How Coloradans Observe Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. is a time to honor our fallen heroes and reconnect with family, friends and the community. And since we live in a state known for its breathtaking scenery and steady sunshine, we’re known for taking our celebrations outside. From our national parks to mountain lakes to our campgrounds, the freedom to explore and relax in these spaces is a testament to the service of the brave soldiers who made it possible.

What are your plans? I personally will be participating in Colorado’s wacky official summer heritage sport of pack burro racing. (The legislature made it official in 2012 over rock climbing and sitting in traffic on I70.) It’s just one of the many ways Coloradans will be out recreating in our great outdoors this weekend.

And to make your barbecues, boat rides, hikes, burro races, and more on Monday even more engaging, here are some facts about Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy to perk up your conversations.

You: I’m glad you asked! Colorado ranks 9th in the number of jobs in the Outdoor Recreation Industry!

Stranger on the trail: Okay, all I asked was where is the trailhead.

Outdoor Recreation in Colorado (by the numbers)

• 4.98 million people work in Outdoor Recreation Jobs nationwide.
  • That’s 3.2% of total jobs in the U.S.
• Hawaii ranks first in Outdoor Recreation Jobs.
  • 6.8% of workers are employed in the Outdoor Recreation Industry.
• Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry employed 129,773 people in 2022.
  • That’s 4.3% of total employment.
  • It puts Colorado 9th among states in the amount of people employed by the Outdoor Recreation Industry.

The map below shows the top 10 states with the highest portion of total jobs in the Outdoor Recreation Industry.

The outdoor recreation economy contributed 2.2%, or $564 billion, to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States in 2022. On a state level, the share of GDP coming from the outdoor recreation industry varied from a high of 5.6% in Hawaii to 1.4 % in Connecticut. Colorado is above average with 2.8% of its GDP coming from the Outdoor Recreation Industry. $13.86 billion in State GDP is generated by the Outdoor Recreation Industry. In 2022, there was $6.9 billion paid in wages and salaries to outdoor recreation workers in Colorado.

The outdoor recreation industry employs 129,773 jobs in Colorado.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis categorizes the Outdoor Recreation Industry into three categories: conventional activities (bicycle, boating, hiking, skiing, hunting), other activities (gardening, golf, outdoor concerts), and supporting activities (travel, tourism, construction). RVing is the nation’s largest conventional activity in Outdoor Recreation. In Colorado, however, “snow activities” is the largest.

In the entire county, GPD related to snow activities is $7 billion. Colorado generates $1.44 billion of it. So 20.5% of the nation’s snow activities occur in Colorado. The table below shows the top 10 states and the economic activity that comes from snow activity. Colorado has more than twice the snow economic activity than its ski-destination rival and western neighbor Utah. (My Utah snowboarder friends are like, “That’s what you get for not allowing boarders at Deer Valley!”)

It’s clear Colorado’s great outdoors are more than a useful outlet after a stressful week at work, or a great way to spend a long weekend. The natural wonders and mountain environment of our state are major players in the economy. Preserving their health and resources is essential not only to our way of life, but to our economic prosperity.

So take a moment to honor a veteran, enjoy Colorado’s outdoor recreation, and drop an economic stat into conversation this Memorial Day!

New report provides expert insight into how lack of access to legal representation in immigration courts is costing Colorado’s state and local economies

DENVER (May 16, 2024) – The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides credible, independent and accessible analysis of fiscal and economic issues facing Colorado, has announced the release of a new report highlighting the urgent need to expand access to state immigration defense services to expeditiously resolve Colorado’s backlog of cases that has tripled between 2019 and 2023 to approximately 47,000 and mitigate economic losses for immigrant families and the communities in which they live. 

The report, “Impacts and Benefits for Investing in Immigration Justice: Colorado Immigration Legal Defense Fund” found that immigrants who do not have legal representation are 60% more likely to face deportation and be separated from their families and communities than those who have representation. And yet Colorado ranks last in a national analysis of representation rates, with just 14% of people facing immigration proceedings having access to legal defense. 

