El Pomar Foundation

Spencer and Julie Penrose established El Pomar in 1937 with a mission to enhance, encourage, and promote the current and future well-being of the people of Colorado. The philanthropy they set in motion across Colorado has grown today to more than $25 million annually through grants and community programming. Over thirty years ago, El Pomar’s Trustees realized we could contribute more than grant dollars to support the success and vitality of communities and nonprofits throughout Colorado. With the addition of leadership development and community engagement programming, we’ve taken a more active role in developing nonprofit leadership capacity as well as a leadership pipeline, been more in touch with community leaders throughout Colorado, and are better able to evaluate the impact we make across the state. In 1989, we created our first program, “Awards for Excellence,” and since then have added a variety of programs to build on this goal of going beyond grants to create a multiplying effect. Some have concluded over that time, but today, El Pomar operates or supports 13 programs, including three historic properties.