Foundation fetes power of giving

BY KEVIN DUGGAN • KEVINDUGGAN @COLORADOAN.COM • MAY 15, 2009

Tough times have not taken all of the wind out of the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado's philanthropic sails.

The foundation, through the nearly 300 funds it manages, last year distributed $3 million in grants.

The amount matches distributions from the year before, foundation officials said Thursday during the organization's annual "Celebration of Philanthropy" at the Hilton Fort Collins.

The foundation received $6.3 million in gifts last year - up from $5.5 million in 2007 - even as its total assets saw a 15 percent dip because of flagging investment returns, said Wynne Odell, chair of the foundation's board of trustees.

The community is "still thinking philanthropically in tough economic times," she said.

The recession has hurt the foundation's bottom line, Odell said, but its assets are starting to rebuild. The foundation announced a $2 million bequest established by the late Doyle and Luvesta Jones of Berthoud that will aid charitable efforts in that community.

"We're very positive about where we are headed for the year, and we are moving in the right direction," Odell said.

About 550 people gathered for the event to hear an update on the activities of the foundation and its various initiatives, such as UniverCity Connections and Homeward 2020, a program dedicated to ending homelessness in Fort Collins.

The event's keynote speaker, William Hudnut (pictured at right), told the audience the foundation's continuing success in light of the tight economy is a sign of the community's strength.

"That is indeed the kind of thing that philanthropy can do to help us ride out the storm of the current recession and move on to bigger and better things in the future," he said.

The foundation and the community need to look forward even in tough times, he said.

Hudnut, a former congressman and mayor of Indianapolis, said he has longstanding family ties to Estes Park and Northern Colorado.

The region is blessed with a lot of assets, he said, including healthy communities, high-tech industries and a "tremendous" educational institution in Colorado State University.

But the region will face challenges as its population grows to an estimated 1.4 million by 2050, he said.
"We have to think about the future because demography is destiny," he said.

Maintaining the integrity of the region's communities will require good leadership and land-use planning that promotes higher residential densities, fixing infrastructure and promoting public transportation, he said.

"The point is people are saying, 'Together we can do it,' " he said. "Together we can embrace the future; together we can guide growth in such a way that we're not swamped by it. ... Good planning is the answer."