Common Sense Institute
Common Sense Institute is a non-profit free-enterprise think tank dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado's economy.
Mission
Common Sense Institute (CSI) is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy. CSI is at the forefront of important discussions concerning the future of free enterprise in Colorado and aims to have an impact on the issues that matter most to Coloradans. From energy to education, we examine the economic impact of policies, initiatives, and proposed laws by employing dynamic modeling that accurately measures the impact of each measure on the Colorado economy. To fully achieve our mission, we actively promote these solutions through the education of policy experts, lawmakers, community leaders, and the general public.
Ruling year
2011
President & CEO
Kristin Strohm
Vice President of Policy & Research
Chris Brown
Main address
6295 Greenwood Plaza Blvd, Suite 100
Greenwood Village, CO 80111 USA
Formerly known as
Common Sense Policy Roundtable
EIN
27-4253618
NTEE code
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis (V05)
Economics (as a Social Science) (V22)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2018, 2017 and 2016.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Common Sense Institute was founded in 2010 originally as Common Sense Policy Roundtable. We were founded because we saw that divisive partisanship was overwhelming the issues, and objective economic analysis was not being presented to lawmakers and voters to allow them to make informed decisions based on facts.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Common Sense Institute was founded in 2010 originally as Common Sense Policy Roundtable. CSI is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy. Our mission is to research and promote common sense solutions for economic issues facing Colorado.The staff at CSI work endlessly to provide insightful, accurate and actionable information on the implications of public policy issues throughout the state of Colorado.
We actively promote our research through the education of policy experts, lawmakers, community leaders, and the general public. Common Sense Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit, and tax-exempt organization, as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. As such, it relies on support from individuals, corporations, and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, personal responsibility, and limited government. Common Sense Institute does not seek or accept government funding.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of media citations of advocate research or products
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of different periodicals published
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of website pageviews
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Common Sense Policy Roundtable's work
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We believe in the value of sound fiscal and economic research, and that educated policymakers, voters, and communities are essential to improving our shared economic future.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We examine the economic impact of policies, initiatives, and proposed laws by employing dynamic modeling that accurately measures the impact of each measure on the Colorado economy. To fully achieve our mission, we actively promote these solutions through the education of policy experts, lawmakers, community leaders, and the general public.
The mission of CSI is to engage on the issues that matter most to the future economic prosperity of the citizens of Colorado. We focus on promoting ideas and information that enhance our free-enterprise system. Through monthly discussions with our diverse board of directors and strategic partnerships, quarterly events and monthly podcasts, we aim to have an impact on the understanding of the public policy and economic issues that matter most to Coloradans. This focus brings us to study a range of subject areas including improving education outcomes, sound fiscal policy that does not put the taxpayer at future risk, and establishing a regulatory environment that enables free-enterprise.
In 2020, we continue to focus on examining how some issues and policies concerning COVID-19, pension reform, paid family leave, oil and gas regulation, K-12 education, health care, TABOR, and tax increase measures might impact the overall health of Colorado and its citizens.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We own a license for Tax PI+ REMI dynamic model for the state of Colorado and regions of Denver South and Metro Denver EDC. REMI is a dynamic economic modeling program created by Dr. George Treyz. Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI), founded by Dr.Treyz in 1980 is located in Amherst, MA. The REMI model is a regional economic modeling program created to inform and improve the quality of public policy decisions.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2019, we achieved our mission and our voice was heard. We brought sound fiscal analysis, economic modeling and the truth to Coloradans on a list of issues.
A couple of the issues we worked on were:
- Denver Initiative 300: Impacts on the Homeless and Society by Granting Unimpeded Access to Public Space
- Senate Bill 181: The statewide cost of prohibitions, restrictions and regulatory uncertainty in Colorado’s energy sector
- Senate Bill 188: Analysis of the cost and risk of financial insolvency for a Colorado Paid Leave Program
- Colorado Emissions Reduction Calculator
- Building Gated Cities Policy Brief
- Dollars & Data: A look at K-12 Education Funding in Colorado
- Anticipating a State Option for Health Care: Will Business Face Higher Costs or Will Quality and Access be Cut?
- Proposition CC: Critical Questions Answered
With all of those studies and successes, we also did much more.
By following the attached link, you will be able to view our Annual Report from 2019. This will give you a glimpse into what we have accomplished this far and what will be coming next:
https://commonsenseinstituteco.org/2019-annual-report/
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Common Sense Institute
Board of directorsas of 9/21/2021
Earl L. Wright
AMG National Trust Bank
Buz Koelbel
Koelbel and Company
Jack Graham
Two Trees Partners
Byron Haselden
Haselden Construction
Jim Johnson
GE Johnson Holdings, Inc.
T. Scott Martin
Rivercrest Capitol Management
Charlie McNeil
NexGen Resources Corporation
Robin Wise
Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountian, Inc.
Dave Davia
Rocky Mountain Mechanical Contractors Association
Elizabeth Peetz Esq.
Colorado Association of REALTORS®
Terry Stevinson
Stevinson Group, Inc.
Don Childears
Colorado Bankers Association
Carrie Tynan
Adolph Coors Foundation
Laura Leprino
Western Titan Fund
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2018, 2017, 2016
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