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Gill Foundation Announces Gift of Colorado Springs Building to Rocky Mountain PBS, Creating “Tim Gill Center for Public Media”

Publication Date: July 17, 2012

Media Contacts:

Tonya Ewers, Gill Foundation
303.829.5413
tonyae@gillfoundation.org

Amanda Mountain, RMPBS
719.251.2595
amandamountain@rmpbs.org *

One-time gift, valued at $1.3 million, is the largest private donation in 56-year history of Rocky Mountain PBS

DENVER (July 17, 2012) – Continuing its strong commitment to local nonprofits and public broadcasting in Colorado, the Gill Foundation has announced a $1.3 million one-time gift to Rocky Mountain PBS through the donation of its building in Colorado Springs. With this gift, Rocky Mountain PBS will create the “Tim Gill Center for Public Media,” a collaborative initiative led by Rocky Mountain PBS to create cross-platform content for public media. In the spirit of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, the Gill Foundation program previously headquartered in the building, the new center also will continue to offer free public meeting space to local nonprofits.

The Tim Gill Center for Public Media will have wide-reaching positive impact on public broadcasting in Colorado and in communities across the state, bringing together 21 organizations to create cross-platform content, increase the collective impact of public broadcasting statewide, and link higher education with public media so that area college students can be trained with the requisite skills necessary to thrive in the new media environment.

“This catalytic investment is the largest private donation in our 56-year history,” said Doug Price, President and CEO of Rocky Mountain PBS. “Because of the generosity of the Gill Foundation and Tim Gill, Rocky Mountain PBS will create the Tim Gill Center for Public Media to serve as a place for collaboration, innovation and engagement in Southern Colorado and beyond.”

“With all the changes taking place in the media, public broadcasting is more important than ever,” said Tim Gill, Founder and Board Chair of the Gill Foundation. “A healthy democracy depends on informed citizens, and this new center will help public media have greater impact in Colorado.”

Rocky Mountain PBS will lead the center’s programs in collaboration with partner organizations that include the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado College and KRCC 91.5 FM, Pikes Peak Community College, Pikes Peak Library District, and the Rocky Mountain Community Radio group which represents 16 public and community radio stations around the state.

“Since 1996, the Gill Foundation has supported public broadcasting in the state through our Gay & Lesbian Fund program. Although we expect to maintain that commitment at current levels, this one-time gift represented a unique opportunity to benefit many of our current grantees,” said Tim Sweeney, Gill Foundation President and CEO. “The commitment by Rocky Mountain PBS to maintain free public meeting space for nonprofits was also compelling. We knew what this space has meant to the community as a place to gather, have dialogue, and work together to build a better Colorado Springs and a better Colorado.”

A public celebration and ribbon-cutting event will be held in September when the building is reopened by Rocky Mountain PBS. Organizations interested in utilizing the building’s meeting and event space should visit www.rmpbs.org/TimGillCenter for ongoing updates and additional information.

In October of 2011, the Gill Foundation announced that, in light of the tremendous progress toward equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Colorado, the foundation would initiate a strategic re-evaluation of its Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado program. As part of that decision, the foundation consolidated the program’s physical location to its Denver offices, leaving the Colorado Springs building available for sale or donation. Multiple organizations approached the foundation with proposals for the building’s future. The Rocky Mountain PBS proposal was selected because of the potential impact the Tim Gill Center for Public Media will have in Colorado and nationally.

The Gill Foundation’s strategic re-evaluation of the future direction for its Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado program continues, and this gift does not reflect any future funding priorities. Earlier this year, the foundation renewed all grants awarded by the Gay & Lesbian Fund program in 2011, totaling $1.3 million to 240 Colorado nonprofits. The foundation anticipates an announcement related to the future strategy of the Gay & Lesbian Fund before the end of 2012.

*Audio clips with Doug Price, President and CEO of Rocky Mountain PBS, are available upon request. Please contact Amanda Mountain at 719.251.2595.

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Welcome to the website for the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado

We’d like to update you on some important news.

In 2012, we announced we would take a break from all new Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado grantmaking to undergo a strategic reevaluation. As of December 2012, we are nearing the end of this reevaluation period and a focused branding evaluation.

Due to exciting changes in the fund’s grant program areas, the content available on this website is now outdated. We will be closing this website and incorporating Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado updates into the Gill Foundation’s website by April 2013.

Going forward, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado will now encompass all previously-existing Colorado programs and grants of the Gill Foundation, as well as a new program area in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.* The foundation’s six Colorado program areas that will be known as Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado grants are:

Five previously existing and well-defined grant program areas of Gill Foundation:

  • Colorado safe and inclusive schools that prevent bullying and harassment
  • Colorado progressive civic engagement and communications grants
  • Colorado public broadcasting grants
  • Colorado HIV services
  • Colorado lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) services and advocacy

One new grant program area:

  • Colorado science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education

* Our new STEM strategy will be refined over the course of the next 18 months.

PLEASE NOTE: We will not be accepting any unsolicited letters of interest or grant applications.

We are excited for this next chapter with the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado and believe that we can have an even greater impact in building a better Colorado together. Please check the Gill Foundation’s website in late 2013 for any grantmaking updates: www.gillfoundation.org.

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