Springs Excellence wants you to believe it’s a grassroots effort. But it has no public website. No about page. No mission statement. Just a donation link.
That’s it:
https://secure.anedot.com/springs-excellence-committee/donate
That’s not a movement. That’s a money pipeline.
What Springs Excellence Really Is
Springs Excellence is registered in Colorado as a Small Donor Political Committee (SDPC), a specific campaign finance classification that allows it to contribute far more to candidates than a standard political committee or independent expenditure group.
This designation is often used by unions or large grassroots coalitions with hundreds of individual contributors. But in this case, it’s being deployed by a political consulting firm to channel funds into school board races under the illusion of broad public support.
The committee’s registered agent is Joel Sorensen, an employee of Cole Communications, a political branding firm run by Daniel Cole.
Springs Excellence doesn’t represent a network of concerned parents. It represents a strategically engineered funding operation.
The Web: Cole Communications and Its Political Shells
Springs Excellence is part of a wider campaign effort coordinated by Cole Communications, a firm that specializes in designing, branding, and managing hard-right political campaigns across Colorado. Cole is not merely supporting these efforts—he’s building the entire ecosystem around them.
Through WordPress API data and author metadata, we know that Dan Cole is the central administrator and content author behind two “local” advocacy sites:
- Advocates for D20 Kids (Academy District 20)
- D11 Momentum (Colorado Springs District 11)
These sites appear independent. They are not. They are cloned assets, built with the same backend user accounts, same design tools, and often the same content templates. Both list dancoloradan as the author and share backend fingerprints (including an admin account named BGSWebmaster).
The goal is simple: flood school board elections with propaganda that looks like it’s coming from parents—but isn’t.
This Is Astroturfing – And It’s Deliberate
Astroturfing is the practice of creating fake grassroots movements to push a political agenda. It works by:
- Creating multiple websites and “advocacy” groups that all support the same candidates and issues
- Masking political strategy as community concern
- Using donor funnels, like Springs Excellence, to launder consultant-controlled messaging through the appearance of public support
What looks like a widespread parent uprising is actually a single political consultant deploying multiple fronts.
And the financial strategy is just as important as the narrative.
Springs Excellence isn’t just a communications operation, it’s the financial engine behind the illusion. As a Small Donor Committee, it can supercharge contributions to favored school board candidates while shielding them from accusations of dark money or outside influence.
Why This Matters
This is not about parental input. It’s about political manipulation.
When campaign consultants like Dan Cole use regulatory loopholes to create the illusion of organic support, they manipulate voters, deceive the press, and distort public education governance.
They don’t speak for your kids.
They don’t speak for your schools.
They speak for a coordinated campaign that depends on misleading voters to win.
If Springs Excellence really represented local parents, where’s the transparency?
Where’s the board?
Where’s the mission?
There is no “Springs Excellence” movement. There’s just a donation button and a message discipline strategy, all traced back to the same firm.
Final Thought
Springs Excellence is a strategy, not a community.
Astroturfing is the tactic.
Your school board is the target.
Don’t be fooled.