Natural Resources Grants for Colorado is sponsored by Gates Family Foundation. The Gates Family Foundation is committed to the conservation, management, and protection of Colorado's natural resources.

Colorado Natural Resources Grants - Gates Family Foundation Colorado’s iconic mountain ranges, farms and ranchlands, public lands, rivers, and open spaces are an undeniable part of our shared identity as Coloradans. We live in a state where three in four residents consider themselves conservationists, and 87% understand that Colorado’s open lands and outdoor lifestyle give the state an economic advantage.

Gates Family Foundation is committed to the conservation, management, and protection of Colorado’s natural resources. WE BELIEVE the forces of climate change, population growth, and urbanization create unprecedented conditions that threaten Colorado’s treasured natural resources and economic stability. The impact of these changes are too-often disproportionately felt by the state’s historically underrepresented residents.

WE SUPPORT collaborative work with a cross-section of partners and fellow funders to conserve Colorado’s unique landscapes, waterways, and agricultural communities in ways that allow both natural and human systems to thrive. We believe that collaboration, innovation, and cross-sector partnerships are the key to balanced management of limited resources.

And we are committed to helping amplify the voices of Indigenous and people of color in conservation decision-making, organizational leadership, and access to the outdoors. Advance solutions that address the complexities of water scarcity and its impact on the environment We support new tools, processes, and ideas to realize a long-term, sustainable balance between all of Colorado’s water demands.

Create innovative forest management strategies that support healthy forests and watersheds that provide ecological, social and economic benefits. We focus on the changing climate and its impact on decreased water availability and agricultural yields in Colorado and increased the risk of wildfires.

Landscape Conservation and Land Trust Capacity Building Support land protection and resilience in high-priority landscapes and support the land trust community in large-scale and collaborative efforts. We fund projects with demonstrated impact, scale, connectivity, and a high degree of landowner commitment and community support.

GATES SUPPORT FOR NATURAL RESOURCES MIGHT LOOK LIKE: Balanced Water Management • Advancing Tribal nations’ capacity to engage in priority projects and decision-making related to water issues • Forging agreements among stakeholders on water demand management priorities, strategies, and policies • Protecting the interests of water rights holders that voluntarily participate in reduced consumptive use programs • Programs that optimize water savings and economic impact Forest Health and Watershed Restoration • Implementation of successful forest management strategies • Support for regional initiatives to bring more public dollars to improve forest health and watershed restoration • Cross-jurisdictional efforts to mitigate catastrophic wildfires Landscape Conservation and Land Trust Capacity Building • Regional approaches to large-scale landscape conservation • Support for projects that integrate economic growth, rural resilience and land stewardship • Support for coalitions working to advance the land trust field through policy, collaboration, and sector sustainability • Staff leadership to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in natural resources and climate change work Colorado Mass Timber Coalition Welcomes Inaugural Director Connecting the dots between land, water, and community through innovation and partnership Senior Program Officer, Natural Resources Senior Program Officer, Natural Resources NATURAL RESOURCES – 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW The Gates Family Foundation’s Natural Resources portfolio is rooted in the Gates’ family legacy of land stewardship in the West.

While the program’s priorities have long focused on protection of the lands and waters of Colorado, the program remains responsive and evolves to adapt to changing community priorities and external forces.

Balanced Water Management : Recognizing the value of Colorado’s Water Plan (launched in 2015), Gates Family Foundation modeled its water priorities after the state’s own framework, addressing water challenges including the water-land use nexus, water conservation, and achieving balance among the needs of multiple water users and nature.

Land Conservation : In a state known for its iconic scenery, stretching from the eastern grasslands to its numerous 14,000-foot peaks, the Foundation strives to find balance among growing rural communities, wildlife and its habitat, working landscapes, and the ecosystem services provided by Colorado’s land and water.

Forest Health and Watershed Restoration: Elevated to a priority after 2020—a year in which more than 625,000 acres burned across the state with the three largest recorded fires in Centennial State history occurring in a single season. The Foundation strives to address the scale of the forest health problem through both grassroots partnerships and systems-level change via the forest economy.

