1. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
Fiscal Education Network
Revised Plan
Overview
Colorado’s projected long-term revenues are insufficient to sustain
the public services Coloradans have come to expect. Colorado voters
have a unique responsibility to decide how to balance the public’s
dual desires for low taxes and public services. The purpose of the
Fiscal Education Network is to help Coloradans make informed choices
by education and awareness achieved through a statewide network of
nonprofit leaders and community engagement.
Research conducted by John Creighton on behalf of the Fiscal Education
Network produced an approach to community engagement that differs from
political campaigns. The framework helps people understand the
differences between “building public will” and “swaying public opinion”
as well as the “stages of public thinking” people go through before
they commit to public action. This engagement framework has generated
as much interest as the fiscal education materials because it applies
to nearly every area of a nonprofit organization’s community work.
Progress & Results
The Association has made significant progress in building the Fiscal
Education Network. Taking the webinars and community presentations
together, at least 798 organizations have participated in FEN
activities and have gained knowledge about public will building and
the state’s fiscal challenges. We continue to provide monthly webinars
on related topics and speak to interested groups. Our progress thus
far on this project includes:
Development of resource guides and discussion. One of the primary
successes of the FEN is the development of useful resource
materials, which nonprofits can use to effectively guide
community conversations and to inform others about the state’s
long-term fiscal challenges. These communication materials will
be helpful to nonprofit organizations not only in their
discussions of fiscal issues, but in any public will building
effort that nonprofits may develop around other value-based
initiatives in their communities, such as health care, education,
the environment and other issues.
Development and presentation of webinars. Participants in the
webinars and community discussions highly rated the quality and
usefulness of the FEN presentations, and particularly liked the
factual, nonpartisan tone. Almost 42 individuals attended more
than one of the monthly webinars. These attendees gained more
knowledge and familiarity with the substantive content about
state fiscal issues. Ninety groups located outside the metro area
2. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
participated in the webinars, which is important to building a
statewide network. The Fiscal Education Network provides
recordings of these webinars on its website for those who are
unable to participate in the live webinars.
Presentations to nonprofit and civic groups. The Fiscal Education
Network made 19 presentations about the state’s long-term fiscal
challenges and leading public will building conversations. See
the list of activities below for the detailed schedule.
Outreach to nonprofit and other civic organizations. The
Association began with a targeted list of about 120 nonprofit
organizations statewide considered “connectors” with other
nonprofit organizations but not necessarily regularly involved in
public policy advocacy. In addition to this group, we have
invited the Association’s general membership to the webinars.
Challenges
Gaining and keeping the participation of nonprofit organizations.
Most nonprofits devote their time and resources to achieving
their missions and have little additional time for activities
viewed as tangential, even important activities such as ensuring
the state’s long-term prosperity. To connect with these
organizations more personally, we hired a part-time coordinator
at the beginning of March. The coordinator reached out through
personal conversation, which has increased participation in the
webinars and invitations to address community groups. In
addition, we broadened the webinar invitation list to include the
Association membership at large. We also utilized the broad
networks of the Bell Policy Center, the Colorado Reform
Roundtable, and other organizations with broad reach, to
publicize the webinars and resources. All of these efforts have
increased the number of participants and awareness, which will in
turn result in wider participation.
Sustaining interest in the FEN. The purpose of the FEN is to
educate nonprofits about the state’s fiscal challenges rather than
to advocate for a particular solution. Many nonprofits appreciate
the informative content but also seek specific solutions.
Although they are interested in solutions, our goal at this point
is to enlist these organizations to convene and facilitate their
own community conversations. Their action steps will be to assist
in expanding the network and the awareness of other nonprofits
about the state’s fiscal challenges. By leading conversations and
helping build the network, they can also help the public consider
particular solutions.
Limited local organizational capacity. Many organizations have
the capacity to convene conversations. Others have limited
capacity. This limited capacity includes limited financial and
human resources to dedicate toward convening conversations. Our
experience suggests limited capacity presents a significant
3. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
barrier for these organizations’ participation in the Fiscal
Education Network.
