Gates Family Foundation

Gates Family Foundation celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2021. Since its creation, the Foundation has distributed more than $450, with another nearly $50 million committed to impact investments in recent years. Representing a partnership of family and community representatives, the Foundation has maintained a strong commitment through its grantmaking and other strategic efforts to expanding access to opportunity, particularly for young people, creating vibrant communities, and promoting stewardship of the state’s natural inheritance.

The Foundation aspires to remain aligned with these core interests, even as it adapts to changing circumstances within the state. The Foundation’s own culture places a heavy emphasis on the following values:

• Respect – We seek out diverse perspectives and listen with humility and a spirit of learning.
• Creativity – We harness all resources to find new approaches, support experimentation, and drive systemic, lasting solutions.
• Engagement – We partner, convene, collaborate, and lead to catalyze transformative change.
• Place – We are deeply rooted in Colorado, with a long-term commitment to its people, communities, and civic capacity.
• Equity – We prioritize individuals and communities that have been historically marginalized by addressing systemic barriers and creating pathways to opportunity.

The Foundation’s Natural Resources Program comprises roughly 25 percent of annual grantmaking, generally focused on addressing challenges associated with balanced management of water resources, forest health, private land conservation, and public land stewardship, all exacerbated by a rapidly-growing population and the effects of a  changing climate. The Foundation has recently completed its latest strategic plan (2022-2026) and after a year of research, partner feedback, and analysis is poised to advance the priorities and strategies identified in that plan over the next five years. The Natural Resources program remains committed to using a variety of tools and high-impact approaches extending beyond traditional grantmaking to address the complex challenges facing the state’s land and water resources. Climate is a lens through which all Foundation grantmaking, investments, and activity are viewed. The Foundation is committed to accelerating opportunities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote resilience, and advance approaches and technologies that can help the state combat and adapt to climate change.

Additionally, since 2018, the Foundation has advanced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts internally and through its grantmaking and impact investing. The Natural Resources program area is committed to advancing DEI through its work in Colorado, including supporting a more diverse set of conservation participants and stakeholders and increasing access to nature for all communities.

To   learn  more  about  the    Gates    Family    Foundation    and    its    programs, visit    our    website  at gatesfamilyfoundation.org.