The Natural Resources team looks to strategically deploy all the tools the Foundation provides to meet partners’ needs. Beyond grant dollars, the team uses impact investing, capital funds from the Foundation’s responsive capital grants program, and convenings and collaborative efforts. In 2025, the Natural Resources program awarded 25 grants totaling $2,842,800.

Resilience in a Year of Disruption 2025 marked one of the most disruptive periods Colorado communities have faced due to federal funding freezes, staffing cuts at key environmental agencies, and changes to policy. This period also demonstrated the resilient and steadfast nature of our partners in advancing their missions .

State efforts to enact laws and provide funding to protect working and natural lands as well as the waters of Colorado continue to move forward, despite shifts in federal priorities. The 2025 Colorado legislative session resulted in significant positive movement for water resilience in the state, despite a challenging budget outlook.

Lawmakers approved a near-historic level of funding for water programs ($67 million), eliminated a tax break for free sports bets to increase revenue for programs that support water projects, and established a task force to explore future water funding mechanisms .

In addition, the state implemented first-in-the-nation state level water and wetland protections legislation in reaction to the loss of federal Clean Water Act protections due to the 2023 United States Supreme Court Sackett v. EPA decision. Colorado’s legislation now serves as a model for other states across the West.

The summer of 2025 marked the worst fire season for the state since 2020 . More than 200,000 acres of Colorado’s public and private lands burned, with the Lee Fire ranked as the fifth largest in the state’s history.

O n November 11, 2025, the seven states reliant on the Colorado River —Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming— failed to meet a federal deadline to produce the outline of a joint agreement on managing the river’s dwindling water supply .

This impasse occurs as the current operating guidelines, established in 2007, are set to expire in 2026, forcing a reckoning over the future of a water source for 40 million people, vast agricultural lands, and critical industries.

Strengthening Colorado’s Forests, Waters, and Working Lands In 2025, the Natural Resources program supported a diverse portfolio of partners working to protect and restore Colorado’s forests, waters, and landscapes in the face of significant federal policy uncertainty and a more challenging conservation environment.

Investments in Forest Health and Watershed Restoration supported organizations working to reduce wildfire risk, advance forest management, and strengthen regional collaboration.

Partners include the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (RESTORE Colorado), the Colorado Forest Health Collaboratives Network, Colorado Mass Timber Coalition, Dolores Watersheds Collaborative, and Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (now Western Resilience Center).

These efforts connected locally led initiatives to statewide and regional goals and reflected a growing urgency as 2025 marked one of Colorado’s worst wildfire seasons since 2020. Investments in Balanced Water Management addressed the pressing needs of Colorado’s rivers, aquifers, and communities.

Partners including Colorado Water Trust, River Network, the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign, Ogallala Commons, the Salazar Center, the Water and Tribes Initiative, the Colorado Plateau Foundation, and the Sonoran Institute are working to advance sustainable water use, support tribal water rights, and build collaborative capacity across the state and region.

These investments reflected the urgency of Colorado River post-2026 management negotiations and the need for equitable, durable solutions to water scarcity affecting millions of people. Investments in Landscape Conservation and Land Trust Capacity Building supported partners advancing land protection, community-based stewardship, and conservation leadership.

Keep It Colorado, Colorado West Land Trust, Montezuma Land Conservancy, Western Resource Advocates, Conservation Colorado Education Fund, the National Wildlife Foundation, RE:PUBLIC, and Keystone Policy Center contributed to a broad vision of conservation that is inclusive, durable, and responsive to shifting public and policy landscapes.

Focus Landscape partners Palmer Land Conservancy and Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust continued to advance work launched under the program’s decade-long commitment in the southeastern grasslands and San Luis Valley. Beyond grantmaking, staff contributed to several strategic initiatives.

In partnership with Walton Family Foundation and Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, staff worked with Quantified Ventures to assess the design and feasibility of a pooled revolving loan fund to support conservation projects that integrate land protection, water resilience, and agricultural viability — advancing a buy-innovate-protect-sell model with significant potential for replication.