2011-12 Strategy
In 2010 and early 2011, the Association received total funding in the
amount of $225,000 from five foundations to fund activities in 2011.
To date, we have spent about half of these funds to pay for our
consultant John Creighton and staff time of the Colorado Nonprofit
Association including a dedicated one-half time Coordinator. We also
contributed to the production costs of the “Boom or Bust” video about
the state’s fiscal problems produced by Progress Now and the Bell
Policy Center, which we use as a part of our presentations.
We wish to use our remaining funding through the end of 2011 and
continue activities through November 2012. We believe that this
extension into 2012 will best serve our efforts to build a sustainable
network of nonprofit organizations that understand Colorado’s fiscal
problems, distribute information to their own networks and engage
other nonprofits and other community members in public will building
activities surrounding fiscal reform.
Continue to provide regular information through fiscal education
webinars, presentations, and email communications. While we have made
much progress, many community based nonprofit leaders have an
incomplete understanding of the state’s fiscal challenges. To help
build a broader awareness, we will continue to host monthly webinars
on relevant topics, host community meetings, and send directed emails
on relevant topics. These webinars, presentations, and communications
will focus on education about the issues and the importance of
organizations engaging on the issues.
Some organizations may not have the time, expertise or staff resources
to organize meetings and convene conversations, but they may be
willing to distribute information to their own networks. For these
organizations, we will develop and disseminate communication tools
that better match their capacity to participate in the Fiscal
Education Network. These tools include sample email and newsletter
communications, sample website copy, informational one-page hand-outs,
and detailed informational brochures. These tools can be sent to
constituents, board members, and partners with minimal financial and
staff resources.
Enlist nonprofit organizations to organize in their communities and
provide stipends for their efforts. We will focus our energies on
building close working relationships with 10-20 nonprofit
organizations throughout the state to organize in their respective
communities. These local nonprofits lend credibility to the project
and are in the best position to make a local impact. These
organizations will support the Fiscal Education Network by:
4. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
Recruiting 5 to 10 conversation leaders within that community.
Convene a conversation leader training session – the Association
will provide the training.
Organize 10 community discussions for each FEN conversation
leader – over the next 8 to 12 months.
Organize 3 to 5 community visits for the Association guest
speakers to present and support local FEN conversation leaders.
Because we realize that nonprofit organizations have limited staff
time and capacity, we will offer a $1,000 to $2,000 stipend to each
organization in 2012, depending on the amount of activity the
nonprofit undertakes in their community. We will cap our total
allocation of funds to this expense at $20,000.
Train Fiscal Education Network Conversation Leaders. We will provide
the conversation leaders with three types of specific training: (1)
Facilitation training to learn how to best lead conversations, (2)
background on Colorado’s fiscal challenges to prepare people to field
more detailed questions, and (3) a practice session leading a
conversation with instructor feedback.
Package Conversation Materials. To make the conversation materials
more user friendly, we will package the materials as a tool kit for
nonprofit organizers. It will includes tips on how to convene
conversation, including strategies for outreach, including sample
email invitations, organizing tips, examples of best venues to hold a
meeting, and a detailed process for how to follow up with
participants.
Community Visits. We also plan to organize a series of community
visits to make presentations and meet with local nonprofit leaders.
These meetings will include specific requests for actions to further
build the network. We will target their communities (or neighboring
communities) including Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Durango, Grand
Junction, Greeley, Ft. Collins, and the Denver metropolitan area. A
typical community visit may include a conversation leader training
session, a presentation to a group of nonprofit leaders and one-on-one
meetings.
Include Voter Engagement Component in Fiscal Education Network. We
will partner with Colorado Participation Project to include a voter
engagement component in the Fiscal Education Network. While the
Network seeks to provide information and initiate conversations, any
significant fiscal reform will require voter approval. Colorado
Participation Project focuses specifically on nonpartisan advocacy and
civic engagement programs that emphasize voter registration and voting
in elections. The Colorado Participation Project demonstrates how to
conduct civic engagement programs through training, online voter
5. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
registration, ongoing coaching and technical assistance. We plan use
some Fiscal Education Network funds to compensate Colorado
Participation Project for their time and direct expense for activities
in conjunction with the Fiscal Education Network, including their
assistance in reaching out to nonprofits to engage them in Network
activities.
