social justice. We know that when young people use their voices and votes to advocate for change, they have and continue to transform our country for the better.”

A manager in Deloitte’s Government and Public Sector practice, Amy Chiou brings over 15 years of communications and community engagement experience to AGF. She works with state and local governments, political candidates and campaigns, advocacy organizations, and nonprofits to develop messaging, branding, stakeholder mapping, and other strategic communications. Previously, Amy was a speechwriter on the Biden-Harris campaign and served as the Director of Public Engagement and Speechwriter for the U.S. General Services Administration.

One: AGF Hires Rashawn Davis as new Executive Director

The Andrew Goodman Foundation excitedly welcomed Rashawn Davis as its new Executive Director in July of 2023. Davis has served in both the public and private sectors and has a deep passion for social justice and commitment to closing societal gaps that disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

“When I was 21 years old — close to the age of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner in 1964 and our Vote Everywhere Ambassadors today — I became one of the youngest people in the history of Newark, New Jersey, to be certified and appear on a municipal election ballot,” says Davis. “I ran for a City Council seat representing the city’s west ward because I felt that young people were disproportionately affected by the decisions elected leaders make, but are too often left out of the decision-making process. With important federal, state, and municipal elections on the horizon, I am thrilled to be part of ensuring that the next generation is equipped and prepared for the obstacles ahead. I believe deeply in the unique power of young people to make a difference in the most critical issues we face as a society and to secure the future we all deserve.”

Our #10 is still loading…

Stay tuned as we continue to build momentum into 2024– the year that marks the 10th anniversary of the Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Program! We are so excited to harness the momentum generated by the decade-long impact of our Vote Everywhere program as we move into 2024 and are poised to inspire and mobilize a new generation of young civic leaders during the 2024 election cycle and beyond. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mia Matthews is the Program and Communications Manager at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. In her position, she works with student leaders and in communications surrounding their work. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.