A Denver sales tax that quietly funds scholarships and job-training programs for thousands of students says it's on track to generate $1.25 billion in additional lifetime wages for the young people it serves. The projection comes from a new 2026 economic-impact study tied to Prosperity Denver Fund, the city program financed by a voter-approved tax that is scheduled to disappear in 2030 unless Denver voters choose to keep it alive.
According to Prosperity Denver Fund, the study found the program will “result in $1.25 billion in higher wages over the course of student careers,” a figure the fund frames as a 716% return on investment, or nearly $7 in student earnings for every $1 spent. The analysis, conducted by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, also projects $217.3 million in fiscal benefits for Denver and the state of Colorado through added tax payments and reduced reliance on public services, the fund says. Prosperity Denver Fund CEO Rebecca Arno said the dollars support community organizations working directly with Denver students, as reported by CBS Colorado.
The program traces back to 2018, when Denver voters approved a ballot measure creating a 0.08% sales tax to help make education more affordable and accessible for city students, per the fund's own accounting. It now backs more than 100 programs run through upward of 100 local nonprofit partners rather than delivering services itself, and says it has served more than 15,000 students through more than 63,700 opportunities. The fund reports a total taxpayer investment of $153.1 million in students from 2018 through 2030, though it has separately told Denver's Health & Safety Committee it distributed about $65 million since 2019, according to citizenportal.ai.
One Scholarship, One Career Path
Behind the big numbers are individual stories like Amari Montoya's. Montoya, a graduate of North High School, is receiving a scholarship while enrolled in a six-month dental assistant program operated by Denver Health, with Prosperity Denver Fund contributing financial aid for students in the program, CBS Colorado reports. Montoya said the financial assistance helped make the choice to pursue the dental assistant track possible.
Milagros Medina, who oversees the Denver Health dental assistant program, said every student's story is different, per the same CBS Colorado report. The training is intended to help students enter the workforce with new skills and confidence, according to the outlet's account of the program.
Past Audits Flagged Oversight Problems
The fund's growth hasn't come without scrutiny. A 2023 audit report cited a lack of oversight within the program, and CBS Colorado notes that Prosperity Denver Fund has since addressed all eight recommendations from the auditor's office. Earlier reporting from Chalkbeat detailed eligibility-documentation and data-integrity issues flagged in that same 2023 audit, as tax revenue available to the fund climbed from $8.9 million in 2019 to $14.5 million in 2022.
A follow-up report found the fund still hadn't implemented nearly all of the auditor's recommendations as of late 2024, and that leadership turnover compounded the challenge — three different chief executive officers led the organization between February 2024 and that follow-up meeting, according to the Denver Gazette. Separately, citizenportal.ai reported that program leaders told city officials the fund's reserve is projected to be fully spent by September 2027 unless reauthorized, even as the program's reach has expanded.
Expanding Beyond College Degrees
In 2023, Denver City Council broadened the fund's mandate to include credentials, apprenticeships and other postsecondary pathways beyond a traditional college degree, according to Denver7. That shift helped the fund distribute grants to 21 organizations in a single spring round, 15 of them first-time recipients, the station reported. Qualifying nonprofits can be reimbursed for up to 75% of eligible scholarships applied toward a two- or four-year degree program, per the fund's reimbursement guidelines.
The expansion has fueled rapid growth in some partner programs. The African American Trade Association's renewable-energy pre-apprenticeship scaled from 20 students in 2023 to more than 300 students two years later, with a waitlist exceeding 400, the fund says. Colorado UpLift, another partner organization, reports that 86% of its students go on to enroll in college, trade certification or career programs after high school.
With the tax set to expire in 2030, the fund's fate now rests partly with voters. Denver voters may ultimately decide whether to extend Prosperity Denver Fund beyond its current sunset date, a question that remains unresolved as the program's reserve timeline and reauthorization prospects play out in the coming years.
