TELLURIDE FOUNDATION: TOP 4 AMONG COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS NATIONWIDE

31 Aug TELLURIDE FOUNDATION: TOP 4 AMONG COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS NATIONWIDE

Foundation Noted as Most Active Grant Maker Among Peers

Telluride Foundation sign by metal artist Lisa Issenberg

According to a 2011 Columbus Survey of 252 community foundations nationwide, the Telluride Foundation ranked as 4th most active grant maker as a percent of asset size and ranked 4th  for total gifts per capita.

The purpose of the survey was to benchmark community foundations beyond asset size, which is the most common question asked to foundations, and this is the second year in a row the Foundation was ranked in the top five. While assets represent one way to describe how a community foundation operates, other factors, such as grant-making, fundraising, donor engagement, and community context all contribute to a community foundation’s unique attributes and challenges.

These rankings demonstrate that compared with its peer community foundation, the Telluride Foundation is very focused on investing its funds into the community to meet the immediate needs of the community. Many community foundations focus on building their assets base, which results in locking away charitable assets and building an endowment. It also highlights the high level of gifts generously given to the Foundation by its donors.

“Although we’re a small foundation at the end of a box canyon,” said Paul Major, President and CEO of the Foundation, “this ranking really emphasizes that size doesn’t necessarily determine our ability to do things well and effectively. We are reminded of the generosity of this community and its commitment to investing and supporting the very special nature of Telluride.”

Traditionally, foundations are ranked based on asset size. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the county with over $33 billion in assets. The largest community foundation is the Tulsa Community Foundation of Oklahoma with over $4 million in assets. Increasingly donors have focused on how best to invest and leverage their charitable giving in today’s dollars to maximize their impact. Rather than building an asset endowment for a foundation and spending only the interest income, donors are looking to organizations that can invest their charitable giving in real time and produce immediate impacts. The ranking of foundations by grant-making activity rather than asset size allows donors and communities to view charitable assets and giving differently and adopt the best approach for the greatest impact.

About the Telluride Foundation:

The Telluride Foundation exists to create a stronger Telluride community through the promotion and support of philanthropy. It is a nonprofit, apolitical community foundation that provides year-round support for local organizations involved in arts, education, athletics, charitable causes, land conservation and other community-based efforts through technical assistance, education and grant making. As a grant maker, The Foundation awards grants to qualified applicants that serve the people living and working in the Telluride area for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life within the region.

For more information on the Telluride Foundation, visit www.telluridefoundation.org.