Backers of a fundraising effort to renovate the state capitol dome hope promotion from a Denver TV station will give the sluggish campaign a much need boost.
The “Share in the Care” campaign will benefit from $500 thousand worth of advertising from KUSA-TV over the next two years. Colorado Preservation Inc. Executive Director James Hare says that’s vital to the financial success of the $12-million dollar project and his agency’s goal of raising $4-million dollars by June.
“The danger is if we cannot raise funding for the dome the necessary monies will be taken from the state historical fund and that will hurt rural Colorado in particular,” Hare says. That’s because $4 million has already been diverted from that fund effectively putting other preservation efforts on hold.
A text-message fundraiser launched two months ago has not raised as much as organizers hoped. The cast-iron structure of 19th century gold-plated dome is rusting and parts of it have fallen off in recent years.