“Legal representation can dramatically change the outcome of an immigration case and decrease the amount of time spent in detention,” said CFI Policy Analyst and report author Sophie Shea. “Lack of access to legal defense costs Colorado’s state and local economies. More time spent in detention means more lost income, which costs local communities and governments in lost economic activity and tax revenue. Colorado’s diverse economy does not run without immigrant workers. Coloradans benefit from the state’s investment towards welcoming and integrating immigrants, which starts with providing legal representation for immigration court cases.”

The report found that unnecessary detentions between 2021 and 2023 resulted in:

• Immigrants losing $10 million in labor income
• Colorado communities losing $15.8 million in economic activity
• State and local governments losing $894,000 in tax revenue 

“Nobody should face the devastating consequences of detention or deportation without someone to defend them in court. The new Colorado Fiscal Institute report demonstrates the transformative impact that legal representation has on keeping families together and promoting economic stability” said Liz Kenney, associate director for the Vera Institute of Justice’s Advancing Universal Representation Initiative. “We thank Governor Polis for his leadership on increasing Colorado’s investment in the Immigration Legal Defense Fund this year in recognition of these crucial impacts. We will continue to work with RMIAN and Mountain Dreamers to fight for universal representation in Colorado and at the national level through the Fairness to Freedom campaign.” 

In April, Gov. Jared Polis signed the state’s $40.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year, which allocates $700,000 for the state’s Legal Defense Fund; a 100% increase from this year’s allocation of $350,000 despite less money available for this budget than in previous years. CFI estimates the state will need to invest $5 million annually over the next five years to lay the foundation for a future universal representation program in Colorado. 

“Legal representation is not just about justice; it’s an investment in Colorado’s economic resilience and social cohesion,” said Shaleen Morales, Senior Staff Attorney at Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. “The Colorado Fiscal Institute’s report underscores the critical need to expand access to immigration defense services, not only to keep families together but also to mitigate economic losses for our communities. By prioritizing universal representation, we can build a stronger, more inclusive Colorado for all.”

To view the full report, please visit https://www.coloradofiscal.org/impacts-and-benefits-of-investing-in-immigration-justice-colorado-immigration-legal-defense-fund/library/reports/

###

About Colorado Fiscal Institute

The Colorado Fiscal Institute provides credible, independent and accessible information and analysis of fiscal and economic issues facing Colorado. Our aim is to inform and influence policy debates and contribute to sound decisions that improve the well-being of individuals, communities, and the state as a whole. www.coloradofiscal.org.

About Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Colorado, that works to ensure justice for adults and children in immigration proceedings. RMIAN empowers people through education of legal rights; provides zealous no-cost immigration legal representation to uphold fundamental fairness and due process; promotes the importance of universal representation where anyone in immigration proceedings has access to counsel despite financial barriers; and advocates for a more efficient, functional, and humane immigration system, including an end to immigration detention. Learn more about RMIAN’s work at rmian.org, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @rmian_org.

The Second Regular Session for the Seventy-Fourth General Assembly was like a game of chess, except with higher stakes. The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) and our partners weren’t just playing to promote a few bills into legislation; we were playing for economic prosperity for all Coloradans. Our opening moves were aggressive. We put three new or expanded tax credit policies on the board and flanked them with better worker, renter, and land use protections, among others. But our opponent was formidable. So we took risks, made a few sacrifices and ultimately reaped the rewards of a game well played. Learn more in our legislative review.

Colorado’s School Finance Formula is Decades Older than the Students it Affects.

HB24-1448 is the Latest Attempt to Rewrite It

The formula Colorado uses to calculate how much each of its 178 school districts can spend every year is from 1994 — the same year the movie Dumb and Dumber came to theaters. Think about what has changed in those three decades since Lloyd and Harry came to Aspen. The students, the teachers and the technology they rely on are completely different today than they were in 1994. Yet, Colorado still uses the same, outdated formula to determine what schools need. HB24-1448 is the latest attempt to update the formula, while adding another $500 million to schools when fully implemented.

