Our History

History of CANDO

Local economic development efforts began as a Douglas Area Chamber of Commerce initiative. Local supporters formalized CANDO as a private, non-profit corporation, on June 15, 1995. CANDO qualifies as a tax exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(6) of the IRS Code. In the beginning, CANDO consisted primarily of a volunteer Board of Directors, with the City of Douglas providing part-time staff support. The City of Douglas continues to support CANDO financially, as does Converse County, although today all employees work directly for CANDO.

In January 2000, with City and County funding, CANDO was finally able to hire its first full-time Executive Director. In March 2000, the CANDO Board of Directors grew to twelve members, each of whom is a successful business owner and/or proven community leader.

With the new, larger Board of Directors and with full-time professional staff, CANDO has grown significantly each subsequent year. CANDO’s multiple workforce training programs, energy efficiency and industry initiatives, and many other innovative programs have allowed CANDO to have a huge impact on the local area. In 2005, CANDO will execute a budget with expenses in excess of $536,000 and employ four full-time employees.