It’s called “Share in the Care,” but the fundraising campaign for the state’s rusty Capitol dome has shown that — at least so far — not many Coloradans have shared or cared.
Since the fundraising campaign began in January, it has generated $69,011 to help fund repairs to the cast-iron dome. Those repairs are scheduled for completion in 2014 at a cost of $17 million.
By law, $4 million for the project is coming from the State Historical Fund, a pot of money generated by casino taxes. Any of the rest needed to repair the dome that is not raised privately will be backfilled from the fund.
The fund normally pays for scores of small historical preservation projects around the state, but to the dismay of preservationists and many small communities, it could be tapped heavily to pay for dome repairs.
Organizers of the dome fundraising campaign say they believe they’re on the brink of landing some major corporate donors.
“You don’t just walk into an office and get a CEO to cut a check that fast. It takes a little time,” said Jim Hare, executive director of Colorado Preservation Inc., which is running the fundraising campaign for the state.
The campaign has received some corporate donations, including $20,000 from AT&T, $5,000 from Anglo Gold Ashanti, $8,000 from Colorado Humanities and $1,500 from Circuit Media. In addition, Hare said, the campaign has pledges for much more — $100,000 from the Colorado Education Association and $30,000 from Comcast — that will be paid in installments.
Also, Anglo Gold Ashanti put in another $50,000 that was used for seed money to develop marketing for the fundraising campaign.
And the campaign has $1 million of in-kind contributions in the form of donated media from TV and radio stations and outdoor advertising companies.
Meanwhile, 992 individual Coloradans have donated a total of $40,233.
Public service TV ads featuring Gov. John Hickenlooper and former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown will begin soon, broadcasting the fundraising appeal across the state.
Still, the fact that the fundraising campaign so far has, after deducting expenses, transferred less than $70,000 in cash to state coffers is disappointing to lawmakers who passed legislation to repair the dome.
“The numbers seem to indicate it (repairing the dome) has a fairly limited appeal,” said state Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, who pushed for using money from the State Historical Fund. “The public believes they pay taxes, and the state should take care of it out of those tax revenues.”
Former state Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, recently named state insurance commissioner, sponsored legislation setting up the private fundraising effort.
“My thoughts aren’t printable,” he said when asked about the fundraising campaign. “I’m certainly hoping we turn a corner real, real fast.”
Hare said that, unlike other typical fundraising campaigns, the one for the dome did not have a multiyear, behind-the- scenes effort to line up corporate donors before appealing to the public. Instead, all of its efforts have been on public view in the form of quarterly reports to the state.
But he agreed that it has been difficult at times to garner interest among donors.
“There’s still a lot of resistance from some people who think the state doesn’t do a good job of maintaining its buildings and has to rob the historical fund to do it,” Hare said.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
