At Levi Strauss & Co., we are committed to supporting a culture of civic engagement among our employees, our consumers and in our communities. Since 2018, we have worked to reduce obstacles to civic participation and helped to ensure more Americans have the opportunity to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Today we are proudly building on these efforts with the announcement of the Community College Commitment. Working with our partners at Lyft and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios (MTVE), this new, nonpartisan initiative aims to close the voting gap between community college students and those at four-year universities.
Closing the Gap
Despite recent gains, community colleges in the U.S. — which represent more than 10 million students nationwide and are traditionally more diverse than four-year colleges and universities — saw a national voting rate nearly 10 percentage points lower than four-year universities in the last presidential election. Through the Community College Commitment, we aim to close this gap by turning out 500,000 new community college voters by 2028.
In collaboration with nonpartisan nonprofit partner organizations such as the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition and the American Association of Community Colleges, we will build on our past efforts to get out the vote on community college campuses through activities such as:
- Community College Concert Competition: A new nonpartisan voter registration and GOTV competition being launched on community college campuses across the United States. Participating community colleges that host qualified registration drives or voter education events will be entered to win a live, on-campus concert on Vote Early Day (October 29, 2024) featuring a well-known, surprise music artist, whose name will be announced in the coming months. The competition and concert are a collaboration with Levi’s®, MTVE, Good Trouble Collaborative, the Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and Amplifier.
- On-Campus Activation Series: This fall, LS&Co., Lyft and MTVE will host exciting activations on community college campuses across the country, timed to National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week and Vote Early Day. In the lead-up to these activations, and as part of the Concert Competition, Levi Strauss & Co. is supporting various community college on-campus activations through mini-grants facilitated by our friends at National Voter Registration Day.
Supporting our Employees
LS&Co.’s work at community colleges will be complemented by our ongoing voter engagement program for employees, which kicked-off earlier this year. First and foremost, as a founding member of the nonpartisan coalition Time To Vote, LS&Co. provides U.S. employees with paid time off to vote and will continue to encourage the broader business community to do the same.
In addition to time off, we ensure our employees — and our communities — have the correct tools and resources needed to exercise their right to vote. One way we do so is by partnering with credible, nonpartisan nonprofit organizations to engage employees in voter education and volunteering, empowering them to be active citizens in their communities. Some examples of this include:
- Through a partnership with BallotReady, we host a one-stop shop for employees to register to vote, check their registration status, learn of important deadlines and understand what’s on their ballots.
- Our employees are passionate volunteers year-round, and in the U.S., they show up in their communities to register others to vote. This year, we’re once again partnering with HeadCount to provide easy, fun volunteer opportunities to register eligible voters at concerts, festivals and community events.
Finally, the Levi Strauss Foundation is once again backing a diverse portfolio of grantees committed to safeguarding voting rights and fostering civic engagement amongst historically marginalized communities, with a significant investment of $2.5 million in 2024. This includes grantees like the Democracy Policy Initiative, a new research hub focused on strengthening democracy.
Read the full press release to learn more about the launch of the Community College Commitment, and stay tuned for additional updates on LS&Co.’s civic engagement efforts in 2024.
