2024 ANNUAL REPORT

Letter from the President & Board Chair

A Year of Forward Momentum and Strategic Renewal

Dear Community,

Last year marked a year of evolution for Gates Family Foundation—one defined by growth, opportunity, and forward momentum. Several longtime team members transitioned into exciting new leadership roles beyond the Foundation, a testament to the depth of talent and experience from which the Foundation has benefitted over many years. Their contributions have left a legacy, and we’re proud to see them continue to lead and influence the field. They remain valued colleagues and friends.

In response, the Foundation invested time and care into recruiting new talent, resulting in four dynamic professionals joining the team in 2024 and early 2025. These new team members bring fresh perspectives, diverse experiences, and a shared commitment to our mission. Their arrival marks a new chapter of innovation, collaboration, and strategic renewal.

Alongside these personnel changes, the Foundation has been modernizing its internal operations—transitioning to more integrated tools like Salesforce to enhance knowledge management and streamline workflows. These efforts aim to make grantmaking more efficient and accessible to the community. These upgrades are positioning the Foundation to be more agile, data-informed, and responsive to the evolving needs of its partners and the broader community.

Next year marks the 80th anniversary of the Gates Family Foundation. As the Foundation approaches $700 million in mission-driven funding deployed, the board and staff are deeply grateful to the many partners, grantees, and allies who have contributed to this journey.

As we look ahead, we are also preparing for our next cycle of strategic planning. This process is an opportunity to reflect and reaffirm our commitment to impact and equity across the state of Colorado.

We recognize ongoing broader shifts in the policy and funding landscape at the federal level, which are already impacting state and local partners and ecosystems in Colorado. While the full implications are still unfolding, the Foundation is actively listening, learning, and adapting—ensuring we remain a strong, steady partner to the communities and organizations we serve.

We look forward to continuing this work—together—to build a stronger, more inclusive Colorado for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Gougeon
President
Gates Family Foundation

How Gates Family Foundation Invested in Colorado Communities in 2024

Foundation Giving

The Foundation awarded over $13 million in funding through 305 grants—directed by strategic, capital, and family fund grants—to advance a wide range of efforts aimed at strengthening communities in Colorado and beyond

The Foundation’s 2024 strategic and capital grantmaking awards included:

• Education: 28 grants totaling $2.9 million
• Natural Resources: 18 grants totaling $1.7 million
• Community Development: 22 grants totaling $1 million
• Informed Communities: 9 grants totaling $1.3 million
• Capital Grants: 107 grants totaling $4.3 million

In total, the Foundation awarded 184 strategic and capital grants amounting to approximately $11 million.

Family Fund Giving

The Foundation also manages Family Funds. Family Funds are philanthropic accounts established by individual or groups of Gates family members that are housed within the Foundation. These funds leverage the Foundation’s infrastructure—such as grantmaking systems, staff expertise, and administrative support—while allowing family members to pursue charitable giving that may differ in mission or geographic focus from the main Foundation. This structure enables personalized philanthropy at minimal cost and currently includes eight family funds supporting a wide range of initiatives.

Family Funds awarded the remaining $2 million through eight funds managed within the Foundation, which collectively distributed 121 grants.

Partner Highlights

Here are a few examples of how Gates Family Foundation supported innovative work across Colorado:

Affordable Housing and Downtown Revitalization | The Foundation supported a range of strategies to address Colorado’s housing affordability crisis. It also made a $50,000 grant to the Denver Civic Ventures to support revitalization efforts as construction on 16th Street nears completion.

Colorado Mass Timber Coalition (CMTC)| The Foundation supported the coalition with a $344, 754 grant to the National Forest Foundation to make progress in testing Colorado-grown wood for use in mass timber production. Two successful pilot projects showed that local wood can be used to produce certified cross-laminated timber panels—an important step toward more sustainable and climate-friendly building practices.

Colorado Schools Fund | A $1.5 million, five-year commitment was made to this collaborative effort to help school leaders open new charter schools in communities that lack high-quality public school options.

