Help us make Colorado a state of opportunity for all. Please donate today.

Dear Friend:

With Fall comes a noisy, busy season for organizations such as ours – a time that bears witness to our successes and the challenges before all of us. I ask, can you imagine Colorado without the Bell Policy Center?

Imagine if we hadn't written the seminal report on the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in 2003, traveled the state to educate and build a coalition in 2004 or played a key role in passing Referendum C in 2005.

Imagine if we hadn't published the Blueprint for Opportunity in 2006, a comprehensive set of policies to expand opportunity in Colorado. Imagine if we hadn't worked with legislators in 2007 and 2008 to successfully implement a large majority of our recommendations.

Imagine if we hadn't persisted in our efforts in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to end predatory payday lending in Colorado, or defended against industry efforts to overturn that victory in 2011.

Imagine if we hadn't done the preliminary research in 2009 that alerted the state to the dangers of Amendments 60, 61 and Prop 101 and helped build a broad coalition that defeated the damaging proposals in 2010.

And imagine if we can't continue to bear witness to Colorado's fiscal challenges, help lead the statewide movement for change, or promote policies to make Colorado a State of Opportunity for all.

We've accomplished so much with your support
and that of others like you. And with your renewed support,
we can continue this work for years to come. Please make
a generous donation today to the Bell Policy Center.

Name an issue you care about in Colorado, and chances are the Bell's been fighting for the right kind of change. Focusing attention on the wide achievement gap and high dropout rates in schools. Promoting college access and affordability for folks from all backgrounds. Working to make health insurance more available and affordable for all families. Setting the record straight on issues from illegal immigration to national health reform. Increasing the minimum wage and reforming unemployment insurance.

And how we work for change is important as well. Make no mistake – we are a progressive organization committed to progressive values of fairness and equity. But we also believe lasting change starts with our own integrity. Our hallmarks are quality research, responsible advocacy and honest communication. And we believe strongly in collaborating with as many Coloradans as possible, from as many sectors as possible, to achieve common goals.

That's not easy in these days of hyper-partisanship and sound-bite politics. But thanks to our supporters – 95 percent of whom are Coloradans – we've been able to do things right.

Please continue your investment in our reputation
for quality and accuracy and our growing record of success
by donating now to the Bell.

Our future plans are as ambitious as ever. We want to lead Colorado back to fiscal sanity, which means adequate and sustainable funding for the public systems that underpin our prosperity and quality of life.

Imagine a state where public schools help propel all children into the Cycle of Opportunity, where "no child left behind" is a fact, not a slogan.

Imagine a state where working families can still afford to send their kids to college, and where employers can count on the skills those kids learn there.

Imagine a state where jobs pay enough to move families into the middle class – and keep them there.

Imagine a state where everyone has genuine access to affordable health care and where childhood poverty is only a distant memory.

We're working every day to make all this happen. And it's uniquely challenging in a state that relies heavily on voters to make key decisions. In fact, Colorado is the only state where any solution that involves any level of taxation can happen only through a vote of the people.

That's why we're going straight to the people. We're enlisting opinion leaders and active citizens across the state and arming them with a toolkit of resources, building on of our introductory In Plain Talk budget video, so they can become trusted and informed voices for change in their own communities.

We are laying the groundwork for meaningful change.
But we can only succeed with your support.

These aren't easy times, and we know there are more good causes than most of us can support. We take the support we receive very seriously and work to leverage every dollar to maximum effect.

One example is the In Plain Talk video and tool kit of resources – all produced in-house or in collaboration with other non-profits at a fraction of what they would otherwise cost.

These tools, designed to communicate effectively and reach broad audiences, are accessible and understandable (even entertaining) and yet convey factual information about our state's important challenges. See them for yourself and you'll know firsthand how far your investment in the Bell goes and why it is so important.

The Bell intends to keep playing a central role in making
Colorado a State of Opportunity for everyone.
We hope you will play a central role in supporting the Bell.

Please, join us. Be as generous as you can, and know that we appreciate any and all support.

With our thanks,

Wade Buchanan
President

P.S. – We have made donating to the Bell easier than ever. Just click here and you'll be done in moments.

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