SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spotify, Snap Inc., Lime, TelevisaUnivision, and Tony's Chocolonely announced today their participation in the Community College Commitment – a growing business community effort to close the voting gap between community college students and those at four-year universities. Through this nonpartisan initiative, which was launched by Levi Strauss & Co.(LS&Co.), Lyft, and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios (MTVE) in April of 2024, participating companies aim to turn out 500,000 new community college voters by 2028.
Community colleges – whose students accounted for roughly one-third of U.S. postsecondary students in 2020 – saw a national voting rate nearly 10 percentage points lower than four-year universities in the last presidential election. Additionally, data released earlier this month showed that public two-year institutions, a category that largely overlaps with community colleges, had the lowest student voting rates in the 2022 midterm elections, further emphasizing the need for voter engagement efforts specifically focused on these institutions.
More than 10 million students are enrolled in community colleges, and their student body makeup is extremely diverse, with 54% of students identifying as non-white.
In collaboration with the Commitment’s founding members – LS&Co., Lyft and MTVE – the companies will center their efforts on educating and motivating community college students to vote by hosting activations on community college campuses across the country in partnership with nonpartisan nonprofit partner organizations such as the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition and the American Association of Community Colleges. The activations will include direct grantmaking, in-kind donations, voter engagement events, giveaways and more timed to National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week and Vote Early Day.
“Having these notable brands join the Community College Commitment underscores the truly collaborative nature of this initiative,” said Anna Walker, Vice President of Public Affairs at LS&Co. “Our collective, nonpartisan voter engagement efforts are poised to empower significantly more community college students to make their voices heard at the ballot box, and will move us one step closer to closing the community college voting gap.”
"We are thrilled that these iconic brands and cultural leaders are joining our mission to close the community college student voting gap. As some of the most diverse student bodies in the country, these new voters have the power to help decide elections," said Vaughan Bagley, Director of Social Impact Strategy at SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios. "Thanks to the addition of this impressive group of partners to the Community College Commitment, we will collectively be able to reach more students with the nonpartisan voter information and resources they need to become lifelong voters."
"Lyft is focused on being a force for good in communities across the country,” said Jordan Markwith, Head of External Affairs at Lyft. “At Lyft we believe that everyone’s voice – and vote – deserves to be heard, and transportation should never be a barrier to access the polls. We are proud to support efforts to close the voting gap for community college students and look forward to ensuring that voters nationwide can access the polls this year."
“Transportation should never be a barrier to participating in democracy. That’s why this year, here at Lime we are doubling down on providing resources to our riders to help them register, make a plan, and go vote. We’re focused on communities where access isn’t always easy like community colleges, transit deserts and states with low voter turnout. We’re showing up in these spaces to make a real impact,” said Emily Gibbs, Senior Manager of Social Impact & Operations at Lime.
"TelevisaUnivision is an essential community partner providing trusted information and educational tools. We are proud to introduce our Vota Conmigo initiative to college students, a non-partisan campaign aimed at motivating every eligible Hispanic U.S. citizen to vote in this year's election," said Teri Arvesu, Senior Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability at TelevisaUnivision. "Elections matter, and everyone has a role to play by staying well-informed and participating in our democracy."
“At Snapchat, we believe that exercising one’s right to vote is one of the most powerful forms of self-expression,” said Jennifer Stout, Snap’s Vice President of Global Public Policy. “We’re thrilled to join the Community College Commitment to help promote their work on campuses across the country and provide voters with the tools and information they need to make their voices heard this fall.”
“Spotify believes in the power of every voice, so encouraging our listeners and creators to participate in civic engagement makes perfect sense. Every vote matters, regardless of the issue,” said Dina Gabriel, Global Head of Equity, Diversity, and Impact at Spotify. “We're proud to join the Community College Commitment and to extend our existing HeadCount partnership to community college campuses across America and help these students register to vote."
"At Tony's Chocolonely, we believe that voting is a superpower and we're committed to encouraging everyone to indulge in their right to vote. Since 2020, we've partnered with HeadCount to promote civic engagement, in every election year, not just presidential ones. We are dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of participating in local elections, as they are vital for shaping our communities and making a tangible difference,” said Aidaly Sosa Walker, Tony’s Chocolonely VP Marketing US and Canada.
The Community College Commitment is continuing to rally the business community to join in this effort to close the community college voting gap by directing a portion of their respective organizations’ 2024 voting efforts toward community colleges. To learn more about the initiative and to take part, visit communitycollegecommitment.com.
About the Community College Commitment
The Community College Commitment is a nonpartisan business community effort aimed at closing the voting gap between community college students and those at four-year universities by turning out 500,000 new community college voters by 2028. As part of the initiative – which was founded by Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios – participating companies have committed to directing a portion of their voter engagement work towards community college students, who represent a significant and diverse portion of the U.S. postsecondary population.
About Spotify Technology S.A.
Spotify’s platform revolutionized music listening forever when we launched in 2008. Today, more listeners than ever can discover, manage and enjoy over 100 million tracks, more than 6 million podcasts titles, and 350,000 audiobooks a la carte on Spotify. We are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with more than 626 million users, including 246 million subscribers across 184 markets.
About Lime
Lime's mission is to build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free. As the world's largest provider of shared electric vehicles, Lime partners with cities to deploy electric bikes and scooters to serve any trip under five miles. A past Time Magazine 100 Most Influential Company and Fast Company Brand that Matters, Lime has powered more than 600 million rides in nearly 280 cities across five continents, spurring a new generation of clean alternatives to car ownership. Learn more at li.me.
About TelevisaUnivision
TelevisaUnivision is the world’s leading Spanish-language media company. Powered by the largest library of owned Spanish-language content and a prolific production capability, TelevisaUnivision is the top producer of original content in Spanish across news, sports and entertainment verticals. This original content powers all of TelevisaUnivision’s platforms, which include market-leading broadcast networks Univision, Las Estrellas, Canal 5 and UniMás, and a portfolio of 38 cable networks, which include TUDN, Galavisión, Distrito Comedia and TL Novelas. The company also operates the leading Mexican movie studio, Videocine, and owns and operates the largest Spanish-language audio platform in the U.S. across 35 terrestrial stations and the Uforia digital platform. TelevisaUnivision is also the owner of ViX, the largest Spanish-language streaming platform in the world. For more information, please visit televisaunivision.com.
About Snap
Snap Inc. is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. For more information, visit snap.com.
About Tony’s Chocolonely
Tony’s Chocolonely is an impact company that makes chocolate, not the other way around. Tony's Chocolonely's vision is to end exploitation in cocoa. Not just their own chocolate, but all chocolate worldwide. The company was founded in 2005 by 3 journalists from the Dutch TV show ‘Keuringsdienst van Waarde’ after they discovered that the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers were buying cocoa from plantations that used illegal child labor and forced labor. Since then, Tony’s Chocolonely has dedicated its efforts to raising awareness of and eliminating inequality in the chocolate industry. Tony’s Chocolonely leads by example, building direct, long-term relationships with cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast, paying them a higher price and working together to solve the underlying causes of exploitation. Tony’s Chocolonely wants to inspire the industry as a whole to make exploitation free the norm in chocolate. They believe that being a better business should be the norm, not the exception. Tony's Chocolonely is a B-Corp and Fairtrade-certified company.