Katz Amsterdam Foundation

The Katz Amsterdam Foundation is a founder-driven, invitation-only funder with a tightly defined mission: eliminating inequities in behavioral health access and civic participation for underserved populations in specific U.S. geographies. Founded by Robert Katz — who served as CEO of Vail Resorts from 2006 to 2021 — and Elana Amsterdam, the foundation carries a personal relationship with mountain resort communities that defines its entire behavioral health strategy. The foundation operates through parallel vehicles: the named Foundation (EIN 83-0748664) and the Katz Amsterdam Charitable Trust, which handles the larger annual grant disbursements to mountain communities and civic organizations.

The foundation's website states explicitly that it does not accept unsolicited proposals. The entry point for prospective grantees is a Grants Inquiry form submitted through katzamsterdam.org — not an LOI, not a direct email, not a phone call. Before submitting, organizations must review the program-specific grantmaking guidelines published on the site for their relevant area (Mental and Behavioral Health in Mountain West Communities, or Ensuring Civic Engagement).

For the behavioral health portfolio, the operative model is intermediary-level giving. Katz Amsterdam typically channels funds through established community foundations — Aspen Community Foundation, Park City Community Foundation (Summit County), Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, Eagle Valley Behavioral Health — which then deploy resources to frontline service providers. Direct service organizations in mountain communities are therefore most likely to secure funding by cultivating relationships with their local community foundation rather than approaching Katz Amsterdam independently.

For the civic engagement portfolio, the foundation funds statewide infrastructure organizations (voter registration, community organizing, rights protection for communities of color), with awards averaging $100,000–$145,000 per organization. The grantee database confirms multi-year general operating support for organizations like Fair Fight Action Inc ($400,000 across two grants in Georgia) and Planned Parenthood Alliance ($300,000 across two grants).

First-time applicants should understand this is a relationship-before-proposal culture. The Annual Katz Amsterdam Convening, held each May in Boulder, CO, is the most direct pathway to visibility with Rob Katz, Elana Amsterdam, and Executive Director Beth Ganz ($269,647 annual compensation). Organizations whose staff attend, present, or contribute data to the convening gain meaningful advantages over cold inquiries.

The Katz Amsterdam entity family — Foundation plus Charitable Trust — has disbursed more than $22 million to mountain community behavioral health alone over its first decade, with civic engagement adding several million more annually. IRS 990-PF filings for the Foundation show total program spending of $1.56M (fiscal 2022), $1.58M (2021), $784K (2020), $622K (2019), and $775K (2018). These figures reflect the Foundation's operating structure (foundation code 03, operating private foundation) where program expenses include both direct grant-making and internal operations managed by Beth Ganz and her team.

The Charitable Trust, which partners with Vail Resorts communities, tracks much larger single-round disbursements: $3.2M in November 2025 (11 communities), $2.8M+ in November 2024, $2.66M in February 2024. The November 2025 round illustrates the grant-size spectrum clearly: $75,000 to Yampa Valley Community Foundation (Steamboat Springs) and Big Sky Health and Wellness Coalition (Montana) at the low end; $560,000 to Eagle Valley Behavioral Health (Colorado) at the high end; $500,000 each to Building Hope (Summit County, CO) and Park City Community Foundation (UT); $325,000 to Aspen Community Foundation. The median award in this round was approximately $260,000.

Civic engagement grants operate on a parallel spring cycle at consistent scale: $3.1M to 25 organizations in April 2026 (~$124,000 average), $2.825M to 21 organizations in April 2025 (~$134,500 average), and $3.275M to 23 organizations in May 2024 (~$142,000 average). This $100,000–$200,000 range for individual civic engagement grantees has been stable across three annual cycles.

Tracked grantee data from IRS filings confirms $700,000 across 4 recorded external grants: Fair Fight Action Inc in Georgia ($400,000 total, 2 grants, civic engagement) and Planned Parenthood Alliance in Kentucky ($300,000 total, 2 grants, reproductive health). The $175,000 average across these grants aligns with the broader behavioral health median.

Geographically, Colorado absorbs the largest share of mountain community funding — Eagle County ($560K), Summit County ($500K), Aspen/Pitkin County ($325K), Crested Butte/Gunnison ($200K combined), Telluride/San Miguel ($160K), and Steamboat Springs ($75K) in the November 2025 round alone. Utah (Park City, $500K) and California (Tahoe Truckee, $345K) are the next-largest recipients. Civic engagement funding is concentrated in Arizona and North Carolina. Total Foundation assets stood at $26.68M as of the 2022 IRS filing, down slightly from a peak of $27.89M in 2021 following an $18M contribution influx that year.