This work informed an innovative collaboration between Colorado West Land Trust, several philanthropic organizations, and Great Outdoors Colorado to protect high-value agricultural properties and water rights in the Uncompahgre River Valley. Staff launched a new cohort of Colorado funders focused on Tribes and conservation to foster co-funding and learning regarding indigenous-led conservation efforts.

Across all quarters, the program’s work aligned closely with its strategic goals and was strengthened by long-standing partnerships, collaborative grantmaking, and the resilience of partners navigating an uncertain and rapidly shifting national landscape. One theme that emerged across Natural Resources proposals presented this year is the power and importance of strong collaborative organizations.

For example, the Colorado River Sustainability Campaign provides strategic guidance and on-the-ground project coordination among seven nonprofits influencing local and national efforts to steward the Colorado River into the future. The Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network is a central hub connecting over fifty locally led organizations focused on science, policy, education, and each other to advance the sector.

Everyone Outdoors (formerly Next 100 Colorado) is a statewide coalition of conservation-sector staff and entities concerned with removing barriers to leadership and ensuring access to the outdoors for all Coloradans. Collaborative efforts often produce impact that exceeds the sum of individual contributions, creating durable results.

Colorado state agencies are trending toward and increasingly embracing collaborative, action-oriented work to accelerate progress addressing Colorado’s most pressing conservation priorities. Colorado’s Outdoors Strategy is a collaborative, statewide framework launched in April 2025 to guide conservation, outdoor recreation, and climate resilience efforts in the face of population growth and climate change.

The strategy uses data, mapping tools, and aligned funding to support local decision-making and regional efforts under three main goals: achieving climate-resilient conservation and restoration, ensuring exceptional and sustainable outdoor recreation, and promoting coordinated planning and funding.

In June of 2021, the Foundation approved an agreement with Palmer Land Conservancy (Palmer) for a program-related investment (PRI) in the amount of $500,000. With the pending dry up of 3,000 acres of prime farmland in the Arkansas River Valley east of Pueblo, Palmer designed a tool to work with landowners to transfer water from less productive agricultural land parcels for use on the most productive farms on the Bessemer Ditch system.

This dry-up on farms that are less productive will support fallowing that results in environmental benefits (restoration of riparian zones, for example) while supporting agricultural productivity on the most prime farmland. In 2025, with support from the Foundation’s PRI, Palmer purchased a 620-acre farm on the Bessemer Ditch that would otherwise be dried up in 2039 if action was not taken.

This farm provides an opportunity to keep agricultural water and land in agriculture for perpetuity. For over two decades, Palmer and Gates have partnered using both traditional and innovative tools to protect working lands, communities, and water in southern Colorado. This long-standing relationship has provided the trust and commitment to finding long-term strategies, anchored in community-led solutions.

The Foundation has used all its tools in partnership with Palmer: capital and initiated grants, impact investing dollars, and collaborative space to realize its vision. “At Palmer Land Conservancy, durable land and water conservation centers around resilience, creativity, and flexibility. Success requires acknowledging the rapidly changing world around us.

We set concrete goals based on community needs and also recognize that attaining on-the-ground impact demands graceful adaptability. With our farmland conservation work, we are charting pathways and creating new tools that create much-needed flexibility centered on longevity, so that rural communities thrive into an uncertain future with resilient people, economies, and ecosystems.

” – Rebecca Jewett, President and CEO, Palmer Land Conservancy In 2025, the Natural Resources program made a strategic investment in RE:PUBLIC, recognizing the critical role of credible, nonprofit journalism in an increasingly uncertain policy environment.

While support for a single‑issue news organization focused on public lands might not typically be prioritized in more stable times, staff viewed this investment as both timely and necessary. The stewardship of public lands—and the principle of keeping public lands in public hands—remains one of the few issues with broad bipartisan support and strong resonance with the American public.

At a moment of unprecedented threats to public land protections, RE:PUBLIC works to elevate these issues, ensuring that the value of public lands and the risks they face remain visible and accessible to decision‑makers, stakeholders, and the public alike.

