East Colfax Community Collective (EC3) is a community-driven, multicultural, socio-economically diverse advocacy organization comprised of residents, local businesses and nonprofits, and allies.
To fight displacement and build collective power in our community to shape our own destiny.
To be a multicultural community where low and moderate-income residents and locally-owned businesses can thrive.
We provide direct assistance to neighbors and businesses at risk of displacement through our Housing Assistance Campaign, our East Colfax Legal Clinic, and our East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund.
We advocate for permanent solutions to the housing crisis grounded in the vision of our community.
We create programs and events to build leadership, community connection, and pride in East Colfax.
We advocate for small businesses through support with licensing, permitting and landlord issues, among others.
We build power at the local, regional, and citywide level to advance equitable housing policy and community centered decision making.
We ensure that our communities have a voice in all policy spaces that impact our neighborhood.
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN: EC3 believes that outcomes are always better when those who are directly impacted make the decisions.
LANGUAGE JUSTICE: EC3 respects the voices of our community and believes that everyone has the right to speak for themselves and be heard in the language they choose.
EQUITY: EC3 values policies and practices that recognize that we do not all start from the same place and are designed to address the unique lived experiences and needs of each community.
INNOVATION: EC3 believes that the solutions to displacement are bold, new ideas that are rooted in our community.
POWER-BUILDING: EC3 believes that everything we do must be in the service of building power for our community.
SOLUTION-ORIENTED: EC3 believes we must do more than state the problem, we must drive the solution.
As East Colfax spans both the City of Denver and the City of Aurora, we have learned to navigate the different Cities and varying resources available. We are proud to say that both Aurora and Denver residents have composed our leadership and EC3 membership from the beginning of our organization and continue to lead with strong voices in the fight against displacement. Below are some of our most recent highlights!
Board President
Board Vice President
Board Treasurer
East Colfax Community Collective (EC3) is a community-driven, multicultural, socio-economically diverse advocacy organization comprised of residents, local businesses and nonprofits, and allies.
To fight displacement and build collective power in our community to shape our own destiny.
To be a multicultural community where low and moderate-income residents and locally-owned businesses can thrive.
We provide direct assistance to neighbors and businesses at risk of displacement through our Housing Assistance Campaign, our East Colfax Legal Clinic, and our East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund.
We advocate for permanent solutions to the housing crisis grounded in the vision of our community.
We create programs and events to build leadership, community connection, and pride in East Colfax.
We advocate for small businesses through support with licensing, permitting and landlord issues, among others.
We build power at the local, regional, and citywide level to advance equitable housing policy and community centered decision making.
We ensure that our communities have a voice in all policy spaces that impact our neighborhood.
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN: EC3 believes that outcomes are always better when those who are directly impacted make the decisions.
LANGUAGE JUSTICE: EC3 respects the voices of our community and believes that everyone has the right to speak for themselves and be heard in the language they choose.
EQUITY: EC3 values policies and practices that recognize that we do not all start from the same place and are designed to address the unique lived experiences and needs of each community.
INNOVATION: EC3 believes that the solutions to displacement are bold, new ideas that are rooted in our community.
POWER-BUILDING: EC3 believes that everything we do must be in the service of building power for our community.
SOLUTION-ORIENTED: EC3 believes we must do more than state the problem, we must drive the solution.
The EC3 was formed in October 2019 out of the urgent need to build a representative voice of the East Colfax Neighborhood (ECN) to ensure that development plans that impact our community are driven by and protect our community from displacement.
We won more than 65 additions to Denver’s East Area Plan strengthening protections against displacement for East Colfax
We launched our Housing Assistance Campaign and helped get over $628,863 in rental assistance. We intervened to stop 36 evictions of largely non-English speaking community members who could not access the emergency assistance previously.
Our Small Business Relief campaign succeeded in creating the independent East Colfax Small Business Relief Fund. Through the fund, we distributed $38,000 in direct grants and also assisted small business owners in navigating applications to bring in a total of $298,279 in COVID-19 relief grants to 52 Small Businesses in East Colfax
100% commitment to Language Justice: All EC3 community meetings are interpreted into 2 to 5 languages to ensure equal participation
We established the monthly East Colfax Legal Clinic, connecting community members to free legal support to better protect residents from illegal evictions and landlord abuse.
EC3 responded to a mass eviction in East Colfax, rallying media support, organizational partners, and community to find emergency housing for the evicted residents and supporting them through their rehousing process.
Our Housing Campaign team, along with fierce volunteers and community partners, successfully stopped 114 evictions and supported over 640 unduplicated households in accessing emergency assistance and free eviction legal support.
Board President
Board Vice President
Board Treasurer
