Colorado Fiscal Institute

Background Statement

For nearly 15 years, the Colorado Fiscal Institute operated as the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, a project of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. The project began as an all-volunteer coalition of health care, education, and human service advocates who realized that they could not effectively advocate for low-income Coloradans without a better understanding of how to navigate the budget process and operate within Colorado's onerous fiscal constraints.

In 1999, with the support of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington D.C., the coalition launched the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute to house the permanent analytic capacity for fiscal and economic research that could support advocates for low-income families.

In October 2012, the project's leadership launched the Colorado Fiscal Institute as an independent nonprofit with the belief that an organization dedicated solely to fiscal and economic policy would be more effective in promoting ideas that expand opportunity, equity, and economic prosperity for all Coloradans.

CFI's structure has changed, but its core mission remains the same. CFI continues to deliver on our founder's vision for a strong permanent analytic capacity to support Colorado's policy ecosystem. The breadth of topics that CFI turns its analytic eye towards and the depth of its relationships with diverse organizations, from K12 advocates to immigrant rights activists to health care providers, demonstrate the value of CFI's contribution.

Your Impact:

Your support in 2025 allowed CFI to…

Surpass 300 Tax Ambassadors trained. Tax advocates trained through this program learn the ins and outs of Colorado’s fiscal constraints, and are equipped to share knowledge with their community about creating a tax code that works for everyone.

Publish an essential and urgent report on the feminization of poverty. CFI partnered with the Women’s Foundation of Colorado to publish a groundbreaking study on how H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” will widen the economic divide for women in Colorado—particularly women of color, single mothers, and immigrants.

Launch a study on Baby Bonds, a tool for building intergenerational wealth. In collaboration with Soul 2 Soul Sisters, we launched a feasibility study to explore how a statewide Baby Bonds program could be implemented in Colorado.

Rally for a fairer economy. CFI hosted a “Families over Billionaires” Rally on the steps of the State Capitol on Tax Day to demand tax justice and shine a light on how billionaires and corporations continue to profit while working families are left to pick up the tab.

Educate voters to understand key ballot measures. Our Annual Voter Guide supported both statewide ballot measures—Proposition LL and Proposition MM—two commonsense policies that will make Colorado’s tax code work better for kids and communities. We also partner with other nonprofits to produce a nonpartisan, objective ballot education resource, “Count Me In!” for reliable, plain-language information on every measure on the ballot.

Host community-visioning sessions to dream together about what we want our state to look like in 50 years. Led and co-hosted statewide sessions in partnership with Reimagine Colorado—free, interactive workshops that invited Coloradans to imagine the Colorado they want in 2076, build shared values, and design a long-term roadmap.