2011-2012 Fiscal Education Network Activities
Past events
Jan. 14 - Present COFPI Budget Works
Jan. 18 - Present CNA Leadership Advisory Committee
Jan. 18 – Webinar: Introduction to the Fiscal Education
Network
Jan. 26 – Webinar: Introduction to the Fiscal Education
Network
Jan. 28 - Present CRR Outreach & Education Subcommittee
Feb. 10 - Meeting Engaged Public
Feb. 10 - Meeting Colorado Municipal League
Feb. 24 – Webinar: What Types of Cuts are Needed to Close
Colorado’s Budget Gap
Feb. 24 - Meeting Community Resource Center
Mar. 1 - Present Pikes Peak Funders Forum
Mar. 3 - Present Grass Roots St. Vrain
Mar. 4 - Meeting Colorado Education Association
Mar. 10 - Present United Way Lobby Day
Mar. 15 - Present Volunteers of America
Mar. 16 – Webinar: Simulating Managing the State Budget
using BackseatBudgeter.com
Mar. 18 - Present Community Resource Center
Mar. 23 – Webinar: Simulating Managing the State Budget
using BackseatBudgeter.com
Apr. 14 – Webinar: Colorado Council of Churches
Apr. 21 – Webinar: Colorado’s Revenue Challenges
Apr. 27 – Webinar: Colorado’s Revenue Challenges
Apr. 28 – Coalition Meeting with Colorado Participation
Project-Boulder
Apr. 29 - Present Colorado Municipal League
Apr. 29 – Coalition Meeting with Colorado Participation
Project-Denver
May 7 – Present Project Wise
May 17 – Present Family Tree
May 23 – Present Colorado Children’s Campaign
6. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
May 25 – Webinar: Boom or Bust Colorado? Video and Web Tool
Kit
May 26 - Webinar: Boom or Bust Colorado? Video and Web Tool
Kit
June 1 – Meeting Colorado Council of Churches
June 1 – Meeting Bell Policy Center
June 1 – Meeting Colorado Progressive Coalition
June 2 – Meeting Colorado Participation Project
June 9 – Meeting Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable and
ProgressNow
June 14 – Present Larimer County Democratic Business
Coalition
June 20 – Present Colorado Senior Lobby
June 20 – Present Community Foundation Serving Boulder
County
June 23 – Community Presentation: Adams and Arapahoe
Counties
June 23 – Community Presentation: Jefferson County
June 24 – Present United Way of Larimer County
June 28 – Webinar: The Fiscal Impact of the Bright Colorado
Initiative
July 6 – Present Boulder County AIDS Project
July 14 – Present Brett Foundation and Community
Foundation Serving Boulder County
July 29 – Present Community Foundation Serving Boulder
County
August 25 – Present Warren Village with Colorado
Participation Project
Already Scheduled Future events
September 7 – Webinar: Update on Proposed Ballot Measure to
Increase Education Funding
September 13 – Present Niwot PTO
September 14 – Community Presentation: Loveland
September 14 – Community Presentation: Ft. Collins
September 20 – Community Presentation: Steamboat Springs
September 30 – Present Boulder County Development Directors
October 6 – Present Arc of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties
October 10-11 – Present Colorado Nonprofit Association
Annual Conference
January 5 – Present Foothills United Way Association of
Agency Executives
Future Events and Activities
7. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
By October 15 2011- outreach to key nonprofits and hold a
community event to present fiscal education information in
conjunction with Colorado Participation Project. Target
communities are Denver, Weld County, Pueblo and Grand
Junction.
By October 31 2011 – Establish partnerships with 10-20
nonprofit organizations who will commit to further
organizing activity in their communities.
