The Boulder County TRENDS Report, released in September
2007, is the 5th community indicators report produced by The
Community Foundation’s Civic Forum. The Civic Forum is non-partisan and
non-governmental, supported by businesses, government, the John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation, individuals, and The Community Foundation, of which it has
been a program since 1999.
The indicators used in TRENDS were selected out of a broad,
community-based process that engaged more than 400 Boulder County
leaders, policymakers, business people, and neighbors over 10 years ago. The
Civic Forum continues to track these 50 indicators, along with new measures in
emerging areas of interest, each year to provide longitudinal data on Boulder County and to help inform our community
on how we are doing. The indicators give us an idea of where we’ve been, where
we are now, and what may lie ahead.
TRENDS is organized into seven chapters reflecting the
vision established by the Civic Forum founders and the areas in which The
Community Foundation makes grants.
Chapters
highlight the people of our community, health and human services, education,
environment, housing and the economy, arts and culture, and civic participation
and giving. Included are colorful graphs, highlights of a sample of programs
and collaborations working to address issues discussed in the chapters. New
this report are chapter summaries of what we’re doing well, opportunities to
improve, and what YOU can do as an individual, business, parent, and
contributor to this community towards making a difference. The report also includes information about
how The Community Foundation can be a partner with you in the mission to
improve the quality of life in Boulder
County.
TRENDS can be downloaded on www.commfound.org.
To schedule a customized presentation for your business or
community organization, please contact 303-442-0436 or Morgan@commfound.org.
Here’s an introduction to TRENDS:
We look different. Boulder County is growing. And aging. And
diversifying. Latinos now make up nearly 13% of the county’s population and
Asians another 4%. Nearly 16% of Boulder
County residents speak a
language other than English at home. And by 2020, it’s estimated that one out
of every five of us will be over 60. But
who’s running the show? Of the 93 elected officials countywide, as of
October 2007 people of color are greatly underrepresented. The boards and
leadership staff of nonprofit organizations don’t reflect the clients they are
serving, which may compromise effectiveness of services. And though we rank
highly in per capita income, our Anglo households earn an average 37% more than
our Latino households and 134% than our Native American households. How can we
build community assets out of our differences?
We raise the bar. When
it comes to health care, Boulder
County boasts an
impressive array of services, including community health clinics that integrate
dental and mental health and terrific community hospitals that provide
specialty care. Plus, the community has created a Strategic Plan for human
services, incorporating work already begun by Aging Services, the Health Youth
Alliance and the Early Child Care and Education Council. The goal is to build
an accessible, dynamic and effective system of care. But the safety net has gaping holes. Too many of our residents have
no health insurance, or work in jobs that provide too little insurance. Our
community clinics provided primary and dental care to more than 33,000
uninsured and low income residents in 2006 but our emergency rooms are the
health care choice of first resort for too many of our low income residents. Is there a community Rx for this challenge?
We’re a smart bunch. Boulder County is one of the most educated
communities in the country. Within Colorado
we boast some of the highest achievement scores in public schools. We’re home
to the University of Colorado, Naropa
University, Front Range Community
College, and numerous federal and state research
labs, attracting high tech industries and employees from around the world. But we still have a lot to learn. We’re
also home to one of the largest achievement gaps in the state. Twice we’ve failed
to pass a supplemental funding Mill Levy to support the St. Vrain Valley School
District, allowing it to remain one of the lowest funded districts in the Metro
area. The dropout rate of Latino students far outnumbers that of non-Hispanic
white students. Are we smart enough to
confront this inequity?
There’s a lot of
money out there. Our county was reported as the 7th wealthiest
in the nation in 2005 as measured by per capita income. Boulder was recognized as the top city
outside of major metropolises for attracting private equity and venture
capitalist investment, and our highly educated residents countywide provide an
employee base for many of the high tech companies that call our community home.
Job growth has continued every year since the regional recession hit in 2002. But not everyone’s getting a piece of the
pie. Our middle class is disappearing. We lack job training opportunities
for many of our neighbors who need it. More than one out of every 10 residents
lives below the poverty line. Even more live below the self-sufficient standard
– many of those are families. Child care, health care, housing…It all adds up and the till is empty for
many.
It ain’t easy being
green. Boulder
County has a strong
history of commitment to environmental stewardship but it takes a lot of work.
The County government and the City of Boulder
have both adopted zero waste policies, and a number of businesses and schools
are making strides toward waste reduction and energy efficiencies. We’re home
to the first Climate Action Tax in the country and our tax dollars have made a
significant impact in land conservation. But
we’re not all walking the talk. Our consumption of coal-powered electricity
contributes 48% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Only 5% of us regularly use public
transportation to get to and from work. The vehicle miles traveled within Boulder County are growing considerably faster
than our population. And yet “highways and transit” were listed as the second
most concerning issue to community residents in a recent Boulder County
government survey, just behind “manage/stop growth.” Think green. Act green.
When it comes to the arts, we’re gifted. Boulder County
has something for every one in arts and culture. Classical music, theater,
dance, bluegrass, jazz, visual and experiential arts abound. Cultural vitality
is a key contributor to a high quality of life and a profound economic driver.
We are home to more than 1,200 artists and arts organizations and their work
attracts 650,000 arts lovers every year, including 83,000 from outside the
county. Audiences stay in hotels and dine at restaurants, wander through our
shopping districts and buy stuff to take home. But who picks up the artistic tab? As the quality and variety of
arts offerings increases the cost goes up. Ticket sales cover only a small
portion of the cost of doing business. Even many of the most well established
and nationally recognized presenters in Boulder County
struggle to keep the lights on and pay the performers. Can we invest in the arts with more than our emotions?
We value community. Nearly
80% of those we surveyed said they volunteered their time to help a friend,
neighbor, or family member this past year. Another 56% worked on a
community-improvement project and 46% worked with a nonprofit organization,
government agency or faith community. Nearly half of residents surveyed said
they had attended at least one public meeting over the past year. Our mid-term
election turn-out was far higher than the state rate. But are we truly connected? Almost 80% of those surveyed think Boulder County organizations need more financial
support, but only 63% said they gave money last year. Our average charitable
donation is less than half of Denver’s.
In addition, 70% of us live in a different community than the one in which we
work. How much do we love this place?
Visit www.commfound.org
or call The Community Foundation today to see a copy of the full report – and
to learn more about what’s already happening in Boulder County
to build on our strengths and address the challenges we face. Think of what we
could change if we each did one thing, every day.