A major reason Colorado has failed to update the school finance formula since the year Friends debuted on NBC is because the most well-funded school districts now can’t afford to receive less later. “Sure, we’ll agree to update the formula,” said the school districts for years, “as long as we don’t lose funding compared to the current formula.”

Since 1994, Colorado has tried rewriting the formula, but hasn’t been able to find additional funding for those districts that would see smaller allocations. So, we stick with a formula that’s older than Windows 95 (which, after a quick fact check, actually came out a year after the 1994 formula). Or will we?

Under HB24-1448, some school districts in Colorado would get bigger increases than others, but no district would see a drop in funding due to these changes. HB24-1448 also phases in changes over six years, thus preventing the state from taking on unrealistic new funding responsibilities all at once.

Below we break down some of the many operations, adjustments, and considerations in the school finance formula — and give a little overview for those of you who, like ourselves, have never dived into the inner workings of the current formula.

Here’s what we learned:

How does the 1994 School Finance Formula work?

The current formula calculates a district’s per pupil funding first, starting with a constitutionally required statewide minimum: the base per pupil funding set by Amendment 23. The state then adjusts district per pupil funding accounting for various factors like the district’s cost-of-living, personnel, and enrollment size. That unique amount is multiplied by the number of students in the district. At the end, the formula takes into account at-risk students (students who qualify for the Federal Free Lunch Program) and English Language Learner (ELL) students.

Under the 1994 school finance formula, districts with high cost of living and a low pupil count receive more money per student than districts with low cost of living and more at-risk students. The resulting inequity is one reason advocates and lawmakers have toyed with changing the formula.

What’s the difference between the HB24-1448 formula and the old one?

Currently, different districts get more or less money per student. The proposed formula starts by allocating equal funding for every student across the state; per pupil funding in all districts is the constitutionally required (Amendment 23) minimum. Then, they receive additional funds according to their specific needs, starting with the number of at-risk, ELL, and special education students they serve. HB24-1448 would move the cost of living adjustment toward the end of the formula.

The proposed 2024 formula adds 25 percent of the statewide base per pupil funding to a district’s total funding for each at-risk, ELL, or special education student. Adjustments for at-risk students are made at the end of the 1994 formula. They are also much smaller, at eight percent of the statewide base per pupil funding per ELL student and 12 percent for each at-risk student. Adjustments for special education students are new in HB24-1448.

This needs-based re-working of the formula could have big implications for districts across the state. In 2025, at 18 percent of the full implementation of the new formula, Denver Public Schools would receive $165 more per student. Douglas County schools, a wealthy, suburban district, would see $85 more per student. Adams 14 would be funded at $463 more per student under the new proposal.

HB24-1448 still doesn’t solve the problem of new revenue.

Opponents of the bill argue there are better ways to fix school funding. After 15 years failing to fund schools to Amendment 23 levels (via the Budget Stabilization Factor), district administrators and K-12 advocates are leery of a new formula that promises greater funding without a new source of revenue. Potential property tax caps/cuts that would impact local funding for schools add extra uncertainty.

Colorado’s constitution (TABOR Amendment) also restricts year-over-year revenue growth and does not allow state funding to keep up with inflation, caseload growth, and reserve requirements. As a result, Colorado lags behind other states in K-12 funding. The proposed formula in HB24-1448 makes no attempt to address these core problems.

Regardless of these long-term challenges wrought by TABOR, for the first time in 30 years, HB24-1448 would make some sensible changes to the way Colorado allocates resources to schools. The Dumb and Dumber-era formula means today, too many students and districts lack the resources they need to succeed. A new formula, centered around today’s students, is a smart first step.

