Fundraising update

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Denver is looking to raise close to $80 million dollars to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Denver lawyer, and co-chairman of the 2008 Denver Host Committee, Steve Farber:

"We're going to try to get $30 million in commitments from Colorado, and another $10 million from the region and another $15 million or $20 million nationally - which is something both conventions, Republican and Democratic, have done in recent years," he said.
...
"We need to cover a few things, our operational expenses being No. 1. And No. 2, we need to cover the budget," he said.

Quest has pledged $6 million, and Comcast $5 million. But it's not just pure cash:

Comcast will provide highlights of the convention on its Video-On-Demand program available to all digital cable subscribers, while Qwest will be the convention's primary provider of telecommunications services, including wireline, wireless and video.

"We stepped up with the time, the resources, the contributions," said Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert at an Internet conference sponsored by the Center for the New West at the University of Denver's Cable Center. "It's not self-interest. It's doing the right thing for the right reason."

And now they can officially start collecting the money:

Earlier this week, the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee formally registered as a nonprofit organization, allowing the group to start putting money in the bank.
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"This basically opens up an account for us with the Federal Elections Commission," said Dan Slater, vice chairman of the committee. Slater said the committee isn't required to disclose donations until after the convention, but he says the group plans to release that information earlier. "One of the reasons people donate is to show they're good civic citizens," Slater said. "We'll let people know who in the community is supporting the bid."

Let's see if the GOP is equally forthcoming with their convention donors.