Colorado Public Radio (CPR) | The Foundation’s largest capital grant of the year—$300,000—supported the renovation of CPR’s new headquarters and public engagement space at 8th Avenue and Grant Street in Denver.

National Trust for Local News | The Foundation continued its support of the National Trust for Local News (NTLN) following the purchase of a printing press. In 2024, NTLN launched a new printing press in Denver. The Foundation provided $50,000 in funding to help NTLN hire a seasoned print sales and marketing executive to grow its customer base and ensure the press’s long-term sustainability.

Tribal Partnerships | The Foundation supported several efforts to advance tribal water rights and leadership:

• Continued work with the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes
• Investment in the Water and Tribes Initiative, which supports 30 tribes with Colorado River water rights
• Support for a new Water Institute at the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, focused on tribal water issues

Gates Frontiers Fund | One of the most notable Family Fund commitments came from the Gates Frontiers Fund, which made the third installment of a $100 million, five-year pledge to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. This historic investment—the largest in the Foundation’s history—supports the Gates Institute in advancing cutting-edge research in bioscience, regenerative medicine, and gene therapies to address global health challenges.

These partnerships reflect the Foundation’s commitment to creating lasting, inclusive impact across Colorado and beyond.

Learn more by reading more about the work of the Foundation:

Board and Staff

Welcoming New and Returning Trustees in 2024

At the beginning of 2024, the Foundation was pleased to welcome Ernest House Jr. to his first four-year term on the board. Ernest brings a wealth of experience and insight, having served as  a senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center and as the former head of the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs under multiple governors. A proud member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ernest’s leadership extends across numerous organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Colorado, and the National Western Center, among others. He also recently concluded a long tenure as a trustee of Fort Lewis College. His presence on the board has been a tremendous asset.

The Foundation also celebrated the continued service of two dedicated family trustees. Dane Harbaugh was re-elected to a third three-year term, and Rich Kiely to a second. Their ongoing leadership and commitment remains invaluable.

At the beginning of 2025, Lauren Davis assumed the role of chair of the board of trustees, taking over from Rich Kiely, who served as chair in 2023 and 2024.

New Leaders Join, Longtime Contributors Depart

2024 was marked by the arrival of new leaders and the departure of several longtime team members who helped shape the Foundation’s work over many years. These changes reflect a natural evolution—one that honors past contributions while welcoming new energy and expertise to carry the mission forward.

• Russ Ramsey joined the staff in May 2024, as Vice President for Education to lead the Foundation’s work in K–12 public education. Selected from a pool of more than 140 candidates, Russ brings a long history as a teacher, instructional coach, school leader, and education researcher. He previously led the education program at the Houston Endowment, a large, place-based private foundation in Houston, Texas, where he also served as director of learning and evaluation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Russ held a senior leadership role with Denver Public Schools, overseeing a diverse portfolio that included enrollment, school choice, planning and analysis, real estate, and facility allocation.
• Leslie Sabin became Vice President for Finance, Administration, and Impact Investing in July of 2024, following the departure of Sue Dorsey earlier in the year. Leslie is a certified public accountant with deep experience in philanthropic finance. She previously served as Chief Financial Officer at the Santa Fe Community Foundation and as Vice President of Finance at the Pikes Peak Community Foundation.
• Helen Katich joined the Foundation in April 2025 as Senior Program Officer for Community Development, following the departure of Laia Mitchell in mid-2024. Laia, a longtime staff member, left to join the City and County of Denver’s affordable housing program. Helen brings experience from both the nonprofit and public sectors, most recently serving as the Federal Investments and Grants Director managing a $100 million federal grant program for U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper.
• Latia Henderson stepped into the role of Director of Strategic Communications and Informed Communities in March 2025. She succeeded Melissa Milios Davis, a longtime staff member, who left in late 2024 to join Press Forward, a national $500 million initiative to revitalize local journalism. Latia brings a strong background in community engagement and communications. She previously served as Chief Engagement Officer at Denver Families for Public Schools (formerly known as RootED Denver), a Foundation partner, and held roles with the Denver Scholarship Foundation and other mission-driven Colorado organizations.

