Fiscal Education Network

Fiscal Education Network Continues Reaching Nonprofits

Builds an informed nonprofit network ready to confront Colorado’s long-term fiscal challenges.
Provides key resources guides for nonprofits.
Connects with more than 1,000 organizations.
Fosters conversations about the state’s fiscal challenges.

Get Involved in 2012

Monthly webinars

Join the conversation and stay informed through topical, relevant sessions led by expert presenters.
Train Fiscal Education Network Conversation Leaders.

Facilitation training to learn how to best lead conversations.
Provide background on Colorado’s fiscal challenges to prepare people to field more detailed questions.
Conduct a practice session leading a conversation with instructor feedback.

Community Visits

Presentations with local leaders.
Powerful call to action – learn how you can be a part of this project.

Communications Tools for Statewide Networks

Templates – spread the word via web, email, flyers and print newsletters.
Organizer Toolkit – learn how to convene conversations, project guidelines, outreach strategies and template.

Help Coloradans Make Sense of the State’s Revenue Challenges

Colorado’s Budget Crisis Affects Your Nonprofit and Community

Watch Colorado’s Budget: In Plain Talk video (YouTube) for a straightforward explanation on Colorado’s serious budget situation.

Fiscal Education Network: Nonprofits Are Vital to Community Conversations

What do Colorado’s fiscal challenges and nonprofits have in common? Many nonprofits fill the gap by delivering programs created by reduced government funding. Nonprofits are also known as trusted, nonpartisan voices and can engage neighbors in meaningful civic conversations through their extensive community networks.Under Colorado’s constitution, voters make the fundamental fiscal decisions. Forming a consensus will take the kind of neighbor-to-neighbor conversations that nonprofits are uniquely situated to facilitate.

Colorado’s Revenue Problems

Coloradans have made clear they expect state and local governments to fund good schools, maintain roads and bridges, provide fire and police protection, and support the most vulnerable members of our communities. State revenues, however, are not sufficient to meet these expectations in the short-term or long-term. Colorado’s General Fund revenue in 2010 is nearly the same as 2001. Yet, the state population has grown by more than 700,000 people and inflation has gone up, on average, about 3 percent per year this decade.

Helping our fellow Coloradans understand the effects of the state’s revenue challenges is especially important because so many issues with far reaching implications must be decided by voters. Constitutional measures adopted at various times by voters in the last 30 years also complicate the ability of state government to fund these services and programs Coloradans think are important.

Fiscal Education Network

The Fiscal Education Network provides Colorado nonprofits with information about the state’s long-term fiscal challenges and the tools to encourage community and value based discussion of these issues. This effort is coordinated with the Colorado Reform Roundtable, a coalition of businesses, nonprofits, and labor unions interested in fiscal reform. Visit www.coloradoreformroundtable.com

Colorado Nonprofit Association has contracted with John Creighton of Conocer, Inc. to implement the project.

Through the Fiscal Education Network, Colorado Nonprofit Association will provide information, materials and resources to nonprofits about the state’s fiscal challenges and how these challenges impact the nonprofit sector and our communities. These materials will be educational and designed to assist nonprofits to engage their constituencies and neighbors in awareness discussions and the consideration of options. While we will provide information about options, Colorado Nonprofit Association does not have any predetermined solution to advocate. Many nonprofit, business and civic groups are discussing ideas. A major goal of the project is to involve nonprofits in these discussions.

How the Fiscal Education Network Will Operate

By providing all of the following resources, our goal is for nonprofits across Colorado to convene 250 conversations in their communities to build awareness and promote discussions of the state’s financial situation. Working together, the Fiscal Education Network can help to build the public awareness that is needed to help our state deal with its long-term fiscal challenges:

Monthly Webinars

Colorado Nonprofit Association will host a free webinar each month. The webinars will include three basic elements. 1) Overview of state fiscal issues so network members can deepen their own knowledge. 2) Review of “community conversation packages” that nonprofit organizations can use to lead local discussions. 3) Peer-to-peer learning so members of the network can tailor fiscal education conversations to fit their unique circumstances.

Click here for dates and registration information.

Click here to view recorded webinars.

Regional Training Sessions

Face-to-face training sessions will provide opportunities for nonprofit organizations to dig more deeply into content, learn practical skills such as meeting facilitation, and develop relationships with other Network members. We will work with local organizations to schedule training sessions in several regions throughout Colorado. If your area has a regular gathering of nonprofit organizations, we would welcome an opportunity to present to your group.

Resource Sharing

Click here to view Fiscal Education Network resources

A wide variety of organizations are doing research and producing valuable information that can be used to inform fiscal education conversations. Local nonprofits are developing ways to tailor this information for use in communities. The Fiscal Education Network will collect, disseminate and provide links to these resources.