Donor Awareness Council: Promoting Organ and Tissue Donation in Colorado and Wyoming

Our History
1989 – Present

The Transplant Council of the Rockies was formed in 1989 and was granted 501 (c) (3) status by the IRS. The organization was established as a coalition to bring the transplant and donation communities together to promote organ and tissue donation. The coalition serves the states of Colorado and Wyoming.

In the early days of the coalition, the Council was governed by the member organizations and its income was based on member dues, grants and sponsorships. The organization's public outreach included on-screen advertising at movie theaters, outreach to faith communities, a youth soccer event, a partnership with the Denver Ad Federation, a speaker's bureau, poster contest, and National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week (NOTDAW) activities.

In 1996, Colorado HB 96-1138 created the Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund. The Fund established a source of revenue for the Transplant Council of the Rockies by providing the public with the opportunity to make a voluntary $1.00 contribution while renewing or obtaining a Colorado Driver License or State ID Card. The legislation that created the Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund also established the Colorado Advisory Council for Organ and Tissue Donation to oversee expenditures from the Fund. The Advisory Council meets quarterly to review the management of the fund and meets each year with the board of directors to approve the annual budget. In 1997, a Program Director, now the Executive Director of the organization, was hired and an office opened.

In 1998 the organization worked with the coalition members to sponsor a bill in Colorado to update the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. The bill, which also clarified administration of the Donation Awareness Fund, included the necessary consent language needed for the creation of the Colorado Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, which was signed into law in 2000.

Due to the fact the driver’s license is legal documentation of an individual’s decision to be an organ and tissue donor, the organization created a Driver License Office Program (DLO). In 1998, a Program Coordinator was hired to manage the DLO program. The nationally recognized program includes employee training, on-site information and brochures at all driver license offices and quarterly tracking of donor sign-ups and contributions to the Donation Awareness Fund. In 1998 approximately 33% of Coloradans said yes to donation when applying for or renewing their driver license. Today, over 60% say yes to donation at Colorado DLO’s.

In 1999, the organization received permission from the Colorado Secretary of State to do business as (DBA) the Donor Awareness Council. The same year, the Council adopted its first Marketing Plan and commissioned and published the 2000 Colorado Organ and Tissue Donation Public Opinion and Perception Survey. The survey indicated that although the majority of Coloradoan's support organ and tissue donation, there was a significant difference between believing that transplantation saves lives and taking action to sign up to be a donor. As a result of the findings of the survey, the Say Yes campaign was launched at driver license offices. The Council also launched the web site www.donor-awareness.org.

In 2000, SB 00-54 created the Colorado Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, extended the Donor Awareness Fund to 2008 and allowed the public to contribute a dollar or more to the Fund. Prior to the Donor Registry, the information on a person's driver license was not stored or accessible in any central database. The Donor Registry enabled the information from the Department of Motor Vehicles to be stored in a confidential, central database for access at the time of a person's death. The Donor Registry is a legally-binding form of an advance directive, which empowers people to make their decision known and so it can be carried out at the time of their death.

In 2001, the fist locally-produced TV and print advertising campaign was created in partnership with Donor Alliance, the region's federally-designated organ and tissue recovery agency. By 2001, the Donor Awareness Council staff was expanded to four full-time employees: executive director, marketing and driver license program manager, community outreach program manager and office manager.

The organization works with other partners in the coalition to provide education and awareness campaigns in Wyoming. In 2000, the Wyoming legislature created the Wyoming Cares Wyoming Shares fund to support public education for organ and tissue donation. In 2003, the state created the Wyoming Organ and Tissue Donor Registry was created. Wyoming records indicate that 80% those who have a Wyoming driver license have said yes to organ and tissue donation!

Today, the Donor Awareness Council is governed by a board of directors and is the only organization whose sole mission is to increase organ and tissue donation through education and awareness in our community. The Council is an affiliate of the Donate Life America (formerly the Coalition on Donation), a nonprofit alliance of national organizations and local coalitions across the United States dedicated to inspiring all people to donate Life through organ and tissue donation.

The Donor Awareness Council conducts public education programs, advocates for public policy to increase donation, and works in partnership with the Colorado and Wyoming Driver License Office programs. Public outreach campaigns include: health fairs, creative challenge, speaker's bureau, National Donor Sabbath weekend in November, National Donate Life month in April (formerly NOTDAW), Saturn Donor Day, volunteer network, donor drives, Bonfils Blood Center partnership, youth outreach, Done Vida Spanish language campaign, African-American campaign, and a new "You Have the Power" campaign. Donor Awareness Council relies on an extensive network of dedicated volunteers to support and implement Donor Awareness Council's public outreach programs.

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     Donor Awareness Council
     Telephone: 303.388.8605
     Toll Free: 888.388.8605