DENVER — Auon'tai Anderson, the controversial former Denver School Board member, is dropping his campaign for a state House seat and asking the public for $30,000 in donations to start a new education-focused nonprofit.
Anderson expanded on a disclaimer on his fundraising page, explaining that the 2-week-old effort is not an IRS-recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit, after 9NEWS raised questions about its finances.
Anderson said he was suspending his campaign for Colorado House District 8 to increase the likelihood that the seat held by State Rep. Leslie Herod (D-Denver) is won by a Black candidate, rather than the white and Latino candidates in the race.
“We risk losing this historically Black seat due to a highly contested primary featuring multiple Black candidates,” Anderson said in a written statement Tuesday. “Such scenarios have historically led to the division of votes, often resulting in the loss of Black representation.”
The other Democrats running for the safe Democratic seat are Kwon Atlas, Victor Bencomo, Christi Devoe, Lindsay Gilchrist and Sharron Pettiford.
Atlas, who is Black, has racked up endorsements from centrist Democrats and establishment power brokers, including former Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
Anderson flirted with a run for Denver City Council At-Large before announcing in November 2022 that he would run for re-election to his Denver School Board At-Large seat.
After polling showed support for his re-election at 9%, Anderson announced he would not seek re-election and instead would run for Colorado House District 8.
Anderson’s time on the Denver School Board was marked by controversy, including a 2021 censure for flirting with a 16-year-old on social media and rampant dysfunction that led the district to hire an outside conflict resolution specialist for the board.
Chalkbeat Colorado reported that Anderson was also found to have violated DPS’ policy against retaliation while working for the district in 2018.
Anderson, then known as Tay Anderson, faced a campaign finance complaint in 2021 for collecting donations through GoFundMe for various personal expenses, including medical care and travel. The complaint was dismissed, in part, because Denver School Board directors were unpaid at the time. Later that year, Anderson supported the board’s decision to pay Denver School Board directors for their work.
During his final months on the school board, Anderson sought a waiver of DPS’ conflict of interest policy to allow him to take a job with the school district while serving on the school board. Anderson dropped the waiver request when it became clear it would not be approved.
Anderson told Chalkbeat that he would begin working for the district “later this fall” after the conclusion of his board term. That did not happen.
“I am always interested in working for Denver Public Schools,” Anderson told 9NEWS on Tuesday. “Currently there is not a position that I want in the district, but that can change as the next fall semester approaches.”
Anderson’s announced departure from the Colorado House District 8 race was accompanied by the launch of Anderson’s new, education-focused nonprofit, The Center for Advancing Black Excellence in Education.
“This education nonprofit is dedicated to empowering Black communities, disrupting the systems that cause educational disparities faced by Black students, and through this work, they aim to reimagine the K-12 education system and dismantle deeply rooted systems of oppression,” Anderson said in a statement.
The Center for Advancing Black Excellence in Education’s website lists three program areas. It plans a school board candidate training effort called Ready to Run, a program called The Black Excellence Project that seeks to have other school board pass education equity resolutions mirroring those championed by Anderson in DPS, and the Black Santa Project.
Public records indicate Anderson registered the nonprofit with the state on Dec. 27. The nonprofit is not currently recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which would allow for tax-deductible contributions while requiring more financial transparency and conflict of interest protections.
Anderson told 9NEWS he intended to seek 501(c)3 status in the future.
Anderson said his nonprofit would operate under the fiscal sponsorship of The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership. Fiscal sponsorship allows an organization to collect tax-deductible contributions through an existing IRS-recognized 501(c)3 with the fiscal sponsor providing organizational and financial oversight.
The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, based in Aurora, was registered with the State of Colorado in June 2023 and received its 501(c)3 status from the IRS in August 2023. Public records indicate it was registered by Mi’Dian Holmes, one of three disclosed founding board members of Anderson’s Center for Advancing Black Excellence in Education. The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership has not yet been required to file a financial report with the IRS.
“A fundraising campaign is underway with an ambitious initial goal of $30,000 to launch the Center's impactful work,” Anderson said in a statement Tuesday. “Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated and vital to advancing this critical mission.”
Donations to the nonprofit's fundraising page are not routed through the Center for Advancing Black Excellence in Education’s fiscal sponsor.
Following 9NEWS inquiries, Anderson added an additional disclaimer that online donations were not tax-deductible and that tax-deductible donations could be mailed to The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership. Anderson did not respond to a question about whether a Jan. 23 fundraiser at the Brother Jeff Cultural Center would raise funds through the fledgling non-profit's fiscal sponsor.
Anderson told 9NEWS that "in the future" he will be a "fully compensated CEO" with additional paid staff to be hired in late 2024 or 2025.
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