Funding search · EIN 840474837 · Denver, CO

Gates Family Foundation

Name: Gates Family Foundation grants, 2022–2025
Creator: PaperOrbit
License: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-public-disclosure-and-availability-requirements

A private foundation (files IRS Form 990-PF). Most private foundations do not take unsolicited applications; the route in is usually a program officer.

1,446
grants reported: $154.9M
total given: 2022–2025
filing years: $25,000
median grant

Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2022–2025. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.

What they fund

construction renovation purchase building fellowships scholarships land research

Funder website ↗Full IRS filings ↗How this is built Report an error

Funding pattern

What this funder pays for, at what size, and how to position adjacent work. Read from their filings, with every number checked against the record.

Where the money goes

K-12 education reform and school leadership in Colorado
Land conservation, water, and river protection across the Rockies
Colorado higher education, led by CU and CSU
Community facilities: construction, renovation, building purchases
Local news and civic journalism infrastructure
Scholarships and fellowships, several tied to California and Hawaii

Typical grant

The working range is $15,000 to $50,000, with a median of $25,000. Fifty thousand dollars is the visible ceiling for most new relationships; the rare seven- and eight-figure checks go to institutions with long ties, like the $20 million to the University of Colorado Foundation and $2 million to Cardigan Mountain School. With 1,446 grants to 820 recipients, roughly half of the recipients have received more than once, so repeat giving is the norm for organizations that land the first grant.

Their words

Phrases from their own grant descriptions, worth speaking back to them.

“PROJECT SUPPORT”
“GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT”
“SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS”
“LAND PURCHASE”
“CONSTRUCTION”

Positioning adjacent work

Anchor the ask to a Colorado county or watershed; out-of-state grants almost always serve Western land or education work.
Ask $25,000 to $50,000 on a first approach, framed as project support with a defined deliverable.
Connect conservation research to their land trust and water grantees: Colorado Water Trust, Rio Grande Headwaters, Aspen Valley Land Trust.
Education work should tie to Colorado school systems, teacher practice, or charter and district partners they already fund.

Worth knowing: This is a Colorado foundation first: 931 of 1,446 grants stayed in state, and the California, Hawaii, and Arizona clusters look like family-connected giving rather than open strategy. One $20 million grant to the University of Colorado Foundation is an eighth of the total dollars, so the reported total badly overstates what is available to a newcomer.

Top recipients

Repeat recipients are the strongest signal of whether a funder has an open door or quietly re-funds the same organizations.

University of Colorado Foundation12 grants · $40.6M
Gates Institute11 grants · $39.8M
University of Denver9 grants · $7.3M
Cardigan Mountain School5 grants · $4.5M
Thacher School2 grants · $3.3M
Lyra5 grants · $2.4M
Rooted6 grants · $1.7M
Palmer Land Conservancy2 grants · $1.5M
Gates Biomanufacturing Facility Sup2 grants · $1.5M
Elevation Community Land Trust9 grants · $1.2M

Giving over time

$40.6M

2022

$41.0M

2023

$37.1M

2024

$36.2M

2025

Grant history

The 100 largest of 1,446 grants.