1. No BS: Colorado is Fully Funding K-12 Education for the First Time in 15 Years 

For the past 15 years, Colorado has funded our schools below the levels that voters mandated in 2000 when passing Amendment 23. That annual shortfall has been known as the Budget Stabilization (BS) Factor. At its peak, it has shortchanged schools annually by more than one billion dollars. In total, the BS Factor has held back over $10 billion from K-12.

The FY 2024-25 Budget finally takes the BS Factor to zero. This is the same as saying Colorado is fully funding schools at Amendment 23 levels. Rising property values and the accompanying rising local share funding for schools has been a big reason for this. In 2018, local property taxes were $2.11 billion with local revenue covering 36% of school program funding. In 2024, local property taxes contributed $3.86 billion allowing local revenue to cover 45% of school funding statewide.

But just because Colorado can fully fund K-12 education this year, doesn’t mean it will in the future. Property tax cuts or caps would threaten local funding for schools, which could bring the shortfall — BS Factor — right back.

2. Accounting for New Immigrant Children in Schools

Between the October 2023 public school pupil count and February 2024, Colorado experienced an influx of new students from other countries. Because the school finance formula (used to allocate state funding to each district) uses the pupil count from October, the new students aren’t accounted for in the funding formula. The budget takes $24 million from the State Education Fund to serve these new students.

3. Higher Education Funding Goes Higher

Colleges and universities will be permitted to increase in-state tuition by 3% and nonresident tuition by 4%. The budget increases General Fund spending on higher education by about 10%.

4. Help for Healthcare Workers

There’s also more funding directed to increasing pay for home health care workers paid by Medicaid. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (think Medicaid) was responsible for close to half of the General Fund budget growth ($512 million). The Human Services budget went up by $204 million. The budget also appropriates $5 million in General Fund dollars to Denver Health to help with uncompensated healthcare.

5. Getting Creative to Cover General Fund Obligations

It takes about one billion extra dollars each year in the state budget just to keep up with inflation, caseload growth, reserve requirements, and capital projects. After the March Revenue Forecast, we learned there was a $170 million budget shortfall from keeping up. Basically, it meant there was no money for new programs and budget writers needed to find $170 million to prevent cuts, otherwise they’d have to tap into their General Fund Reserve.

Instead, budget writers for FY 2024-25 relied on a few creative moves like transferring some Severance Taxes to the General Fund and paying more of the state’s portion for schools from the State Education Fund. This budget keeps the General Fund contribution to schools the same as last year ($4.2 billion) and takes an extra $332 million from the State Education Fund to add additional school funding. With these maneuvers, the General Fund Reserve stays at 15%.

6. Federal Pandemic Relief Ends

The budget committee in this year’s Long Bill was attuned to the end of federal pandemic relief funds. They made adjustments to spend those funds by the end of 2024 federal deadlines.

What’s Missing?

One thing conspicuously absent from the Long Bill is money set aside for property tax relief. If property taxpayers are to get a break next year, local governments who lose that revenue will likely need state money to avoid cuts. That debate is set to begin with only a few weeks left in the session.

From a Means of Oppression to a Tool for Progression

I learned three lessons about taxes while growing up: 1) They take a chunk out of your paycheck, even when it’s your first one 2) The number on the price tag is less than what you’ll actually pay and 3) Tax time in the Turcios house always meant my parents got a refund — which also meant my brothers and I would get a gift!

As I got older and started working my first real job (shout out to Macy’s) I came to dislike taxes. I didn’t understand what FICA was or how exactly Social Security worked. All I knew was that my feet hurt from standing all day ringing up purchases, only to have my paycheck reflect less than what I thought it should be.

Not only was I experiencing the same despair that I saw my parents struggle with, I was also experiencing the same frustration I saw reflected in my community since I was a young girl. Hundreds of immigrant families like mine were working one, two, even three jobs to make ends meet and taxes seemed to be making it harder. But it always felt like there was nothing we could do about it, taxes sucked and it was just a part of life — or so I thought.

