Dear Friend,
This year, our team at OpenSky reviewed our core values as an organization and we found ourselves called to the principles of analytics, trustworthiness, equity, empathy and boldness. You see how we value analytics in our in-depth analyses and our modeling outputs. We also continuously aim to build and maintain trust in our research to ensure state leaders see us as an honest broker of vital information. And we’re working to build and expand that trust as we engage with a wider range of communities across the state. We hold equity dear as we know “The Good Life” is best when it is enjoyed by all Nebraskans regardless of the color of their skin, their beliefs, the language they speak at home, their income, their politics, their sexual orientation, or their gender identity. Empathy is important as it reminds us that the numbers we work with represent real people with real needs, hopes, cares and dreams. And we value boldness because it is absolutely needed to advance policies that truly benefit us all.
These are important because, at the end of the day, budgets and taxes are really about values and priorities. At OpenSky and across Nebraska, we need to ensure that, as a state, our state budget reflects our shared values as Nebraskans and prioritizes what we hold dear. OpenSky provides a window into how that budget is made, and our goal is to make that process more accessible and easier to understand for everyday Nebraskans. We believe better informed citizens help make better informed policy. Right now, we know only certain voices tend to get heard in tax and budget decisions. By opening the door to the process and finding ways to partner with everyday Nebraskans on how those tax and budget decisions may affect them, together we can make our tax policy fairer and make the state budget a tool for shared prosperity.
Thanks to the generous support of people like you, OpenSky has become an essential voice in Nebraska’s policy discussions in our first decade. With your support by way of a tax-deductible online donation, we can expand our role to help forge more policies that truly benefit hardworking Nebraskans.
I hope you will join our team today and support our mission to improve opportunities for every Nebraskan!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rebecca Firestone
Executive Director
P.S. In celebrating OpenSky’s 10th anniversary this year, we were honored to ask some of our friends and partners to look back on how we came to be a leading voice in Nebraska’s fiscal policy debate. We invite you to watch the video to see what our partners have said about the contributions we have made to our state thanks to our community of committed and visionary supporters!