Denver College Success Corporation

Denver voters approved the Denver College Success Corporation in November 2018.  Voters approved a dedicated funding stream for college access and success programs through a sales tax increase that will generate nearly $12M annually and sunset in December 2030.

Currently, 74% of jobs in Denver will require a postsecondary degree or certificate.  However, less than half of current Denver residents 25 years and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher.  

Obstacles preventing Denver residents from obtaining a postsecondary degree include:

• A widespread belief that college is not financially possible, and
• A failure to complete degree program because of financial, social and academic pressures.

Failure to complete a degree is especially harmful because students are saddled with debt, but then have no postsecondary credential in Denver’s competitive job market.  Additionally, students who complete their degree with excessive debt have difficulty meeting the cost of living in Denver.  

The Denver College Success Corporation is a city-funded non-profit organization that uses a pay-for-performance model with an income based sliding scale award.  It will leverage taxpayer dollars with privately raised funds.  Specifically these funds will be available to existing non-profit organizations devoted to providing high school graduates with educational opportunities at accredited Colorado technical schools, community colleges, and universities.  These organizations will be motivated to assure success for their selected students in the pursuit of post high school educational opportunities because their efforts will also be partially reimbursed.

The first distribution of funds collected by the city will be made to 20 non-profits who provide scholarships to qualified students in  the second quarter of this year.  Those public funds will amplify the private funds that each nonprofit has collected to increase the number of students who can receive scholarships, and/or to increase the amount of the scholarship the students receive from the nonprofit. 

The Board of Directors of DCSC is now looking for the organization’s first leader to build the organization for optimal impact in our community.