In 2017, I joined the CFI team as a State Policy Fellow. To be honest, I had no idea what tax policy was at the time. All I knew was that I was a recent (broke) social work graduate who wanted to be part of systems change work and who needed a job. But then I started learning ALL about taxes — their history, how they’re collected, who they’re collected from, and how they’re used to fund public investments. And I learned that taxes themselves aren’t bad, they’re just a tool. And like any tool, they can be used properly or improperly.

What I Learned about Colorado’s Regressive Tax Code

• Coloradans who earn the lowest incomes pay the highest percentages of their income in state and local taxes.
• Coloradans who make the lowest incomes pay the exact same income tax rate (4.4%) as the richest Coloradans like Denver Nuggets basketball player Nikola Jokic and Colorado billionaires like Philip Anschutz.

Why does Colorado have such an upside down tax code? Because of misguided tax policy decisions made through the ballot and the legislature. In 1992, Colorado voters chose to support the passage of Initiative 1, which added the infamous Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) to our state’s constitution. TABOR is the most restrictive tax policy in the nation and has given birth to some of the worst outcomes for Coloradans across the state, especially for BIPOC Coloradans. If you are a Black or Latinx Colorado taxpayer, you are both more likely to earn a lower income and are more likely to pay a higher share of that income in taxes than are white Coloradans.

The Racist Roots of American Tax Policies

You can imagine how furious I was learning about tax policy in our state, and even more so learning about the racist history of tax policy in this country. Take Mississippi for instance. In 1935, Mississippi adopted the nation’s first modern sales tax, a tax that generally falls hardest on people with the lowest incomes. Then Governor Mike Connor successfully pushed the all-white male legislature to adopt it by arguing, in part, that doing so would keep property tax rates down for white property owners, and make Black Mississippians pay more taxes overall.

Or California. During the gold rush years of the 1850s, California imposed a special tax on immigrant miners; U.S.-born whites were not subject to the tax. The tax fell on immigrant miners of European descent as well as those from China and Latin America, but for a period in 1855 and 1856, the state imposed an additional tax solely on immigrant miners ineligible for citizenship, mainly Chinese and Latinx miners who were legally barred from becoming U.S. citizens because they were not “free white persons.”

So what was a woman to do with all this knowledge about tax policy? Become a tax ambassador of course! A tax ambassador is a knowledgeable advocate prepared to talk to our fellow Coloradans about crafting more equitable fiscal policies.

Yes, it was hard to learn the racist history of tax policy, especially as a Latina. But I also found it oddly empowering. It finally put into perspective how my parents, community and I felt. Taxes have indeed been used as a tool of oppression against poor and working class people, especially people of color, so our feelings were not out of line. We were right to feel burdened by taxes, because those making policy decisions chose to use them in a way that is burdensome to us.

But it does not have to continue being this way. Taxes are clearly a powerful tool, and just like they’ve been used as tools of oppression, they can be used as tools to create resilient and thriving communities. When we stop thinking about taxes as money the government takes from us and start thinking about them as a collective pot of funds that help pay our teachers, pay for paved roads, and pay for our beautiful parks and open spaces, we can see the ways in which we can all benefit from them.

You can’t change what you don’t understand. I didn’t understand that I could help influence tax policy, let alone make a career out of it! But once we join the conversation, we may change our perspective about taxes. Then we can advocate for tax policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit – two of the nation’s strongest tax policies to pull children and families out of poverty. Or we can vote for policies like Proposition FF on our ballot, which ensures wealthy Coloradans pay their fair share in taxes so we can fund healthy breakfast and lunch meals for all Colorado kids in public schools.

So what are three lessons I carry about taxes today? 1) They are a neutral tool — it’s the policies that govern them that can either be used to create healthy and thriving communities or to oppress, 2) they are not race neutral and we must understand their history in order to rectify the impact of racist policies, and 3) we all have the power and responsibility to advocate for people-centered tax policies.

Esther Turcios is the Deputy Director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute.

