The Jeffco Community Network is pleased to announce the spring 2026 session of Civic Spark, a hands-on training for Jefferson County residents that will equip you with the skills, knowledge, and connections to become an effective community champion for local issues. The Spring 2026 cohort will focus on three key issues in Jeffco: housing, early childhood education, and workforce development. Sessions will be held on Thursday evenings April 2nd through May 21st at rotating locations in central Jefferson County. Hosted in partnership with Localworks, and with funding from Colorado Gives Foundation, this program is free for all participants.
Spring 2026 Details
Thursdays, April 2 – May 21
5:45 to 7:30 p.m.
All sessions are in person (no virtual option for this particular series)
Sessions will rotate throughout Jeffco, but will be centrally located to accommodate the greatest number of individuals.
Session Information
Session 1 – Igniting Your Civic Spark. Through an interactive self-assessment activity, individuals will have an opportunity to explore different paths to civic engagement and advocacy. Based on the outcomes, individuals will form teams that will work together throughout the training program on housing, early childhood education, or workforce development strategies. Participants will also meet mentors who will help guide goals and actions to achieve measurable objectives.
Session 2 – Civic Starter. A city manager and an elected official from a JeffCo community will provide a primer on local government operations and walk through a housing case study on a recent City Council decision to outline all the key steps, timeline, and decision points.
Session 3 – The Power of Local Connections. A key component to leading change in your community is having access to a network from which to gather insights from and call upon to participate in civic activities. We’ll introduce a grassroots JeffCo leader who has been successful in building their local network through relationships and collaboration. Participants will get a chance to ask questions and then get to work planning how they will grow their networks of neighbors and stakeholders.
Additionally, we’ll provide a worksheet that will help participants begin to think about their networks of neighbors and stakeholders. A key component to leading change in your community is having access to a network from which to gather insights from and call upon to participate in civic activities.
Session 4 – Community Action Planning Part 1. Together with their mentors, each of the three groups will begin to identify a specific strategy and tactics that each individual will take on in service of a collective impact. This will be a working session where participants will be engaged in active conversation and planning.
Session 5 – Effective Communication Strategies.
No matter the issue, there are a few successful formulas for ensuring your message resonates with the intended audience – and it relies on a combination of research-backed messages, personal stories, and data. Participants will practice effective communication using the “me, we, why” and other frameworks to build skills and confidence in developing messages.
Session 6 – Connecting with Elected Officials. Elected officials want and need to hear from their constituents, but often people feel intimidated by how to build these important relationships. In this session, each group will get dedicated time during a roundtable session to share their initial thoughts/plans for civic engagement to a group of mayors and city council members, who will provide feedback and direction. The end of the session will feature a short Q&A with the guests.
Session 7 – Community Action Planning Part 2. With the support of their group, everyone will use a template to create a quick action plan that they’ll present at the end of this workshop. The goal is to create a plan that can be started within the following month.
Session 8 – Celebration/Social Event. The final “session” is a social celebration where each group will present their plan and then participants will exchange experiences in a fun and informal setting with food and drinks.
To register for this unique civic engagement workshop, go to https://jeffcocommunitynetwork.org/civic-spark. This program is limited to 30 participants; registration will close after we hit our capacity.