Colorado West Land Trust: The Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT) was founded in 1980 by a group of community leaders and agricultural families who recognized that western Colorado’s productive farmland, wildlife habitat, and scenic open spaces were at risk of fragmentation and development.

Over the last 45 years, CWLT has grown into one of the most effective regional land trusts in Colorado, conserving 150,000 acres across Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Gunnison, Ouray, and San Miguel counties. A 2025 commitment to provide a $1. 25 million loan guarantee will help CWLT acquire and steward three irrigated farms in Montrose County.

The project aims to pilot the Buy, Innovate, Protect, Sell (BIPS) approach, which could transform how Colorado land trusts secure water rights and farmland for future generations. The project’s primary goals are to safeguard senior water rights, restore riparian habitats, and sustain agriculture amid development pressures. The guarantee would leverage additional capital and serve as a model for future conservation efforts.

Two additional complimentary grants aims to support the acquisition as well as the suite of activities required to conserve critical lands and waters, enhance habitat, protect local economies, facilitate access to nature, and maintain community identities and sense of place.

Whitney Johnson, Senior Program Officer, Natural Resources Senior Program Officer, Natural Resources Sustaining Local News Ecosystems : Supporting nonprofit and public media organizations with innovative business models. Building Inclusive Leadership and Voices : Investing in diverse media outlets and collaborative reporting.

Strengthening Field Infrastructure : Supporting convening, capacity-building, and shared services through intermediaries like the Colorado Media Project (CMP). During 2025, the Informed Communities program awarded and paid strategic grants to a diverse set of organizations working across public media, nonprofit journalism, legal advocacy, and community‑based information access .

The portfolio reflected a deliberate balance between statewide intermediaries and mission‑critical field infrastructure, alongside targeted support for individual outlets serving priority communities. Latia Henderson has also joined the Foundation as a new program officer. In 2025, the Informed Communities program awarded eight grants totaling $186,000.

Stabilizing and Coordinating Colorado’s Information Ecosystem I n 2025, the Informed Communities strategy operated in a moment of transformative change for Colorado’s local news and information ecosystem. What began as a period of innovation and experimentation accelerated into a year defined by stabilization, coordination, and collective defense of local journalism as civic infrastructure .

Against a backdrop of declining traditional outlets and expanding news deserts, 2025 marked a turning point with the elimination of federal funding for public media following the closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which rescinded more than $1 billion in previously allocated support nationwide.

In this context, the Foundation’s work focused on preserving core capacity, strengthening collaboration, and positioning Colorado’s information ecosystem for long‑term resilience. Trustworthy local news remains essential to a functioning democracy, yet the conditions supporting it grew more fragile throughout 2025. Financial strain intensified across the sector, particularly for rural, tribal, and community outlets.

The loss of federal public media funding elevated local news, radio, and the information ecosystem from a “sector issue” to a statewide civic concern, underscoring the reality that access to reliable information is foundational to community resilience, accountability, and democratic participation.

Protecting What Communities Rely On In response to these dynamics, philanthropic strategies across the country—and in Colorado—shifted in 2025. The emphasis moved away from pilots and experimentation toward general operating support and emergency stabilization. The information ecosystem increasingly came to be treated not as an innovation problem to solve, but as a public good to defend.

Within this context, the Informed Communities portfolio prioritized protecting trusted institutions, maintaining coverage in at‑risk communities, and supporting the legal, financial, and operational infrastructure that allows local journalism to function.

In 2025, this approach supported partners such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, which work to safeguard press freedom, government transparency, and public access to information across Colorado .

Investments in organizations like Enterate Latino LLC helped expand access to trusted, culturally responsive local reporting —particularly for rural and historically underserved communities. As the Foundation entered 2026, Informed Communities is at a strategic bridge point—between short‑term stabilization and longer‑term decisions about how to support durable local information infrastructure in Colorado .

Emergency funding helped avert immediate service loss for some outlets, but the year made clear that lasting solutions will require coordinated, place‑based approaches, deeper collaboration, and potentially new public funding mechanisms.

