BOULDER — CO-Labs Inc., an 18-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit consortium of federally funded scientific laboratories, university institutes, technology companies and economic development experts, has launched its first-ever public fundraising campaign.
Through lab tours, events, economic analyses, strategic communications and networking activities, CO-Labs works to provide “access to assets” in the area’s federal lab community.
“Colorado’s federal labs contribute over $2 billion annually to our economy and support 17,000 jobs,” said Dan Powers, CO-Labs’ executive director. “From wildfire prediction to quantum computing, from clean energy to public health, these labs are driving discoveries that touch every Coloradan’s life. With devastating federal defunding threatening this foundation, we’re stepping up our advocacy and creating new pathways for everyday citizens to participate in protecting this world-class ecosystem.”
The campaign, “Support Our Federal Labs. Protect Our Future,” was begun Nov. 4 and aims to raise $250,000 to expand the organization’s advocacy operations and launch new programs designed to preserve the state’s scientific talent, research assets and economic competitiveness during a time of crisis.
“Our financial picture was really challenged over the summer as the bulk of our traditional membership had their budgets cut,” CO-Labs executive director Dan Powers told BizWest Wednesday. “We had to reach out to protect Colorado’s information powerhouse. We have a very open public request for people to please support CO-Labs’ efforts to advocate for and be a resource for federal labs.”
CO-Labs gets no federal funding, Powers said, adding that he’d like to increase programs and staff.
“I’m super grateful for the scope of people in the business community coming forward and saying, ‘How can we help?’ I’m humbled but in a purposeful place,” he said. “It’s been heartening to see the interest in what we’ve been doing. I welcome everyone’s support, membership and donations.”
Several levels of membership require an intake process, Powers said. “The basic price is $5,000 a year, with particular access to our AI portal and programming, and depending on the level of direct engagement and reports. Other tiers are based on the size of the company.”
CO-Labs launched a “Commercialize Colorado” program in October, just as the federal government shutdown was beginning.
According to a news release it issued, the venture has two key themes: collecting data from displaced federal lab employees who have lost their jobs through “reduction in force” orders or other mechanisms, and nurturing the lab-to-market pipeline.
Powers said CO-Labs is partnering with the Boulder Chamber and other stakeholders to launch a research talent retention program, which is open to all who have lost work and can help them secure new employment opportunities within Colorado’s innovation industries.
Chamber president John Tayer “and I had been brainstorming what needs to be done going back to the early summer,” Powers said, because the cuts “represent an existential threat to the foundation of research that underpins so many industries in Colorado.”
With budget freezes and staff layoffs that hit federal agencies starting in February, “things were becoming really fraught and dire in terms of the uncertainty facing research labs in Colorado,” Powers said. “Being a nonprofit, it allowed CO-Labs to ask questions and speak up for labs without the kind of worry and self-restrictions on comments that federal employees actually had. We received an overwhelming number of requests for help and information. By summer, we made an intentional decision to take on a more empowered, positive mindset on behalf of the labs, employees and contractors, and offer a positive set of resources.”
CO-Labs’ portal, powered by artificial intelligence, helps its members access information, equipment and data “from the whole landscape of labs in Colorado,” Powers said. “We are reaching out to as many companies as possible to help them understand the billions of dollars worth of research and development that are just down your hallway that most people haven’t accessed.
“There are more than three dozen of these entities in the state, and companies can find the research that is relevant to them.”
Powers urged those looking for work to “please tap into the talent-retention program and provide us your information.”
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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