CEME Partner Content: Colorado Health Foundation

Add Sparkle to Your Summer with SCFD

Add Sparkle to Your Summer with SCFD

The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) is a unique seven-county regional funding program that supports arts, cultural and scientific organizations across the Denver metro area. Funded by a dedicated sales and use tax of one penny for every $10 spent, SCFD distributes more than $80 million annually to nearly 300 organizations, from major institutions to community-based nonprofits. The program provides essential operating support, expands access to cultural experiences, and helps bring world-class exhibits and events to Colorado. SCFD serves Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties, with local County Cultural Councils helping guide funding decisions to reflect each community’s priorities. For more information, visit https://scfd.org/who-we-are/about-us/

By Emma Mantooth

 

Growing up in the metro area, summers looked like afternoons spent at the library with my grandparents, swimming lessons alongside my sisters, art classes, road trips, music lessons, and adventure galore. Now as an adult, I’m staring down 6 straight weeks of Love Island episodes and a weekend or two in the mountains if I can swing it. It’s decidedly harder to find that summer vibe that made the school-free months of my childhood so sparkly in retrospect. It’s easier than ever to scroll on TikTok and wait for the weekend. Luckily for me, I work at SCFD – a wellspring of wonder for our community.

What is SCFD, you may ask? It’s the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, a seven-county tax district that supports arts, culture, and science nonprofit organizations around the region – that’s Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties. You may have seen our hot pink bear logo sprinkled across your favorite institutions; think organizations like the Denver Art Museum, Aurora Symphony Orchestra, Dinosaur Ridge, or Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. This support comes from mere pennies – for every $10 spent in the region, the SCFD tax collects one penny. That’s around one cent for every pricey iced coffee. In 2025, all those pennies added up to $87 million in grants! This funding supports free and discounted admission, new exhibitions, collaborative programming, and more. That’s why we’re launching the Summer of SCFD, to showcase the low-cost and free arts, culture, and science activities right in our backyard!

SCFD was created by our community, for our community. It was born out of an economic downturn in the late eighties, when funding for local arts and cultural organizations was slashed. Sound familiar? A dedicated group of community members and activists came together to lobby for support around a tax district that would generate consistent support for these institutions, which was passed by voters in 1988. Since then, SCFD has been reauthorized by our community three times, and our cultural sector has grown exponentially as a result. Now, SCFD supports more than 300 nonprofits in service of our vision of providing access to culture for all.

“Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance (DZCA) has been able to provide nearly 40 years of free days and expand community programming like our beloved animal ambassador program and community science projects thanks to the support of district residents. We have been proud to be an SCFD funded partner since the inception of the district in the 1980s,” shared Cristal Torres DeHerrera, President and CEO of DZCA. 

There’s something for everyone in the SCFD family of funded partners, and I mean everyone! I have been shocked by the range of organization SCFD funds. Adults can get back into childhood instruments or pick up a new one with Swallow Hill Music, the whole family can embark on an adventure in nature at Bluff Lake Nature Center, kids can learn more about the arts and culture of Latin America with Museo de las Americas, and even babies can get their first taste of culture with art crawls at the Clyfford Still Museum. 

“SCFD’s support of Museo de las Americas enables the museum to strengthen our unique programming in all seven counties, from diverse exhibitions featuring international artists to multicultural artmaking workshops like ‘Posada Printing’ and traveling exhibits for children and their families,” said Claudia Moran, Executive Director of Museo de las Americas.

Want to dip your toe in? The water is fine! Start with an SCFD Free Day.  Many of our funded partners around the district offer free admission days and programs all year round. Here are a few coming up:

  • Museum of Outdoor Arts’ Marjorie Park Free Days – August 5, 19, 26
  • Highlands Ranch Concert Band’s Free Concert – August 5
  • Cruisin’ Colfax Art Crawl at 40 West Arts – August 7
  • Carousel of Happiness Free Ride Days – August 8, 9
  • South Suburban Parks and Rec Nature Programs – August 11, 21, 22
  • Littleton Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Concert Series – August 14, 16
  • Free Days at Denver Botanic Gardens at Plains Conservation Center – August 20 
  • Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre’s Family Film Series – August 21
  • Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus’ Joy Park Free Night – August 21
  • Denver Museum of Nature & Science Free Day – August 24
  • Four Mile Historic Park SCFD Free Day – August 28

You can find additional information about these free days and more on SCFD’s website. You can even browse our funded partners by county, discipline, or date to see what’s happening near you – you may be surprised!

“Summer is a great time of year to try new things at your local cultural organizations. The days are longer, the weather is awesome, and there’s no better time to take up a new hobby, whether it’s learning to play an instrument here at Swallow Hill or taking up painting or birding,” shared Swallow Hill Music’s Chief Executive Officer, Jessy Clark.

So, we hope you’ll seek out wonder and awe for your weekends and weekdays alike with a Summer of SCFD! Like the district, it can be what you make it. Fill it with free days, concerts, classes, cool air and art, or whatever fits your fancy. And keep your eye out for that pink bear in your area, we would love to see you!