One Colorado Education Fund is the charitable arm of One Colorado, which focuses on issues related to LGBT people. The fund is involved in public education efforts related to left-of-center LGBT issues, mobilizes LGBT communities and allies, and conducts public opinion research and policy analysis related to LGBT issues. ^{1 2}

Overview

One Colorado Education Fund advocates for expanding legal protections for LGBT people in Colorado. These include laws related to discrimination in places of employment, housing, and public accommodations, access to civil unions and marriage, and access to health care services. ³

The fund claims to have more than 55,000 supporters and a donor base of more than 2,960 individual donors.  It helped to implement and sustain the Colorado Gender and Sexuality Alliance Network, with 220 gay-straight alliances in middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the state. It trained 1,000 educators in Colorado to address the bullying of LGBT youths in Colorado schools. The fund also hosted four regional leadership summits in Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins, Denver, and Grand Junction with 250 youth leaders in attendance. The organization also hosted a tele-town hall with more than 2,000 attendees to discuss LGBT issues with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). It organized 79 volunteers to attend various LGBTQ pride events across Colorado to discuss the priorities of One Colorado. ⁴

The fund convened the LGBTQ Health Coalition in Colorado to network and collaborate with organizations of similar interests and priorities. The fund provided information on the rights and protections in Colorado’s health insurance plan to 210 LGBT Colorado residents. It also published a document called “Guidance for Working with Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students,” with other education organizations in Colorado including the Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado High School Activities and Athletics Association, and the Colorado Charter School League. ⁵

The organization gathered more than 150 individuals to testify before the state legislature on LGBTQ issues and organized a statewide network of supporters to advocate for legislation prohibiting “conversion therapy” and “Jude’s Law,” which permits transgender persons to change the sex on the birth certificates and other documentation. In 2019, the fund conducted a multi-method survey of the health issues and experiences of more than 2,500 LGBTQ Coloradans. ⁶

Funding

One Colorado Education Fund has received funding from various organizations such as AspenOUT, which gave the organization $2,000 in 2018. ⁷ AspenOUT is a non-profit organization in the Roaring Fork Valley that gives grants to LGBTQ organizations. ⁸

From 2015 through 2021, the fund received multiple grants amounting to $1,348,641 from the Colorado Health Foundation, ⁹ a left-of-center grantmaking organization based in Denver. ¹⁰ The fund received $50,000 from Colorado’s COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Project, the partnership between Immunize Colorado, the Colorado Vaccine Equity Task Force, and 13 funding partners to fund communities impacted by COVID-19. ¹¹ From 2016-2020, the organization also received multiple grants amounting to $120,000 from the Johnson Family Foundation, a New York-City based left of center private grantmaking organization. ¹²

1. “One Colorado Education Fund.” One Colorado. May 22, 2019. https://one-colorado.org/about/one-colorado-education-fund/.
2. “About.” One Colorado. Last modified June 9, 2021. https://one-colorado.org/about/.
3. “One Colorado Education Fund.” One Colorado. May 22, 2019. https://one-colorado.org/about/one-colorado-education-fund/.
4. “One Colorado Education Fund.” GreatNonprofits. Accessed May 22, 2022. https://greatnonprofits.org/org/one-colorado-education-fund.
5. “One Colorado Education Fund.” GreatNonprofits. Accessed May 22, 2022. https://greatnonprofits.org/org/one-colorado-education-fund.
6. “One Colorado Education Fund.” Cause IQ. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/one-colorado-education-fund,271333378/.
7. Report, Staff. “AspenOUT Awards Nearly $45k in Grants, Including Scholarships.” News. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.aspentimes.com/news/aspenout-awards-nearly-45k-in-grants-including-scholarships/.
8. “AspenOUT.” AspenOUT. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://aspenout.org/.
9. “Recent Grants and Impact Investments.” Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://coloradohealth.org/grantmaking/search?field_grant_geo_area_served_value=All&combine=One+Colorado&field_address_full_value=&field_grantee_location_value=All&field_focus_area_ref_single_target_id=All&tid=All&field_approval_year_value=All&field_amount_value=All&field_grant_type_value=All&field_grant_priority_area_target_id=All
10. “About Us.” The Colorado Health Foundation. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://coloradohealth.org/about-us.
11. “Together We Protect.” Caring For Colorado. September 2021. https://caringforcolorado.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TWP_Report2021.pdf.
12. “Johnson Family Foundation.” Johnson Family Foundation. Accessed May 23, 2022. https://www.jffnd.org/home/#about1.