Mission & History

MISSION
Colorado Progressive Coalition is a statewide, member-driven organization that has engaged communities to advance economic and social justice since 1996. Organized around five program areas: Racial Justice & Civil Rights; Health Care for All; Economic Justice; Statewide Base Building; and Civic Engagement; CPC advocates at the local, state, and national levels on issues that affect people of color, low-income neighborhoods, immigrants, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, and young people.

HISTORY
Colorado Progressive Coalition ("CPC") was founded in 1996 in Greeley by community activists and leaders who were fed up with the increasing power of right-wing conservative forces in Colorado. CPC builds coalitions, conducts research, organizes communities, gets out the vote, develops new leaders, registers new voters each year, and lobbies elected officials at the local, state, and national levels to build a progressive future for Colorado on issues of racial, economic, environmental, and social justice.

Organized around five primary program areas: Racial Justice & Civil Rights; Health Justice; Economic Justice; Civic Engagement; and Statewide Base Building, CPC's membership has grown rapidly to include 40 civil rights, faith-based, labor, and community member organizations representing 250,000 Coloradans and 5,000 individual members, and thousands of volunteers and supporters in 80 towns and cities across the state. We've received local and national recognition for our creative, dynamic, and effective organizing, including winning the Chinook Fund's 1998 and 2000 "Winds of Change" Awards for outstanding organizing for progressive social change. CPC is a recommended "Great Social Change Group" in the book Robin Hood Was Right: A Guide to Giving Your Money for Social Change and was selected by USAction to be its 2001 National Affiliate of the year.

We reach large numbers of people with our door-to-door program each year, and inspire people too often left out of our political process to make their voice heard. For this work, CPC was recognized by TrueMajority.org as one of the top five community voter programs in the United States. Read CPC's accomplishment page

CPC is a nonprofit, grassroots organization with a staff of 18 and offices in Denver, Pueblo, and Greeley. We receive funding from membership dues from people like you, foundation grants, and events and - to maintain our independence - we do not accept direct corporate or government grants. Colorado Progressive Action, CPC's lobbying arm, was incorporated in 2002 and is increasingly active on federal health care reform, civil justice, Social Security protection, judicial nomination, and federal tax and budget policy issues.

We are an aggressive affirmative action employer, and support efforts to end racism, sexism, homophobia, and other divisive forces present in today's institutions and economics.

If you like what you've read and support our mission, we invite you to become a CPC supporter today. You will be able to print out a membership application or to make a secure, credit card contribution today. Thank you!