Pictured above: Civic Fabric Fund grantee, Count Me In Colorado
As the November election approaches, voters will be making significant policy choices that will impact their communities for decades to come. The ballot will have about a dozen state policy questions and numerous local policy questions (depending on where you live), and decisions on representatives from all levels of government.
The Denver Foundation is excited for the opportunity for voters to act and make decisions that will reflect not only shifts in systems, but also how to invest in the creation of communities’ most important needs – health care, education, affordable housing, and local government services. We look forward to sharing our positions on ballot measures in the upcoming weeks.
We also recognize the current state of the electorate – voters are overwhelmed with life’s challenges, feeling like their vote does not matter and lacking resources to understand complex policy proposals.
This sentiment is reflected in the June 2024 primary outcomes where Colorado saw the lowest voter turnout for that type of election since 2016. Knowing how much is before voters this November, the foundation has made strategic funding decisions to support nonprofits with expertise and resources to reach and mobilize new and low-turnout voters from historically underrepresented communities.
We are proud to be funding the following organizations to support their voter engagement work for the November election:
- Colorado Latino Leadership and Research Organization (CLLARO): Incorporating voter registration and education at its annual Latino Policy Summit.
- Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network (CACEN): Expanding its ambassador program to organize eligible AAPI voters, and improve language access to voter resources for the Asian refugee community.
- Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable (CCER): Working with nonprofit organizations to execute its ‘Protecting Democracy at the Polls’ program through community outreach and events.
- Colorado Common Cause Education Fund: Expanding its election protection program. The program helps ensure voters can vote without barriers by working with attorneys, county election clerks, and nonprofits to provide resources, mitigate misinformation, and collect ballots.
- Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC): Reaching eligible voters from immigrant communities through texting, digital advertisements, and mail in Adams County and Commerce City. Their voter engagement will incorporate positive messaging around new arrivals in Colorado.
- Colorado News Collaborative (COLab): Working with journalists from newsrooms focused on reaching communities of color to support the creation of resources ahead of the November election through COLab’s Voter Voices 2024 project.
- Colorado’s People Alliance (COPA): Focusing its voter engagement efforts on deep canvassing and training community leaders to support organizing efforts to mobilize voters in Aurora and Commerce City.
- Colorado Public Radio (CPR): Developing ballot guides and producing podcasts to help voters in Denver and across Colorado.
- Community Resource Center (CRC): Partnering with direct service nonprofits through its Participation Project. The project provides guidance, training, and support to assist them in offering nonpartisan voter engagement efforts to their constituents and community.
- Count Me In Colorado (A project of the Colorado Fiscal Institute): Expanding its approach to educate voters on the statewide ballot measures by increasing its steering committee, hosting larger events in Denver, Grand Junction, and Ft. Collins, and increasing social media engagement to reach voters.
- Latina Initiative: Engaging eligible and registered Latina voters in Adams and Weld County through digital advertisements.
- New Era Colorado: Driving youth voter turnout and BIPOC young voter turnout in Adams and Weld County.
Visit our blog in the upcoming weeks for resources to help you vote, including the foundation’s positions on local and state ballot measures.
And if you care about these issues, consider a donation to the Civic Fabric Fund.