Snow is on the ground, Spring is in the air, and the Colorado legislative session is more than halfway through! And, our renewed state budget is once again stifled by an arbitrary revenue and spending limit set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. 

Colorado is returning $1.82 billion to taxpayers this year. Though this surplus is less than the unprecedented $4 billion the state government returned last year, it’s still one of the largest TABOR surplus we’ve ever had.

What should we do with this windfall? CFI thinks our surplus should go to critical General Fund priorities, like paying teachers, increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, and lowering tuition at our public universities. But because of TABOR’s arbitrary revenue and spending limits, they can’t.

Instead, CFI, partners, and legislative champions have come up with ways we can spend down the surplus and still use our state revenue to help all Coloradans thrive. With a combination of new credits, and increasing existing credits, Colorado can significantly reduce child poverty and help families and workers cope with the rising cost of living. 

• HB24-1134 expands the Earned Income Tax Credit to 50% of the federal credit permanently, combines two Child and Dependent Care Credits to prevent a coverage gap, and updates our corporate income tax structure to bring us in line with other states.
• HB24-1311 creates a permanent new Family Affordability Credit that acts as a Child Tax Credit boost and is contingent upon TABOR surplus dollars. The Family Affordability Credit adds to the credit amount that families will receive from the CTC, it expands the incomes that can receive the credit to $85,000 for single filers and $95,000 for joint filers, and expands the age eligibility for kids so that families with kids between the ages of 6 and 16 can receive the credit. 
• HB24-1312 creates a temporary new Care Worker Credit that provides a tax credit to child care workers, home health-care workers, personal care aides, certified nursing assistants, or other qualifying personal care workers including a family member, friend, and neighbor who provides care.

If legislators do nothing, most of our TABOR surplus is returned to the wealthiest taxpayers in the state. We know that putting money into the hands of low income earners reduces poverty and boosts spending, workforce participation, and tax revenue that benefits everyone. With our limited options, using the surplus to invest in this population is the best way to spur our economy.

By Caroline Nutter, Legislative Coordinator 

DENVER – March 15, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Colorado Fiscal Institute as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Colorado Fiscal Institute received $1 million.

The Colorado Fiscal Institute (CFI) is a women-of-color led organization that was created to partner with communities who face the greatest barriers to economic prosperity and wealth-building – Black, Indigenous, people of color, especially women of color, immigrants, and people who earn the lowest incomes – to bring about change in Colorado’s tax system. At its core, a tax system is all about how communities raise money and solve problems together. Since its inception, CFI has advocated alongside the community for tax policies that work for all Colorado workers and their families — not just the ones for whom our economy already benefits.

Since 2012, CFI’s work has focused on amplifying the voices of these communities at our state capitol where laws are made and passed, through education, advocacy, and training. Outside the capitol, CFI uses innovative civic engagement strategies and popular education programs, such as the six-week Tax Ambassador train-the-trainer program, to support people to become champions for tax and economic justice within their own communities. 

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.

“We’re deeply grateful to receive this generous gift from MacKenzie Scott. It’s a testament to the efforts of our incredible staff, current and former board of directors, amazing local funders and supporters who’ve been with us all this time; and of course, to our community partners, with whom we’ve been working toward our shared vision of a state where our fiscal and economic policies support equity and widespread prosperity,” said CFI Executive Director Kathy White. “We’re excited to embark on an intentional and collaborative process with our board and our community to determine how we can best use these one-time funds for lasting impact to our organization, our community, and our movement for economic justice.” 

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and awarded 361 organizations with a total of $640 million. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount. 

“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.” 

More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.

###

Colorado Fiscal Institute

The Colorado Fiscal Institute uses research, advocacy, strategic communications and statewide education to promote responsible, people-centered, fiscal and economic policies that advance equity and widespread prosperity in Colorado. To learn more, visit www.coloradofiscal.org. 

Yield Giving

Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com. 

Lever for Change

Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org. ​