Community Building Attitudes to Encourage Success (CBATES) is a left-of-center community outreach group based in Texas that provides community services and conducts voter outreach programs in the Dallas area. The group was founded in 2021 by Crystal Bates, a chaplain and organizer who has held leadership roles at two local NAACP chapters along with several community groups including Our Vote Our Voice (OVOV) and Black Voters Matter. Bates claims to have styled the name of the CBATES organization after her name and leads the efforts of the organization along with three other local organizers. ^{1 2 3}

Background

CBATES was founded in 2021 by Crystal Bates, a community organizer, chaplain, and radio host who has been involved in left-of-center organizations and groups tied to the Black Lives Matter movement. The group is named after Bates, with CBATES standing for “Community Building Attitudes to Encourage Success”; however, the incorporated name of the group is CBATES. The group has only filed the IRS e-Postcard since its founding, indicating gross receipts of less than $50,000 annually. ^{2 4}

Activities

CBATES claims it conducts social services as well as voter outreach and civic engagement work within the Dallas, Texas area. The group’s social services programs include assisting clients in applying for state and federal benefits in Texas such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as “food stamps”; Medicaid; and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The group also assists clients in applying for private health insurance if they do not qualify for Medicaid. The group also announced plans for a patient lodging program in 2026 that would provide accommodation for individuals for patients from rural areas traveling to the Dallas area for medical care. ³

The group also promotes environmental issues including providing clean water as well as anti-lead and air quality monitoring campaigns. The group’s clean water campaign focuses on the Sandbranch unincorporated community located in Dallas county, which the group claims, “has never had access to running water, sewer systems, or trash collection services.” On its anti-lead campaign, the group claims it advocates to “prevent lead contamination and ensure regular testing in local public schools and daycare centers.” The group’s air quality campaign promotes the installation of air quality monitors near concrete batch plants, chemical facilities, and other industrial operations. ³

Voter Outreach

CBATES claims to manage a a civic engagement program to increase voter registration and turnout within the Dallas area, particularly within minority communities. According to its website, the group claims its efforts include assisting voters with acquiring voter ID such as drivers licenses or ID cards, and targeting community areas to increase voter registration such as churches, colleges, and high schools. The group also has a 101 Civic Engagement Training and Voter Education program that “educates high school and college students, clients, and Community Ambassadors about…the voting process, Voting Rights, and Election Laws, [and] providing clear guidance on how to register to vote.” The group also uses phone banking and postcard campaigns as well as a community ambassador program that directs activists in conducting voter outreach. ³

1. “Community Organizers.” CBATES. Accessed October 7, 2024. https://cbates.org/community-organizers
2. “Crystal Bates.” Board Build. Accessed October 7, 2024. https://www.boardbuild.org/people/misscrystalbatesyahoo-com/
3. “Programs.” CBATES. Accessed October 7, 2024. https://cbates.org/programs
4. “CBATES.” Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed October 7, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/871043244