Looking forward, success will mean reduced near‑term risk for at‑risk outlets, stronger statewide coordination among public and nonprofit media, and increased readiness to pursue sustainable, system‑level solutions.

The lessons of 2025 affirmed the Foundation’s role not only as a grantmaker, but as a convener, partner, and steward of Colorado’s local information ecosystem—working to ensure all Coloradans can access trustworthy, high‑quality local news and information in the years ahead. The Colorado Media Project (CMP) emerged as a central force in the state’s response to public media disruption.

As the Foundation’s primary ecosystem‑level intermediary, CMP played a critical role in coordinating philanthropic resources, distributing stabilization funding, and convening funders and news organizations during a period of uncertainty.

In direct response to federal CPB funding cuts, CMP directed $1 million in general operating support in 2025 to 11 Colorado public media outlets, prioritizing rural stations and high‑need communities that rely heavily on public media for local news and information. These dollars provided both immediate stabilization and support with longer-term transformation efforts.

“At a moment when Colorado’s news ecosystem was under real strain, the Colorado Media Project gave us a way to act at the scale of the challenge. CMP allowed funders to move beyond fragmented, short‑term responses and instead align around shared infrastructure, collaboration, and long‑term sustainability.

By treating our information ecosystem as essential civic infrastructure, CMP helped stabilize the field while also pointing toward a more resilient future for local news in Colorado. ” — Kimberly Spencer, Executive Director, Colorado Media Project CMP also began laying the groundwork for deeper system change, including shared services, strengthened partnerships among outlets, and early exploration of public funding pathways.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) strengthens the legal and safety infrastructure that enables journalists to serve the public.

Through legal representation, training, and resources, RCFP helps news organizations navigate open records laws, defend First Amendment rights, and maintain public access to government information—especially in moments of heightened legal and political pressure.

In 2025, Informed Communities supported RCFP’s Colorado‑based media law attorney position, reinforcing the legal backbone that local journalism depends on to function effectively. This investment helped ensure that reporters across the state—particularly those with limited in‑house legal capacity—could access expert guidance and support as they pursued accountability reporting and public‑interest journalism.

Latia Henderson, Director of Strategic Communications and Informed Communities COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW The Gates Family Foundation’s Community Development program works to expand economic opportunities and strengthen the community assets that help Colorado residents thrive.

In 2025, our grantmaking focused on two strategic priorities: Economic Mobility , which supports pathways to quality jobs, entrepreneurship, and financial stability; and Equitable Community Assets, which advances affordable housing, food access, community‑serving real estate, and neighborhood well‑ Together, these priorities reflect our belief that economic mobility is shaped not only by individual opportunity, but also by the strength of the community’s people call home.

This year, we were privileged to work alongside partners whose resilience, creativity, and deep connection to community guided our efforts. Their work unfolded during a period of significant external volatility, including rising construction costs, federal policy shifts, and statewide budget constraints.

Over the year, the Foundation awarded funding supporting organizations that are building more equitable systems and expanding opportunities across the state. In 2025, our team also hired and onboarded new Senior Program Officer, Helen Katich, and deepened relationships with partners. In 2025, the Community Development program awarded 26 grants totaling $1.

23 million. Community Development Context: 2025 Colorado’s community development landscape continued to reflect both persistent challenges and emerging opportunities in 2025. Housing affordability remains one of the most pressing issues facing the state .

Tariffs on lumber, steel, and gypsum continued to drive construction costs, and many affordable housing developments struggled to complete their capital stacks. Proposition 123, now in its second year of implementation, funded more than 8,000 units statewide; however, many projects still faced financing gaps averaging approximately 15 percent.

At the same time, state and local governments navigated new housing laws aimed at reducing barriers to increasing housing supply, with a particular focus on affordable options for low‑ to middle‑income Coloradans. The year also included a prolonged federal government shutdown, which threatened SNAP benefits for more than 600,000 Coloradans and disrupted staffing at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund .

Reductions and uncertainty across federal programs, including Medicaid and community development funding, created instability for families and organizations providing essential services. These disruptions were felt most acutely by partners working in food access, small business support, and community‑serving real estate.

Workforce development systems continued to evolve as AI adoption accelerated across industries, reshaping entry ‑ level hiring and requiring training providers to adapt quickly . New statewide dashboards revealed wide variation in workforce program outcomes , underscoring the importance of data‑driven investment and highlighting organizations, such as ActivateWork, that consistently deliver strong earnings outcomes for participants.

At the same time, the rural entrepreneurship ecosystem continued to grow and sharpen through technical assistance, and partnerships focused on expanding access to capital . Rural communities developed locally driven solutions to challenges related to housing, transit, and workforce development, reinforcing the importance of sustained, relationship‑based engagement.

Community ‑ Centered Investments in Housing, Food, and Place In 2025, the Community Development program supported a wide range of partners advancing economic mobility and strengthening community assets across Colorado. Investments in Economic Mobility supported organizations working to expand workforce pathways, strengthen small business ecosystems, and build community capacity.

Partners such as Latino Leadership Institute, Mission Driven Finance, Small Capital, Community Builders, Startup Colorado, BEN Colorado, and ActivateWork played critical roles in helping Coloradans access meaningful work, build businesses, and pursue economic stability. Their efforts spanned urban and rural regions alike, reflecting the diverse needs and opportunities across the state.

Investments in Equitable Community Assets advanced affordable housing, food access, community planning, and land stewardship. Partners including CAST, Enterprise Community Partners, Commún, Western Colorado Alliance, Nourish Colorado, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Hugo Housing worked to preserve and expand community‑serving spaces, strengthen local food systems, and support neighborhood‑driven development.

Beyond grantmaking, staff contributed to several strategic initiatives. The Foundation supported research into a Proposition 123 “side ‑ car fund” to complement public investments, participated in the development of a statewide one ‑ stop funding portal to streamline housing incentives, and convened food access organizations to prepare for upcoming SNAP changes .

Staff also responded to time‑sensitive opportunities, including supporting a community benefits agreement for a new women’s soccer stadium and advancing a neighborhood needs assessments in Globeville ‑ Elyria ‑ Swansea . Across all quarters, the program’s work aligned closely with its strategic goals and was strengthened by the trust and collaboration of partners across the state.

The year offered important lessons about the resilience and ingenuity of Colorado’s community development ecosystem. The Foundation’s partners demonstrated adaptability in the face of policy volatility, economic uncertainty, and rising community needs.

Their work reinforced the importance of flexible philanthropic capital, especially housing projects facing unpredictable costs and organizations navigating shifting federal and state landscapes. The year also underscored the value of data transparency in workforce development, the need for innovative financing mechanisms in affordable housing, and the importance of sustained engagement with rural and tribal communities.

Howdy Partners is purpose ‑ built around a clear but often overlooked reality: while roughly 20 percent of Colorado’s population lives in rural communities, less than 1 percent of institutional venture capital reaches those places. The organization pairs institutional‑grade capital with deep, place‑based relationships to help close this gap and strengthen rural entrepreneurship.

“Rural communities are not innovation deserts—they are opportunity dense, capital light, and underestimated. ” — Marc Nager, Managing Partner, Howdy Partners Howdy Partners combines local trust networks built over more than 15 years, institutional investing discipline , and narrative amplification to elevate rural founders as drivers of statewide innovation.

Through partnerships with organizations such as Startup Colorado and locally rooted accelerators and lenders, Howdy Partners helps generate deal flow, strengthen founder readiness, and connect rural companies to capital markets that have historically overlooked them. In 2025, the contraction of later ‑ stage venture capital disproportionately affected rural founders.

Howdy Partners responded by making follow‑on investments focused on paths to profitability, expanding co ‑ investment syndication across regional funds, and convening partners to reframe rural Colorado as essential to the state’s innovation economy. The firm also adapted its approach as AI reshaped entrepreneurship , focusing more on founders and leadership while using AI to support business modeling and operational planning.