Impact Investing

In addition to making traditional grants, the Gates Family Foundation also uses impact investing to support its mission. These market return and below market return commitments of capital allow the Foundation to invest in businesses and projects that aim to make a positive difference in areas like education, climate, conservation, housing, and economic opportunity—while recycling the capital deployed for future impact.

In 2024 the Foundation made strategic investments to support mission-aligned businesses and initiatives through Mission-Related Investments (MRIs) and Program-Related Investments (PRIs). The Foundation’s MRI and PRI portfolios have grown considerably in recent years.

Mission-Related Investments (MRIs)
These are investments in funds or companies that support the Foundation’s goals. The Foundation aims to dedicate up to 30% of its new private equity and private credit investments to MRIs. As of the end of 2024, the Foundation had nine percent of total Foundation assets in 31 MRI investments totaling 54.1 million in committed capital, supporting areas that mirror the range of Foundation interests such as: 

• Climate
• Land conservation and restoration
• Affordable housing
• Rural entrepreneurship
• Bioscience and health innovation

In 2024, the Foundation made four MRIs totaling $7.5 million in commitments. 

Examples of 2024 MRI Investments:

• Beartooth Capital IV: Invests in restoring and conserving working ranches in the American West, preserving open space, wildlife habitat, and water resources while supporting rural economies.
• Ember Infrastructure Fund II: Focuses on building and upgrading infrastructure for clean energy, water, and waste systems—helping communities transition to lower carbon and more sustainable and resilient systems.
• Prudential Essential Property Partners II: Supports the development of affordable housing and mixed-use real estate in underserved communities, helping to address the housing crisis while stimulating local economies.
• Burnt Island Ventures II: Invests in early-stage companies developing innovative water technologies—such as leak detection, water reuse, and purification—to address global water challenges.

Program-Related Investments (PRIs)
These commitments of capital are flexible, low-cost investments that help nonprofits and mission-driven organizations drive impact. The Foundation aims to invest 6.5% of non-family fund assets in PRIs and guarantees, in addition to its regular grantmaking. As of year-end 2024, the Foundation had 23 PRI commitments totaling over $18.25 million, supporting the range of the Foundation’s core interests such as: 

• Small business development
• Affordable housing
• Public education
• Climate and water resources
• Local journalism

In 2024, the Foundation made three PRIs totaling $1.75 million. The Foundation also extended two PRIs totaling $1.45 million. 

Examples of 2024 PRI Commitments:

• Energize Colorado Gap Fund: Provides loans to small businesses—especially those owned by individuals and communities that have faced barriers to opportunity and access to traditional financing.
• Denver Museum of Contemporary Art: Received funding to pay off its final commercial bank loan, freeing the museum from restrictive loan terms, lowering its cost of borrowing, and allowing it to focus more fully on its mission and programming.
• The Colorado Sun: A nonprofit news outlet received a line of credit to help manage cash flow and continue delivering high-quality, independent journalism across Colorado.
• Regional Transit-Oriented Development Fund: This fund helps acquire land near transit lines to build affordable housing. It has already supported the creation of over 2,500 affordable homes near bus and rail corridors—connecting people to jobs, schools, and services.

Why This Matters
Impact investing allows the Foundation to go beyond grants and support innovative, financially sustainable solutions to complex problems. These investments help build stronger, more resilient communities while ensuring that the Foundation’s resources are working in multiple ways to advance its mission

Financial Snapshot

In 2024, the Foundation continued its work to support a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable Colorado. The year brought strong financial performance, meaningful program investments, and growing partnerships across the state.

The Foundation ended 2024 with $598 million in total assets:

• 55% in Foundation assets
• 45% in family-advised assets

2024 Financials

The 2024 paid grants data will be available soon. Please check back later or review the awarded grants data here.