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Voter-Approved Children’s Fund Profile: Denver, CO

Denver Preschool Program is available to all Denver 4-year-olds in their last year of preschool before kindergarten and qualifying 3-year-olds, with priority given to families experiencing financial hardships.
Photo provided by Denver Preschool Program

Voter-Approved Children’s Fund Profile: Denver, CO

Name of Fund: Denver Preschool Program 

Percentage of Locality’s Children in Poverty: 13.4%

Annual Revenue: $31.4 million (2024, most recent year available) 

Funding Mechanism: 0.15% sales tax

Year Established: 2006 (Reauthorized in 2014, 2023)

Percent of Voters Who Approved the Fund, 2006: 50.61%

Percent of Voters Who Approved the Fund, 2014: 55.28%

Percent of Voters Who Approved the Fund, 2023: 78.18%

Expiration Date: None (sunset clause removed in 2023)

Fund Purpose: Early childhood education

Worked with Children’s Funding Project

  • Children’s Funding Project community of practice member

  • Children’s Funding Institute attendee

Filed under:

Early Childhood, Advocates/Intermediaries, Policymakers/Agency Leaders, Publication, Voter-Approved Children’s Funds

QUICK LINKS

Fund History and Description

Fund Purpose and Impact

Governance and Administration

Relevant Links

More Resources

Updates and Events

Fund History and Description
Photo provided by Denver Preschool Program

Denver Preschool Program is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to high-quality preschool for all Denver children. Efforts to fund early childhood education in Denver began under Mayor Wellington Webb, who proposed sales tax increases in 2000 and 2001 to help fund early childhood education, both of which voters rejected. In 2003, Mayor John Hickenlooper prioritized early childhood education and initiated the “Preschool Matters” campaign in 2006. The campaign gained widespread community support and endorsements from numerous local organizations, with Mayor Hickenlooper serving as a prominent advocate. These efforts culminated in the passage of Ballot Question 1A in 2006, which narrowly passed with 50.61% of the vote. The measure established a 0.12% sales tax increase to fund preschool access and created Denver Preschool Program to administer the funds. 

The original initiative included a 10-year sunset clause, so the issue appeared on the ballot again in 2014. That year, voters reauthorized the program with 55.28% of the vote, increasing the sales tax to 0.15% and expanding tuition support to include 3-year-olds. In 2023, the passage of Referred Question 2P, which earned 78.18% of the vote, removed the sunset clause, making the dedicated tax permanent. The increasing levels of voter support with each renewal reflect the strong and growing impact of Denver Preschool Program in the community. 

Fund Purpose and Impact
Photo provided by Denver Preschool Program

Denver Preschool Program was established to improve both access to and the quality of preschool education for families living in Denver, in accordance with its founding ordinance. Since its initial approval by voters, the organization has expanded its scope. Originally focused on increasing access to high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds in Denver and improving their school readiness, the program grew to support both 3- and 4-year-olds. Over time, the Denver Preschool Program introduced tuition credits to help ensure that all families, regardless of income, can access preschool. In addition, the program increased its investment in community outreach and early childhood research, further strengthening its impact. Revenue from the voter-approved sales tax now supports work in the following four core areas:

    1. Tuition credits: Tuition assistance is available to all families that live within the city and county of Denver and have a child enrolled in a participating preschool. Based on the family’s income, tuition support varies, and Denver Preschool Program may cover up to 100% of preschool costs. Tuition credits are paid directly to the family’s chosen preschool. 
    2. Quality initiatives: The program collaborates with preschool providers through a quality improvement framework that includes professional development, training, financial grants, and classroom materials. 
    3. Community outreach: Denver Preschool Program raises awareness by meeting families where they are. Staff participate in local events and cultural celebrations; they also partner with community-based organizations and share information in over a dozen languages. 
    4. Research and advocacy: The program advocates for policies that advance early childhood education at both the state and national levels, with efforts grounded in research. 

Additional impacts and specific details about Denver Preschool Program include the following:

  • In fiscal year 2023–2024, Denver Preschool Program partnered with 264 preschool providers throughout Denver to provide tuition credits to 4,472 children.
  • 92% of tuition credits went toward coverage for full and extended day hours. 
  • Community outreach efforts, spread across 68 local events, reached 1.2 million people. 
  • More than half of Denver Preschool Program beneficiaries are from households with low income. 
  • Denver Preschool Program’s Board of Directors actively engages in state-level advocacy and, so far, has endorsed four Colorado House bills designed to reduce financial barriers for children and families. 

Research and family feedback highlight several key outcomes of Denver Preschool Program’s positive influence on children and families, as follows: 

  • Improved literacy skills: Children who attended preschools that are supported by Denver Preschool Program demonstrated stronger early literacy skills within the first weeks of kindergarten, compared to peers who did not participate in the program, according to findings from an internal evaluation that are summarized in the Denver Preschool Program’s fact sheet, “Long-Lasting Effects That Go Beyond Test Scores.”
  • Reduced chronic absenteeism and grade retention: Students who received tuition assistance from Denver Preschool Program were less likely to be chronically absent and less likely to repeat a grade by fifth grade, according to longitudinal research.” 
  • Reduced financial stress for families: 85% of parents who received tuition support from Denver Preschool Program self-reported that the support helped ease their financial stress. 
Governance and Administration

Denver Preschool Program is an independent, non-governmental organization created to administer the voter-approved preschool tax revenue. Through a formal contract, the City of Denver authorizes Denver Preschool Program to manage and distribute these funds. Denver Preschool Program is responsible for the following:

  • Administering tuition credits to eligible families
  • Overseeing daily operations
  • Managing quality improvement efforts
  • Producing annual public reports 

Although it operates independently, Denver Preschool Program is contractually bound to follow state transparency laws and works in partnership with the city of Denver, which collects the dedicated sales tax.

Governance of Denver Preschool Program is overseen by a Board of Directors established by city ordinance. Originally composed of seven members, including one Denver City Council member, Denver Preschool Program’s board was expanded in 2014 to include a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 15 members, where the mayor appoints 10 to 14 private citizens to the board, with confirmation from the city council, and the city council appoints one council member to the board. Board members serve three-year terms. Denver Preschool Program’s board is responsible for setting spending priorities, hiring the program’s president and CEO, and approving major contracts that support the program’s administration.

Denver Preschool Program directly provides customer service and oversees its targeted universal tuition model, but external contractors carry out tasks such as managing enrollment data, determining family eligibility, and supporting program evaluation. The enrollment and eligibility contractor manages the data related to the tuition model and helps evaluate the program’s effectiveness. A key component of this evaluation is a longitudinal study conducted in partnership with Denver Public Schools, which tracks student achievement from preschool through high school graduation to assess the programs’ long-term impact. 

Although originally created solely to administer the voter-approved sales tax revenue, Denver Preschool Program now also acts as Denver’s Local Coordinating Organization for Colorado Universal Preschool. Over time, the infrastructure created to administer the sales tax revenue approved by voters in 2006 has enabled the Denver Preschool Program to take on a broader coordinating role in the community’s early childhood ecosystem. Denver Preschool Program serves the broader ecosystem by aligning local and state resources, streamlining enrollment systems, and fostering partnerships across early childhood providers. This expanded capacity demonstrates how fund administration infrastructure can evolve into a central hub for early childhood coordination and policy implementation beyond its original mandate.