Motivation For The New Year

Welcome to The Workbench—a new, monthly update on the work taking shape at Gary. Our work is always evolving, changing, growing, and learning. We’re perpetually in draft mode: testing ideas, iterating on what’s working, and letting go of what isn’t. This update is my way of sharing that journey with you — not the polished final product, but the messy, exciting work-in-progress itself. Because if we’re serious about making Colorado the best place to raise kids, we want to build it with you.

Change happens quietly

If you opened the Denver Post in late December, you might have noticed a small story tucked to the side of the front page. It covered new research from Appalachian State and Washington University in St. Louis on Colorado’s tax credits. Buried in paragraph four was the headline: thanks to the Family Affordability Tax Credit passed eighteen months ago, Colorado paid out $900 million to families with young kids—and now has the lowest child poverty rate in the nation. The Governor even highlighted this at the top of his State of the State speech last week.

Here’s what made me proudest: No single organization was responsible for this transformative shift. It was the quiet, collective effort of phenomenal people and partners across the state—and Gary was proud to be part of it. Our policy team worked alongside many partners and outstanding state leadership to pass the credit, we made grants to support organizations connecting families to it, and a few of us even volunteered as tax preparers last April with Tax Help Colorado.

I am in awe of – but not surprised by – what a committed group of people and organizations can accomplish together.

This is the point. You don’t create $900 million in impact with one organization or one silver bullet. You do it through collective movement building and systemic change — infrastructure that protects families long after any single campaign ends. Even in a tough fiscal environment, we’re hopeful these credits will persist. That’s durable change. That’s what it looks like to make Colorado the best place to raise kids. How about that as a motivation to kick off this year?

Our work in progress

• In partnership with Impact Charitable and a phenomenal group of local and national funders, we just launched a pilot to imagine a world where every kid gets access to a wealth account in America.
• Legislative Session … Let’s Go! at least that’s what our policy team says. Check out what they will be working on this session.
• Who says My Spark is just for kids in Denver? Not us. We think that this family-directed, flexible after-school program can become a statewide or even a national model.
• You should also take a look at our really cool child care subsidy design work.
• In partnership with First Southwest Bank, we just launched the Child Care Capital Infrastructure Fund to expand child care slots in rural Colorado. Here’s the thing: traditional lending models don’t work for child care providers. So we’re building new ones.
• Also, did you see the really amazing “The Power of Impermanence” video that our team put out? Take 7 minutes to watch it. I promise you, it’s worth it.

~ Santhosh