Jefferson County Cultural Council adopts 75/25 funding split, directs leftover to Wheat Ridge Community Chorale and 40 West

The Jefferson County Cultural Council on May 21, 2025 adopted a 75% general operating support (GOS) / 25% project funding split for its 2025 Tier 3 allocations and approved redistributing the small remaining balance to two named organizations.

The split was approved in a roll-call vote after staff presented multiple allocation scenarios. Council member David Raine moved the adoption, saying, “I move that we adopt the 75 25 no over funding, allocation.” The motion passed on the first vote with all seven members recorded in favor. After directing staff to apply the formula, the council then voted to add the leftover balance to Wheat Ridge Community Chorale and 40 West; that second vote passed with five approvals and two abstentions.

Council members said their choice reflected a preference to protect project funding while still increasing steadier operating support compared with some other scenarios. Staff presented five models during the meeting — a 67/33 split, two versions of 75/25 (one that prevents overfunding projects), an 80/20 option, an “equal variance” model that funds GOS and projects to the same percentage, and a single-multiplier model that uses one pool. The council was told the total pool available for GEFCO allocations this cycle was about $2,100,000 and that the combined maximum requests adjusted by score totaled roughly $3,000,000, highlighting a shortfall.

Under the 75/25, staff said GOS would receive about $1,590,000 and projects about $500,000. Staff also noted that in that version 16 higher-scoring projects could be funded at 100% of their requests while no GOS applicant would be fully funded. Council members repeatedly cited the direct, place-based impact of projects as a reason to preserve project funding levels. As one council member put it, projects “are directly serving Jefferson County residents” and are often smaller and easier to fully fund than large GOS requests.

After the council adopted the 75/25 no-overfunding scenario, members discussed how to spend the small remaining balance. Staff identified Wheat Ridge Community Chorale as the highest-scoring GOS applicant (score noted in the meeting as 43.83), and the group agreed to fully fund that organization and apply the remainder to 40 West. Council member Kimber Smith moved the distribution of the leftover balance to the two organizations; the subsequent roll-call vote recorded two abstentions (Council member Richard Chamberlain and Council member David Raine) and five approvals. During the discussion one council member said, “I have ties to 40 West, so I will abstain.”

Staff provided a partial list of recommended awards for applicants in the chat during the meeting; among amounts spoken aloud by staff were Colorado Jazz Inc., recommended $21,761.87; Foothills Park and Recreation District Arts and Events Agency, recommended $40,193.68; Center for the Arts Evergreen, recommended $120,635.55; Conifer Stage Door Theater, recommended $37,744.88; and Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, recommended $244,581.16. Staff said the adopted 75/25 no-overfunding formula still leaves a small discretionary balance for the council to assign.

The council also signaled interest in further policy discussion at its retreat about whether to set caps (by dollar amount or percentage of the pot) on large requests, a tiered cap approach, or alternative formulas to limit the share any single applicant can request. Staff agreed to prepare comparative scenarios for future discussion.

The council adjourned after scheduling follow-up work and confirming its next meeting date.