Daniels Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Daniels Fund is the philanthropic legacy of the cable television pioneer Bill Daniels. The fund supports education, metal health and housing and homelessness, taking special interest in youth, sports, the elderly and addiction recovery. The foundation works mainly in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
IP TAKE: This funder awards hundreds of grants each year. It only accepts applications from nonprofits located in or providing services to communities in Colorado and Wyoming at this time, but organizations working in the fund’s specific areas of interest should reach out to the fund’s grants staff. It’s not a particularly accessible funder.
Funding prioritizes but is not strictly limited to the states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. These areas of interest and geographic priorities were established by Bill Daniels, and according to the fund’s website, will not change.
PROFILE: Based in Denver, the Daniels Fund was established in 2000, upon the death the cable television pioneer Bill Daniels. A Colorado native, Daniels grew up during the Great Depression. He was an “unruly” child, and his parents sent him to the New Mexico Military Institute as a teenager. He took up boxing there and held the title of New Mexico’s Golden Gloves Champion for two years. After graduating, Daniels became an officer in the U.S. Navy and served as a combat pilot on the U.S.S. Intrepid during World War II. He also served in the Korean Conflict. His first business was an insurance agency, but he was seduced by the novelty of television in the 1950s and aimed to bring cable service to the many small towns of the American West that did not yet have it. His first cable business was in Casper, Wyoming, and he eventually established hundreds of systems across the U.S., becoming a billionaire along the way. Daniels was a sports enthusiast and an alcoholic—two aspects of his personality that influenced his philanthropy. During the last years of his life, he outlined specific goals for the Daniels Fund, which aims to carry out the “compassion, ethics and integrity" of its founder.
Since its founding, the Daniels fund has given more than $800 million in grants and scholarships through its aging, amateur sports, disabilities, drug and alcohol addiction, early childhood education, the homeless and disadvantaged, K-12 education reform and youth development programs. The fund aims to support “highly effective and ethical nonprofit organizations that achieve significant results in the community.”
Grants for Education
Education is the fund’s largest area of giving, and it gives broadly to organizations working in the fields of early childhood education, K-12 education, youth services, special education and youth sports programs. The fund also supports higher education with a robust scholarship program.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
The Daniels fund takes a holistic approach to early childhood, supporting programs that address learning in educational, childcare and home settings. The goal of the early childhood education program is to provide safe and nurturing experiences that lead to kindergarten readiness. Grants support teacher development, program improvement and parent education initiatives. In New Mexico, Daniels has supported Santa Fe Community College's First Born Program, which makes home visits to first-time parents, providing support and education about child development. And in Colorado, the foundation gives to Invest in Kids, which partners with communities to bring parenting education and research-based learning programs to families with young children. Some early childhood funding also stems from the fund’s disabilities program, which has supported early identification and therapeutic interventions for young children with developmental disabilities.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Daniels Fund’s K-12 education funding stems from its K-12 education reform program as well as its amateur sports, youth development and disabilities programs. The education reform program aims to effect broad gains in student achievement through education system improvements. Specifically, the fund supports school choice initiatives, charter schools, teacher development and parent engagement programs. Past grantees include the Young American’s Education Fund, the Denver School of Science and Technology, the Charter School Growth Fund, Teach for America and Colorado Charter Facility Solutions.
Through his own experiences, Bill Daniels came to recognize the positive effects that sports and quality coaching could have on children’s lives. The fund’s amateur sports program aims to provide such positive experiences to children and youth on a broad scale by supporting youth sports programs and helping young amateur athletes with the costs involved in competing in national and international events. Grantees include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming and the Adaptive Sports Center of Crested Butte, Inc.
The fund’s youth development funding supports “character-building programs” that encourage the development of confidence, independence, accountability and responsibility. Its funding areas are vocational and technical education, civics education and financial literacy. Past grantees of this program include civics education programs created by the American Legion of Colorado, the Joe Foss Institute, the Bill of Rights Institute and vocational programs run by Boys and Girls Clubs of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Daniels’s disability funding program has funded K-12 education programs that are focused on creating learning opportunities and supportive environments for students with developmental and learning disabilities. Daniels himself experienced hearing loss as a result of his service as a fighter pilot, and hearing impairment is one specific area of interest. The fund has supported speech and hearing rehabilitative services at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado, as well as the Global Down Syndrome Foundation and the Laradon Hall Society, which runs summer camps for disabled children in Denver.
Grants for Higher Education
The Daniels Fund does not run a funding program dedicated to higher education, but its youth development program supports post-secondary vocational, technical and business education programs at many public two- and four-year colleges and universities. Grantees include Santa Fe Community College, Montana State University, Utah State University, the University of Northern Colorado and many more.
The fund also runs two college scholarship programs: Daniels Scholarships provide undergraduate tuition support for highly motivated students, and Boundless Opportunity Scholarships are awarded to non-traditional students who aim to “create a better life for themselves and their families.”
Grants for Mental Health
Mental health grantmaking stems mainly from the fund’s drug and alcohol addiction initiative. In his lifetime, Bill Daniels spoke openly about his struggle with alcoholism, his treatment at the Betty Ford Center and his recovery. The fund’s addiction initiative supports prevention and treatment and recovery services. Past grantees include Colorado West Regional Mental Health, Face It Together Sioux Falls, Alternatives for Youth, ACT on Drugs and the Harmony Foundation. Some mental health funding also comes from the funds aging initiative, which runs a subprogram for elderly community engagement.
Grants for Housing and Homelessness
In the area of housing and homelessness, the fund makes grants through its homeless and disadvantaged and aging initiatives. The homeless and disadvantaged program focuses on helping “individuals and families achieve and maintain self-sufficiency without the need for public assistance.” The program funds transitional housing and supportive services, as well as emergency services for shelter, food and case management. Past grantees include TESSA Domestic Violence Shelters, the United Way of Santa Fe, Springs Rescue Mission and Care and Share Food Banks of Colorado.
Daniels’s aging initiative aims to help the elderly age independently and has supported elderly housing initiatives. In Denver, the fund supports Brothers Redevelopment, a nonprofit that manages elderly housing and helps the elderly modify their homes for safety and accommodation.
Important Grant Details:
The Daniels Fund’s grants are awarded in amounts ranging from a few thousand to over $1 million, but grants average about $50,000. The foundation makes hundreds of grants each year to organizations of all sizes. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the fund’s individual program pages.
This funder accepts applications only from nonprofits based in or providing services in the states of Colorado or Wyoming. While New Mexico and Utah are also priorities, the fund’s grantmaking in these states is more targeted, and grant application is by invitation only. See the fund’s eligibility and guidelines page for specific instructions. The Daniels Scholars and Boundless Opportunity Scholarship programs work with preselected schools. Direct general inquiries to the fund’s staff via email or telephone at 303-393-7220.
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