Katz Amsterdam stands out sharply among its asset-comparable peers. It is the only foundation in this group with a robust public web presence, named co-founders with a stated personal connection to their grantee communities, and documented program guidelines with a defined inquiry pathway. The other four peers have minimal or no online footprint, making benchmarking their giving levels or application processes impossible from public sources alone — practitioners seeking those funders should obtain their 990-PFs directly from the IRS or Candid/ProPublica.

The Charitable Trust vehicle allows Katz Amsterdam's effective annual giving to substantially exceed what the $26.7M Foundation asset base alone would suggest; the November 2025 single-round disbursement of $3.2M alone rivals the estimated 5% minimum payout for many foundations at this asset level. This structural complexity — Foundation plus Trust — means organizations should research both entities when building their case for alignment.

The foundation entered 2026 at its highest public profile to date. The 7th Annual Katz Amsterdam Convening (May 5-7, 2026, Boulder, CO) marked a decade of investment in mountain communities and featured the expanded launch of the Shared Mental Health Data Dashboard — described as the first of its kind for mountain resort communities — enabling cross-community benchmarking and data-driven allocation decisions.

On April 3, 2026, the foundation distributed $3.1 million to 25 nonprofits in Arizona and North Carolina for voter registration and civic empowerment, continuing the reliable spring civic engagement cycle that has run since at least 2024. The 2026 Convening also signaled an emerging immigration integration priority, with multiple sessions led by organizations including Juntos por Gunnison (Cinthia Saenz, Alfonso Morales) and The Advocates (Ana Villanueva) on trauma-informed care for undocumented and immigrant community members — a material expansion of the behavioral health frame.

In November 2025, the Charitable Trust released its $3.2M mountain community round across 11 Vail Resorts geographies, with Eagle Valley Behavioral Health ($560,000) and Building Hope/Summit County ($500,000) receiving the largest individual awards. A notable 2025 diversification was the $250,000 grant to Congregation Nevei Kodesh (Boulder, CO) for social justice and Jewish community programming — the first publicly documented grant from the Katz Amsterdam Foundation to a Jewish congregation, potentially signaling an emerging third stream.

No leadership transitions were reported. Beth Ganz remains Executive Director; Rob Katz and Elana Amsterdam remain uncompensated as President/Treasurer and Secretary, respectively.

Confirm geographic fit before anything else. The foundation funds two tightly defined program areas in specific geographies. Behavioral health work must serve one of approximately 11 mountain resort communities (Tahoe/Truckee CA; Aspen, Crested Butte, Eagle County, Gunnison, Summit County, Steamboat Springs, Telluride CO; Jackson Hole WY; Park City UT; Blaine County ID; Big Sky MT). Civic engagement work must be rooted in Arizona or North Carolina. Organizations outside these footprints are not a fit at this time, regardless of mission alignment.

Use the Grants Inquiry form, not email or phone. The foundation's grantmaking guidelines page explicitly states it does not accept unsolicited proposals. The correct first step is to submit an inquiry through the form at katzamsterdam.org after reviewing program-specific guidelines. Cold emails and phone calls to Beth Ganz at (303) 284-4932 are appropriate only as a follow-up if your inquiry receives no response after 8-10 weeks.

Work through your regional community foundation for behavioral health. The foundation's preferred model routes funding through local intermediaries — Aspen Community Foundation, Building Hope, Park City Community Foundation, Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. A referral or co-funding relationship with one of these partners dramatically improves access for frontline service providers who might otherwise struggle to reach Katz Amsterdam directly.

Align with Shared Measurement Framework language. The foundation has invested heavily in cross-community data infrastructure. Inquiries that reference data collection capacity, participation in shared surveys, or ability to contribute to community-wide benchmarking will resonate strongly with Beth Ganz and program staff.

Attend or present at the Annual Convening. The May convening in Boulder is the highest-leverage relationship-building opportunity available. Past presenters include representatives of Juntos por Gunnison, Tri County Health Network, Building Hope, and other funded organizations. Contact the foundation in January-February to inquire about participation opportunities for the following May.

Use equity-specific vocabulary. Foundation materials consistently use: "eliminating inequities," "communities of color," "bilingual and bicultural services," "community-led solutions," "historically underserved populations," "equitable access." These are not optional framing choices — they appear in nearly every public statement and reflect how program staff evaluate alignment.

Time your inquiry to match grant cycles. Civic engagement grants are announced in April; behavioral health mountain community grants arrive in November-February. Submit your inquiry at least 4-6 months before your target window.