Help Ashley Support 71K more youth succeed!

Across the state, there are over 826,000 young people not meeting critical cradle to career milestones needed for upward mobility. In the north metro region alone (Adams County, Arvada, Aurora, and Broomfield), 123,000 young people are not on a path to success. This is not just a loss for them, but a significant untapped potential for our community and our economy!

To this end, we've set an ambitious goal to support 71,000 more young people to meet key Cradle to Career milestones that lead to upward mobility. By investing today, you can help us meet this goal!

In my role at Cradle to Career Colorado, I get the amazing opportunity to work with our badass Civic Influencer fellows!

Why should you care?

Meeting cradle to career outcomes that lead to upward mobility is not just about youth doing better; it is critical to our region's current and future economic prosperity. The challenges we face in this community are interconnected, and addressing them holistically can lead to shared economic growth for everyone.

Colorado's biggest economic asset is it's untapped talent. A recent report from the Common Sense Institute highlighted that the labor shortage is costing our state $46 billion annually in GDP. Meeting workforce needs could boost the state's CDP by 10%, and employing 79,000 more skilled workers across the state would provide substantial economic advantages, including 25,630 additional jobs, $2.857 billion in GDP, and $4.91 billion in personal income. By investing today, you can help us tap in our biggest economic asset.

Our Civic Influencer Fellowship is not just about advocating for the things that matter, but also growing our youth into civic leaders. Gaby and Sarah are a testament to that!

How are we working to reach this goal?

1. Empowering Target Champions - Target Champions are key groups and organizations that are naming their individual contribution to our ambitious 71K goal. We provide them with dedicated technical assistance and data support, as well as bring them all together to learn from each other!
2. Executing High Impact Projects - These are initiatives focused on tackling challenges that are too big for any single organization to handle alone. They fill critical gaps in the region, address common barriers long the cradle-to-career journey, and incubate innovative solutions.
3. Advancing Policy Initiatives - We can only reach our 71K target by advancing policies that remove barriers preventing children and and young people from achieving cradle to career milestones. This means addressing policy at all levels - organizational, local, regional, state, and federal. This includes:
   1. Using data to turn insights into actionable policy recommendations
   2. Strengthening our impact on policy at all levels through the Cradle to Career Colorado Collective (a statewide policy coalition)
   3. Growing the next generation of civic leaders through our Civic Influencer Fellowship Program and supporting them to mobilize for policy change at all levels

In order to do this amazing work though, we need resources. By investing today, you can help us empower target champions, execute high impact projects, and advance policy initiatives at all levels, including growing the next generation of civic leaders.

Our Civic Influencer Fellows have helped support efforts to secure over $2 billion for local school districts, including 27J Schools, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Westminster Public Schools, and Aurora Public Schools.