During the year, Howdy Partners hosted its annual Founder Summit for more than 30 portfolio companies, supported companies that hired over 60 people in Colorado, and helped nearly every company seeking outside capital raise it successfully. Beyond financing, founders reported increased access to customers, follow‑on investors, and strategic partnerships—often for the first time.

Howdy Partner’s impact is rooted in collaboration with local partners, economic development teams, community banks, and universities. As this work demonstrates, capital alone does not build rural ecosystems—trusted relationships, coordination, and disciplined execution do. “Gates Family Foundation’s partnership helps us do more than run programs—it helps us build durable infrastructure for rural entrepreneurs.

When communities have a trusted pathway to training, peers, and capital, founders can move from idea to action faster, and that momentum strengthens the whole local economy. ” — Brittany Romano , Executive Director, Startup Colorado Startup Colorado’s strength is its ability to turn “community” into real economic infrastructure .

The organization operates as connective tissue across rural regions, linking founders to practical support, peers, mentors, and capital, while helping local partners align around shared, repeatable pathways for entrepreneurship .

By working statewide and locally at the same time, Startup Colorado brings high‑quality programming into rural communities without overriding local leadership—creating a coordinated pipeline from ideas to businesses to strategic, sustainable growth. In 2025, a tighter capital environment and shrinking resources—including funding, personnel, and programs—threatened to slow rural founders and the communities supporting them .

Startup Colorado responded by systematizing supports so founders did not lose traction and communities could deploy ready ‑ made programs without needing to scale new investments into their ecosystems .

The organization tightened the pathway from ideation through growth by refining its Founder Coopetition Pre ‑ Accelerator and Accelerator programs, along with its Rural Operating System —a replicable, integrated system that moves a rural region from early ideation to capital connection. This work strengthened regional coordination and advanced durable capital infrastructure, alongside the early design of a rural angel investor network.

Startup Colorado also collaborated with capital‑aligned partners, including Howdy Partners, to better connect rural momentum to broader market networks. Rural entrepreneurs—particularly early ‑ and growth ‑ stage founders building outside metro networks—benefited most, along with local ecosystem partners who gained clearer pathways to refer and support founders.

Startup Colorado supported nearly 3,000 founders across 30 rural counties and 32 industries, bringing resources directly into communities, with staff traveling more than 17,000 miles statewide. Founders from Startup Colorado programs secured more than $1.

5 million in follow‑on capital, accessed nearly $100,000 in direct capital through grants, Kiva loans, and in‑kind services, received more than $35,000 in scholarships awarded to 19 founders, and supported 16 founders to pitch live, resulting in $30,000 in cash awards and more than $20,000 in in‑kind prizes. Collectively, these founders created 65 jobs, with many reporting that they were able to move full‑time into their ventures.

In addition, the annual Startup Colorado‑led West Slope Startup Week drew more than 500 attendees from 78 cities and generated an estimated $571,164 in local economic impact. Helen Katich, Senior Program Officer, Community Development EDUCATION – 2025 IN REVIEW The Gates Family Foundation’s education program works to improve K–12 outcomes for students and communities historically underserved by our education systems across Colorado.

The Foundation’s 2025 grantmaking was organized around three strategic priorities: supporting innovative learning environments, building collaboration between school systems, and strengthening the ecosystem that supports innovation.

Together, these priorities reflect a shared belief that lasting improvement in Colorado education depends on innovation at the classroom, system, and policy levels, supported by partners whose creativity, resilience, and connection to community drive meaningful impact. In 2025, the Education program awarded 30 grants totaling $2,993,500.

Colorado’s Education Context in 2025 In 2025, Colorado’s public education system faced a mix of ongoing and emerging challenges: Declining birthrates continue to reshape enrollment patterns statewide. School finance reforms promise to boost overall education funding, but structural budget deficits threaten the speed and strength of implementation.

Federal education policy underwent dramatic disruption, with major cuts to staff at the U.S. Department of Education and frozen or canceled grants impacting