Penumbra poster for their #blackoutthevote campaign.

Our mantra may be “Come Together, Stand Apart.” But sometimes what we really need to do is simply stand together. In a contentious 2020 election year, and following a summer of racial reckoning in Minneapolis, we partnered with the Penumbra Center for Racial Healing to increase voter turnout among historically disadvantaged communities by removing a barrier to voting — the need to choose between earning a paycheck and casting a ballot.

Penumbra
Black Out the Vote

A sign hanging on a door saying

Giving time off to turn out.

We created #BlackOutTheVote toolkits to help businesses raise awareness, show solidarity, and encourage other businesses to join the movement before and on Election Day. Toolkits included black “I Voted” stickers, screen-printed posters, and other materials for businesses to “black out” their storefronts, turning them into street-level billboards.

Three Penumbra #blackoutthevote posters hanging next to each other.
A bunch of black and white
Black Out The Vote wrapping paper

Black Out the Internet.

The campaign extended into the digital realm with a website that housed information and social toolkits complete with pre-made social content for both businesses and community members to download and share to help get the word out about Penumbra’s mission.

A screenshot of Penumbra's website with the words "Work keeps twice as many black and brown voters from the polls as white voters. You can help."
Three of Penumbra's social posts next to each other.
A billboard for Penumbra's Black Out The Vote campaign.