SCFD Tier III

The SCFD is a seven-county tax district created within Colorado law, approved by Colorado’s General Assembly, and renewed by voters multiple times over more than 30 years.

Just one penny on every $10 in sales and use tax collected goes to SCFD. This money is then given out annually to qualifying organizations in three ways:

  1. The metro area’s largest cultural organizations – Denver Museum of Art, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and Denver Zoo – receive specific amounts determined by a funding formula set out in the SCFD statute.
  2. Regional organizations like the Arvada Center, Children’s Museum of Denver, and Butterfly Pavilion, qualify by reaching certain budget and attendance thresholds. They receive funding through a second formula laid out in statute.
  3. Counties that participate in the SCFD also make decisions about how the tax is spent. Each county receives a share of the tax collected. County Cultural Councils then review applications for funding from eligible organizations and make recommendations on their county’s funding priorities. Those recommendations are then reviewed and approved by the board of county commissioners or city council and the SCFD Board of Directors.

County Cultural Councils are made up of residents of each SCFD county who volunteer to help the county chart its cultural future. The councils are appointed by the board of county commissioners or city council to review applications from organizations funded by the SCFD and recommend funding options for those organizations. The Denver County Cultural Council (DCCC) is the grant review council for Denver's Tier III SCFD funds. The council consists of a representative of Denver Arts & Venues, Visit Denver and Denver Public Schools, and eight members selected at-large.

For a list of SCFD organizations, please visit SCFD.org. 

For more information, contact:

Tariana Navas-Nieves
Director, Cultural Affairs
Denver Arts & Venues
720-865-5552
Tariana.Navas@denvergov.org

Dana Manyothane
Program Officer
SCFD
303.860.0588, ext. 112
dana@scfd.org