By November 30 2011 – Nonprofit Organizers will recruit 5
to 10 conversation leaders within each community.
January 2012- Convene a conversation leader training
session – the Association will provide the training.
February to June 2012 - Assist and support local Nonprofit
Organizers in hosting community conversations, either at
the invitation of local nonprofit or civic groups, or by
organizing meetings. Goal is 10-15 events in communities
statewide.
January through June 2012- Produce written materials and
issue briefs that provide information about budget
challenges faced by the state or about other fiscal reform
discussions. Distribute to the Fiscal Education Network
partners and also through the Association network.
January through June 2012- Produce webinars that provide
information about budget challenges faced by the state or
about other fiscal reform discussions.
August through November 2012- Work with existing network
partners to disseminate educational information and convene
conversations around state fiscal issues that may be before
the voters.
We developed training materials and informational collateral for
umbrella organizations to use in communications with community
constituents. We distributed these materials to the following
organizations:
Bell Policy Center
Colorado Participation Project
Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable
Colorado Council of Churches
Colorado Education Association
Colorado Municipal League
Colorado Progressive Coalition
Community Resource Center
Engaged Public
ProgressNow
8. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
Members of the Fiscal Education Network hosted fiscal education
conversations across the state between February and August 2011.
The following organizations hosted conversations:
Arc of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties
Boulder County AIDS Project
Brett Foundation
Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Community Foundation Serving Boulder County
Colorado Children’s Campaign
Colorado Municipal League
Colorado Nonprofit Association
Colorado Reform Roundtable
Community Resource Center
Colorado Senior Lobby
Family Tree
Foothills United Way
Grass Roots St. Vrain
Larimer County Democratic Business Coalition
Niwot PTO
Mile High United Way
Pikes Peak Funders Forum
Project Wise
Steamboat Springs Human Services Council
United Way of Larimer County
Volunteers of America
Warren Village
Materials Produced
How to Talk about State and Community Priorities provides an in-
depth look at how Coloradans view government and how to frame
productive conversations.
Engage People as Problem Solvers describes critical elements
that help people stay focused on big picture priorities.
Assess Your Strategies provides a set of questions to evaluate
your current communications and education initiatives or plan
for the future.
Five Steps for Success: Step-by-step suggestions to convene and
lead “building awareness” conversations in your community.
9. Colorado Nonprofit Association
Fiscal Education Network Revised Plan
2011-12
Tips for Effective “Building Awareness” Conversations: Brief
review of how to help people who are learning about an issue to
move their thinking.
Keeping Conversations On Track: Suggestions for how to manage
challenging situations.
“Building Awareness” Conversation slides: PowerPoint Slides that
you can tailor for a 30-minute presentation or 60-minute
conversation and example slides of how to include local
implications.
Fiscal Education Newsletter “blurb”: Short description of the
Fiscal Education Network you can use to build interest and
quickly explain what you’re doing.
“Five Minute” Presentation: Colorado's fiscal challenge boiled
down to 700 words.
Monthly Webinar Recordings: The topics of the webinars include:
January - Introduction to the Fiscal Education Network
February - What Types of Cuts are needed to Close Colorado’s
Budget Gap?
March - Simulate Managing the State Budget Using
Backseatbudgeter.com
April - Colorado’s Revenue Needs
May - Colorado Boom or Bust? Video and Web Tool Kit
June - The Fiscal Impact of the Support our Schools for a
Bright Colorado Initiative
Explanation of Number of Organizations Reached
Our goal was to secure a minimum of 500 organizations that are
knowledgeable about the state's fiscal structure, implications
of funding shortages and potential solutions to the issue by
September 2011. To date, we have reached 798 organizations. The
number of organizations reached is the number of actual webinar
participants plus number of persons (some actual, some
estimates) in attendance at a meeting convened by an
organization other than Colorado Nonprofit Association, plus
number of participants at network meetings convened by the
Colorado Nonprofit Association. Duplicate participation has been
accounted for, as much as possible.