$20.0M
University of Colorado Foundation · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$20.0M
University of Colorado Foundation · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$20.0M
Gates Institute · Denver, CO · 2023
Project support
$15.6M
Gates Institute · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$3.7M
Gates Institute · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$2.8M
University of Denver · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$2.1M
University of Denver · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$2.1M
University of Denver · Denver, CO · 2023
Project support
$2.0M
Cardigan Mountain School · Canaan, NH · 2025
Endowment
$1.8M
Thacher School · Ojai, CA · 2023
Construction
$1.5M
Thacher School · Ojai, CA · 2022
Construction
$1.0M
Cardigan Mountain School · Canaan, NH · 2022
Project support
$935,000
William J Palmer Parks Foundation I · Colorado Spgs, CO · 2024
Land purchase
$835,000
Palmer Land Conservancy · Colorado Spgs, CO · 2023
Land purchase
$750,000
North Park Fire Rescue Authority · Walden, CO · 2024
Project support
$750,000
Cardigan Mountain School · Canaan, NH · 2023
Endowment
$750,000
Gates Biomanufacturing Facility Sup · Aurora, CO · 2023
Project support
$750,000
Gates Biomanufacturing Facility Sup · Aurora, CO · 2022
Project support
$685,000
Palmer Land Conservancy · Colorado Spgs, CO · 2022
Land purchase
$625,000
Lyra · Denver, CO · 2023
Project support
$620,000
Lyra · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$575,000
Lyra · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$550,000
Lyra · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$525,000
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Tr a Col · Del Norte, CO · 2024
Land purchase
$500,000
Cardigan Mountain School · Canaan, NH · 2023
Project support
$500,000
Colorado Prevention Center · Aurora, CO · 2023
Endowment
$500,000
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust · Del Norte, CO · 2023
Land purchase
$500,000
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust · Del Norte, CO · 2022
Land purchase
$400,000
Rooted · Denver, CO · 2025
Operating
$400,000
Rooted · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$400,000
Rooted · Denver, CO · 2023
Project support
$383,333
Rose Community Foundation · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$300,000
Colorado Schools Fund · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$300,000
Rose Community Foundation · Denver, CO · 2024
Operating
$300,000
Colorado Media Project · Denver, CO · 2023
Operating
$300,000
High Line Canal Conservancy · Centennial, CO · 2023
Construction
$300,000
Colorado Media Project · Denver, CO · 2022
Operating
$300,000
Rooted · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$250,000
River Network · Boulder, CO · 2025
Project support
$250,000
Colorado Schools Fund · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$250,000
Aurora Public Schools Foundation · Aurora, CO · 2023
Construction
$250,000
National Trust for Local News · Lexington, MA · 2023
Project support
$250,000
Aurora Public Schools Foundation · Aurora, CO · 2022
Construction
$250,000
Cardigan Mountain School · Canaan, NH · 2022
Endowment
$225,000
National Fish and Wildlife Foundati · Washington, DC · 2022
Project support
$200,000
Colorado Water Trust · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$200,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$200,000
Rio Grande Headwaters Land Tr a Col · Del Norte, CO · 2025
Land purchase
$200,000
Denver Civic Arts Foundation · Denver, CO · 2024
Renovation
$200,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$200,000
National Forest Foundation · Missoula, MT · 2024
Project support
$200,000
Western Landowners Alliance · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$200,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2023
Project support
$200,000
National Wild Turkey Federation · Edgefield, SC · 2022
Project support
$175,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2022
Land purchase
$175,000
Urban Land Conservancy · Denver, CO · 2022
Operating
$150,000
America Succeeds · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$150,000
Colorado State University Foundatio · Fort Collins, CO · 2025
Project support
$150,000
Conservation Colorado Education Fun · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$150,000
National Fish and Wildlife Foundati · Washington, DC · 2025
Project support
$150,000
William J Palmer Parks Foundation I · Colorado Spgs, CO · 2025
Project support
$150,000
High Line Canal Conservancy · Centennial, CO · 2024
Construction
$150,000
Keep It Colorado · Golden, CO · 2023
Operating
$150,000
National Fish and Wildlife Foundati · Washington, DC · 2023
Project support
$150,000
Squared Network (the) · Carbondale, CO · 2023
Project support
$150,000
Colorado Education Organizing Funde · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$150,000
Fax Partnership (the) · Denver, CO · 2022
Project support
$150,000
High Line Canal Conservancy · Centennial, CO · 2022
Construction
$150,000
Kwiyagat Community Academy · Towaoc, CO · 2022
Building purchase
$150,000
Trout Unlimitedcolorado Council · Arlington, VA · 2022
Project support
$145,000
Empower Schools · Boston, MA · 2022
Project support
$144,754
National Forest Foundation · Missoula, MT · 2024
Project support
$138,000
America Succeeds · Denver, CO · 2024
Operating
$136,000
America Succeeds · Denver, CO · 2023
Operating
$134,000
America Succeeds · Denver, CO · 2022
Operating
$130,000
President and Fellows of Harvard Co · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Scholarships/fellowships
$125,000
National Forest Foundation · Missoula, MT · 2025
Project support
$125,000
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts · Golden, CO · 2024
Operating
$125,000
Colorado State University Foundatio · Fort Collins, CO · 2024
Project support
$125,000
National Fish and Wildlife Foundati · Washington, DC · 2024
Project support
$125,000
Trust for Public Land · Denver, CO · 2023
Land purchase
$125,000
Trust for Public Land · Denver, CO · 2022
Land purchase
$121,500
President and Fellows of Harvard Co · Cambridge, MA · 2025
Scholarships/fellowships
$114,000
Harvard University John F Kennedy · Cambridge, MA · 2023
Scholarships/fellowships
$114,000
Harvard University John F Kennedy · Cambridge, MA · 2022
Scholarships/fellowships
$110,956
Colorado Media Project · Denver, CO · 2022
Operating
$109,200
Harvard University John F Kennedy · Cambridge, MA · 2022
Scholarships/fellowships
$100,000
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts · Golden, CO · 2025
Operating
$100,000
Colorado College Th · Colorado Springs, CO · 2025
Project support
$100,000
Colorado State University Foundatio · Fort Collins, CO · 2025
Scholarships/fellowships
$100,000
Colorado State University Foundatio · Fort Collins, CO · 2025
Project support
$100,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$100,000
Montezuma Land Conservancy · Cortez, CO · 2025
Project support
$100,000
State Historical Society of Colorad · Denver, CO · 2025
Project support
$100,000
University of Colorado Foundation · Denver, CO · 2025
Research
$100,000
Colorado College Th · Colorado Springs, CO · 2024
Project support
$100,000
Colorado State University Foundatio · Fort Collins, CO · 2024
Project support
$100,000
Elevation Community Land Trust · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support
$100,000
Montezuma Land Conservancy · Cortez, CO · 2024
Project support
$100,000
Rose Community Foundation · Denver, CO · 2024
Project support

View all 1,446 grants →

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Source: IRS Form 990-PF, Part XV, as filed by the foundation. These are grants already paid — a record of what this funder backs, not an open call.