TABOR Committee and TABOR Foundation volunteer opportunities
- Fund intervention filing, not just friend-of-the-court, to move into the Defendant’s role in the federal case to declare TABOR unconstitutional, known as Kerr vs Hickenlooper.
Cost = $50,000 - Volunteer to contact TABOR-friendly groups in other states to export TABOR to them.
Time = 200 hours over the next two years.
- Fund an effort to export TABOR to other states.
Cost = If a volunteer is in place, $5,000. If no volunteer emerges, $20,000.
- Fund our nascent Speaker’s Bureau that is preparing to reach out to political and civic clubs.
Cost = $2,000 / year for three years.
- Volunteer to assist a Director to obtain invitations and to schedule the Speaker’s Bureau.
Time = 20 hours per month for three years.
- Become the catalyst to move a volunteer effort off dead-center that was to create a TABOR 101 short series of videos.
Time = (a wild guess) 150 hours this year.
- Originate the volunteer fund-raiser position. We’re not getting this done now.
Time = what you will; 40 hours this year up to five hours per week for two or three years.
- Communications and writing. Become part of a small team to identify TABOR attacks and misstatements and to correct them, publish a response in Letters to the Editors.
- Communications and writing. Assist in raising the awareness about TABOR’s benefits by establishing a TABOR 101 series of articles.
Time = what you will; 40 hours this year up to five hours per week for two or three years.
- Fund a part-time assistant to our volunteer Executive Director.
Time = three hours per week average for five years. - Serve on the Board of Directors.
- Coordinate with the Colorado Union of Taxpayers to build on their work when an anti-TABOR bill is introduced during the legislative session.
- Monitor the Title-Setting Board for anti-TABOR initiatives being introduced.
- Initiate re-TABORing within governments that relaxed TABOR restrictions, supposedly forever.
- Be part of the next generation of TABOR leaders.
To apply or find out more information, contact Penn Pfiffner, either by phone (303) 233-7731 or email
FUND AN EFFORT TO EXPORT TABOR TO OTHER STATES
The Foundation does not have a stream of income to pursue this project.
- One of the volunteer requests is for one or more volunteers to step forward to manage the project.
- If a volunteer is in place, then we can take a wild guess that only $5,000 would be needed over two years, to fund seminar materials and travel, if the target group cannot cover the expense.
- If no volunteer emerges, we still might be able to turn the project into reality if we can pay someone to hold what would be a second, part-time job. It is a guestimate that we might get someone for $15,000 per year, for a total of $35,000 spent over the course of two years. Because this is an educational effort on our part, the donation would be through the Foundation, and therefore would be tax-deductible.
EXPORT TABOR
- We have received genuine interest from lots of other states. Activists in those states have voiced a strong interest in importing our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. We already conducted a seminar for one state representative from South Carolina.
- The first task would be to get back in touch with the individuals and organizations that earlier expressed interest. Staying in touch with those interested parties takes time and perseverance.
- Another task would be to cold call TABOR-friendly groups to inform them of our availability to support and educate in their states.
- Should we recruit or find interest, we would need someone to work with experienced TABOR activists within the Foundation to interpret how TABOR would have to be modified to fit that state’s existing constitutional structure. Our volunteer would need to be able to set up and new seminars.
- Time = 200 hours over the next two years
At this time, few resources or time are available to this project, so any time given at this point will be an improvement. We would hope that a volunteer would commit to a longer-term effort. The best fit would be someone who can respond to inquiries as they arise, and who can take time when necessary during the workday to reach interested people.
TABOR EXPLANATORY VIDEO
- CAUTION – THIS WOULD BE A MAJOR COMMITMENT
The volunteer would likely be giving a half-year’s effort (1000 hours) or more
Several volunteers would be ideal, in order to spread the work and not overwhelm any one individual. - Become a film producer. Or, perhaps assist a small team to become film producers. Generate what many have called for over a number of years – a series of videos (films) that explain the many parts of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Activists, journalists, politicians and even academicians may need to learn how TABOR works and all the detailed parts, including how it has been weakened over the years. Just reading the single-spaced, small-print, two-page constitutional amendment does not give the reader the story. We need to break up the explanation of TABOR into digestible bites. Each video would need to be made interesting, not just showing a talking head, but be developed with illustrations, pictures, sidebars, experts’ comments and other visuals to hold the viewers’ interest. You should assume that you would work hand-in-glove with the organization’s chairman, Penn Pfiffner, who would offer vision, editing and much of the explanatory voice talent.
- The first step (perhaps with a separate volunteer) likely would be to obtain funds to create the project. It would be acceptable to solicit money to pay for your work. We have two leads, but the business plan must be formalized, the logistics (segregating funds, etc.) generated, and finally the pitch must be made.
- Initial tasks would include:
- Working with the Board to write a business plan and budget, and obtain permission to proceed
- Schedule and meet with funders
- Project tasks would include:
- Creating the artistic vision of how to present the sections and where to insert breaks to create a series
- Rough storyboard each section
- Recruit expert commentary
- Design each section’s artwork and visuals
- Determine what music to use and obtain rights to use it
- Direct the filming
- Post-Production: all of the tasks associated with cutting raw footage, assembling that footage, adding music, and more
- Collaborate with the accountant and with the Treasurer to access funds and have them disbursed
- Work with our corporate attorney to ensure that we protect your work with rock-solid copyrights
- Generate a plan to advertise the release of the series. Start with Colorado editorial boards and social media; continue with YouTube submittals and notify national organizations such as American Legislative Exchange Council
- Report progress monthly to the Board and to funders
Communications and writing
- The TABOR Foundation established a program to recruit people to sign and submit letters to the editor and other contact methods within many rural locales throughout the state. Nothing came of the successful first steps, however, when the volunteer who was managing the program had to step aside very early in the process.
- Success is achieved by individuals. Without the coordinator to make this happen, the project has languished. It may even need a small group to done get all the contact, writing, editing and more.
- The goal is maintain a constant flow of information to people who likely moved to the state after TABOR was passed, who have been exposed only the Progressives’ negativity, and don’t understand the way our constitution gives them final power to control spending. The TABOR Foundation should have a system in place to respond to attacks from the Left and to continue to inform about TABOR.
- Depending on the number of volunteers, time commitments might be four hours a week. We would like to see someone in this spot stay for several years, at least. Coordination of written matter and some contact work could be done in the evening or weekend, but some collaboration would have to be take place during the workweek.