TALKING AND WRITING ABOUT GOCO
Short general descriptor
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a
Constitutional Amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 4,500 projects in urban and rural areas in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support. For more information, visit goco.org.
Key words: Invest, Portion of proceeds, Competitive grants, Independent board
Talking points
When speaking about GOCO, emphasize these primary themes:
 GOCO preserves and enhances our parks, trails, rivers, wildlife and open spaces so people can enjoy them now and pass them on intact to our kids and future generations.
 GOCO preserves places where children can safely run, play and experience nature now
 GOCO enhances Coloradan’s quality of life by helping to ensure that our neighborhoods have parks, trails and recreational opportunities, that our wildlife thrive, and that our state’s natural beauty is preserved.
 GOCO preserves some of the state’s most spectacular scenic, historic, natural, and cultural sites.
 GOCO invests a portion of Colorado Lottery revenues and is not tax supported.
Lottery revenues also go to the Conservation Trust Fund, Colorado Parks and
Wildlife and school construction.
 GOCO has funded competitive grants for more than 4,500 projects in all 64 counties at both urban and rural sites.
 GOCO is overseen by an independent board and distributes funds to local governments and land trusts.
 GOCO’s work benefits people by enhancing the Colorado economy, and by helping improve our health through recreation and protecting land and waterways.

Word and phrasing choices
When discussing Lottery funding, always note that GOCO receives a portion, not all, of
Lottery’s revenues. If you say “GOCO receives Lottery revenues,” it leaves the perception that GOCO receives all the funding, which some do not view as fair.
When discussing GOCO’s projects, always note that GOCO has supported projects “in all 64 counties” so people understand rural and smaller communities also benefit, though it is equally important to note that GOCO funds projects in urban areas. And emphasize that
GOCO grants reimburse local governments who control the spending and management of their projects – GOCO-funded programs are not managed centrally in Denver.
Emphasize that GOCO’s work benefits “future generations.” You can relate how growth in impacting communities and roads, and how Coloradoans want its great outdoors to be here for their children and grandchildren to enjoy as they do now. Emphasize that GOCO funds youth programs, like Youth Corps, and outdoor education that will spawn a lifelong interest in the outdoors and develop the next generation of land stewards. Use the second person
“we” and “our.”
Say GOCO is “investing” lottery revenues, not “spending” or “using.”
When discussing conservation of agricultural lands, say GOCO is helping “working farms and ranches” so people understand these lands are not idled when under a conservation easement. Keeping large ranches from being subdivided is also beneficial to wildlife as it means larger, undisturbed habitat areas as well as fewer fences that hinder migrations.
When discussing parks, trails, open spaces and rivers, emphasize the uses and list them: biking, hiking, walking, running, rafting, fishing, boating, camping, celebrating etc. Note that
8 out of 10 Coloradoans use trails. State parks generate $1.7 billion in economic activity.
When discussing wildlife, talk about how preserving these habitats benefit the wildlife AND people, such as birding, nature viewing, hunting, fishing, and the need for species preservation to maintain these activities. Avoid jargon such as “biodiversity” and
“ecosystems.” (See list of words to avoid and words to use below)
When discussing growth, discuss preserving open space between communities, providing enough trails and parks so people can “get away” and find “solitude.” Note that Colorado is projected to gain nearly a million more people every decade for the next 30 years.
If asked about education funding, emphasize the importance of good schools for our children and how GOCO helps schools create more active playgrounds that have outdoor education classroom spaces and activities, like gardens. Note that GOCO’s budget of ~$60 million is a tiny fraction compared to the statewide education budget of $3.1 billion. Note

that a portion of lottery funds also go to the K-12 capital improvement program called
BEST.
When discussing Lottery, note that 44 states have lotteries, many of which rely on the revenue for basic government services, like education, prisons and senior services.
Colorado does not rely on lottery revenues for basic services. Colorado is unique by investing nearly all of its Lottery proceeds into long-term conservation and recreation programs. This creates a unique, reliable source of funding local governments and land trusts can leverage for additional funds to pay for parks, trails, conservation etc.
Words and Terms to Avoid
Environment
Ecosystems
Biodiversity / endangered species
Regulations
Riparian
Aquifer
Watershed
Environmental groups
Agricultural land
Urban sprawl
Green jobs
Ecosystem services
Landscape-scale conservation
Words and Terms to Use instead
Land, air and water
Natural areas
Fish and wildlife
Safeguards/protections
Land along lakes, rivers and streams
Groundwater
Land around rivers, lakes and streams
Conservation groups / organizations protecting land, air, and water
Working farms and ranches
Poorly planned growth/ development
Clean energy jobs / jobs protecting water quality / etc.
Nature’s benefits
Large, connected natural areas

2015 elevator speech
Great Outdoors Colorado, or GOCO, is a uniquely Coloradan institution that reflects how much we deeply value our state’s natural beauty, and treasure our land, rivers, parks, trails, open spaces and wildlife. No other state dedicates all of its lottery revenues to preserving and enhancing its great outdoors, to both protect a finite resource for future generations and to make it accessible for people to enjoy today.
GOCO receives about half of all lottery revenues, and in the last two decades it has invested those funds in 4,500 projects in all 64 counties. Those projects have preserved more than 1 million acres of land, restored or built 850 miles of trails, created or enhanced more than
1,000 parks and recreation acres, and protected more than 750 miles of rivers.
This investment includes more than $400 million in GOCO funding for Colorado Parks and
Wildlife. The results include 47,000 acres added to the state parks systems and the protection of 43 endangered or threatened species. GOCO funds state parks volunteers and youth education efforts.
GOCO also supports youth by funding Youth Corps projects throughout the state. More than
8,000 youth have been employed to build trails, remove invasive species, do forest fire restoration and many other vital tasks. GOCO is also helping schools improve playgrounds so our children are more active, have and develop a lifelong love of the outdoors and nature.
The beauty of GOCO and Lottery is also the consistency. Local governments and land trusts that earn funding through a competitive grant process can rely on this resource and build on it. This allows them to plan carefully and to leverage the funding to collect additional money. For instance, in the last year GOCO awarded $32.1 million in grants, which recipients were able to leverage for $61.5 million in matching funds. That means every dollar GOCO and Lottery invest doubles in terms of total benefit to the people. And all without any taxpayer support. GOCO and Lottery are truly able to give back to people of
Colorado.