2018 ANNUAL REPORT

Letter from the President & Board Chair

Luminary Learning Network: Case Study (2018)

The vision set out in our current strategic plan – to leverage all of the Foundation’s resources in service to the Colorado community – was realized as we put $25.3 million to work pursuing mission-relevant charitable purpose activity in one form or another. That amount includes:

• Nearly $9 million in grants paid through the main Foundation
• More than $11.5 million in grants paid through the eight family funds housed at the Foundation
• Just over $2.4 million operating the Foundation with a team of 12 professionals working in multiple fields
• Nearly $700,000 deployed in Program-Related Investments (PRIs)
• Nearly $1.2 million deployed in Mission-Related Investments (MRIs)
• Approximately $525,000 invested in the Hover Building, the Foundation’s home base, a meeting and event resource for many nonprofit and community partners and the home of the edXchange public education shared-space collaborative

Due to the market downturn in the last quarter of 2018, the Foundation’s total assets declined to $455.1 million at year-end.  As of January 31, 2019, the balance had already recovered to $471.3 million.

Our capital grants program received more than 100 requests, and ultimately we made $3.35 million in capital grant commitments, including significant awards to the Aurora School of Science and Technology at the Anschutz Medical Campus, New Legacy Charter School, and the National Western Stock Show.

National Western Center redevelopment

The past year also saw continued growth in the Foundation’s impact investing portfolio. We committed to our sixth PRI, $1 million to Greenline Ventures to support small business lending throughout Colorado. We also added three more market-return impact investments to our portfolio – to support early-stage ed tech tools, sustainable management and conservation of timberlands, and affordable housing and transformative development.

Valerie Gates and Tom Gougeon accept the 2018 Champion of the Land from Colorado Open Lands

We made significant progress on our new website, which now provides more transparency and insights from the Foundation. We were recognized as the 2018 “Champion of the Land” by Colorado Open Lands. The event provided a chance to reflect on Gates’ 40 years of history with the conservation community, as well as our first project with Colorado Open Lands – the conservation of the historic 3,200-acre Evans Ranch at the base of Mount Evans in Clear Creek County.

There were also some significant changes within the staff.  Senior Vice President Beth Conover left the Foundation in August after seven years to become executive director of the Salazar Center for North American Conservation at Colorado State University. Russ Schnitzer and Laia Mitchell were promoted to senior program officers, and made co-managers of the Natural Resources and Community Development team.  Abby Schaller and Lisa Rucker were promoted to senior program officer roles, and Anna Schmid was promoted to Controller. Sue Dorsey (Senior Vice President – Finance, Administration & Impact Investing) and Melissa Davis (Vice President – Strategic Communications & Informed Communities) got new titles to recognize their work expanding into new areas. And after reviewing more than 330 applications, the team selected Whitney Johnson as a program officer for natural resources and community development.

2018 was an amazing year, full of diverse types of work throughout the state. By design, a significant portion of the Foundation’s impact, grant making, and investing occurs in rural Colorado. It continues to be a privilege to contribute to the legacy of the Gates family in Colorado, to invest in so many of the people and places that make Colorado special, and to work with so many amazing partners in all of the fields the Foundation touches.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Gougeon
President
Gates Family Foundation

2018 Financials