A new evaluation of Colorado’s Family Affordability Tax Credit (FATC) highlights the powerful role tax credits can play in improving family financial stability.
The study estimates that when the Family Affordability Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Earned Income Tax Credit are combined, they reduced child poverty in Colorado by 37% in the first year. Read the full report here.
These credits help families cover basic needs such as housing, food, child care, and education.
But there is a challenge.
Many families who qualify for these benefits simply don’t know they exist.
In fact, the study found that only 11.6% of eligible families knew about the Family Affordability Tax Credit before filing their taxes.
That’s where Lantern plays an important role.
Reaching Families Where They Are
Lantern partners with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Get Ahead Colorado, and several other small nonprofits across the state to help families learn about tax credits available to them. This tax credit program has been funded with support from Gary Philanthropy.
Using Lantern’s trusted text messaging platform, families receive short messages with links to resources explaining how to claim credits like the Family Affordability Tax Credit.
These messages reach families directly on their phones — no app downloads or logins required.
In recent campaigns:
- Over 22,000 Colorado families received tax credit information through Lantern messages
- Families clicked through to tax credit resources hundreds to thousands of times
Engagement has been strong:
- One message reached 22,860 low-income families and generated 1,598 link clicks (7% click-through rate). “Have children 16 years old or under? You may be eligible for up to $3,200 per child from the Family Affordability Tax Credit.”
- Another campaign for early childhood providers about the Colorado Care Worker Tax Credit achieved 15% CTR, showing extremely high engagement. “CO Dept of Early Childhood: Claim your $1,200 Care Worker Tax Credit for caring for young children! Learn more:”
These numbers demonstrate that when families receive clear, timely information, they act on it.
Why These Credits Matter for Families
For many families, tax credits like FATC provide critical financial support.
Families participating in the study reported using the credits to:
- Pay rent or utilities
- Purchase food and household essentials
- Buy clothing and school supplies for children
- Cover child care costs
- Repair vehicles or household appliances
Parents also described important emotional impacts. Receiving the credit reduced financial stress and made it easier to focus on their children.
One parent described the credit as:
“A breath of fresh air… Sometimes it’s choosing between bills and groceries, and this gave me some wiggle room.”
Why Awareness Is So Important
The biggest barrier identified in the study was not eligibility or paperwork.
It was awareness.
Many families learned about the credit only while filing their taxes, and some never learned about it at all.
This means thousands of families may be missing financial support designed to help them.
By delivering simple information directly to families’ phones, Lantern helps close this gap.
Information Can Reduce Child Poverty
Policies like the Family Affordability Tax Credit demonstrate that child poverty is not inevitable.
Smart policy combined with effective outreach can make a measurable difference.
Lantern’s role is to ensure families actually learn about the resources available to them.
Sometimes reducing child poverty starts with something simple: making sure families have the right information at the right time.
If you are a Colorado family looking for information on the tax credits you may qualify for, check out Get Ahead Colorado for more information.