case studies

Communities throughout Colorado are growing and evolving. And that change can be hard to accept when it affects your daily activities. Recognizing the very real and perceived challenges of building more housing in Jefferson County, Colorado Gives Foundation asked us to develop and implement a new strategy to help impact the community conversation around housing in Jefferson County. The Foundation had convened elected officials, business stakeholders, and affordable housing developers to establish a county-wide strategy. And they needed to engage residents in real solutions.

We started by surveying 1,300 Jeffco residents to better understand their concerns about housing. While we found a small contingent of residents who don’t want more growth, the vast majority are sympathetic to those who can’t find a home within their budget – and want to do something about it. With so much passion for community, there was an opportunity to bring together a diverse group of citizens to help educate the broader community about the social, health, and economic impacts of a lack of for-rent and for-purchase homes across the spectrum. We formed the Jeffco Advocacy Network and recruited 16 Jeffco residents to connect with their local elected officials; enhance their knowledge of local policies and procedures that impact housing; dive deep into data; share their stories; and advocate at the local municipal level. 

Over the past year, members of the Network participated in panel discussions; set up informational booths at housing fairs; hosted educational events; advocated for local policy changes, and more. And while housing will remain a top issue for years to come, we are working with this group of advocates to consider how to replicate this successful model to help bring awareness to childcare and workforce challenges, among other issues facing Jeffco residents.

Making an impact on a decades-old problem in the public education system to improve equity is daunting to say the least, but we always love a seemingly impossible mission! After surveying the landscape of the education ecosystem in Denver, we identified a gap and an opportunity to make sustained progress in ensuring that every student has the opportunity to define and achieve their own success. 

A new idea and a new organization was born to engage young graduates of Denver Public Schools, the largest and most diverse district in the state, to leverage their personal experience, knowledge, and insights to lead the effort to better define and achieve success for themselves and future alumni of DPS. This new organization, Ednium: The Alumni Collective has already made an impact by officially changing graduation requirements for DPS to better reflect what students truly find relevant to their life after graduation. For example, a new required course in financial literacy will now make it easier for grads to do their taxes, and make personal financial decisions considering debt, budgeting, and interest rates. 

In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, we developed, launched, and facilitated a leadership curriculum specific to DPS alumni of color 30 years of age and under. This leadership program has evolved and is in its fourth year. Today, we continue to support Ednium as they make additional progress with DPS and begin expanding their influence to make the city as a whole a more inclusive, equitable, and economically-sustainable community.