El Pomar's 2009-10 annual report, with a focus on economic development, is now online. In it, you can find spotlights on five exciting new ways Colorado's nonprofits are seeking to help the state--along with a searchable listing of El Pomar's grants. In an open letter to the community, El Pomar's trustees draw the link between the Foundation's past and present:
"In 1937, Spencer and Julie Penrose gave El Pomar Foundation a single goal: support the current and future well-being of the people of Colorado. This has always been a broad and demanding charge. Recent times have made it even more so. Because, while the Foundation’s mission has remained constant, the path to achieve that mission has not. With the economic downturn affecting organizations, communities and, most of all, people, the trustees of the Foundation have applied a new focus to our grantmaking and programs.
"How will this help people weather the economic storm now? How will it assist with long-term stability? These are just some of the questions we ask ourselves as we work with Coloradans from every corner of the state to address the economic well-being of the people of Colorado. We want to be a resource to help make it through the present, but know that we must also support efforts to plan for the future. Throughout this report, you can see examples of this in the featured grants section. One major grant helped keep people and jobs in Colorado Springs. Another grant assisted with the creation of a new museum that won’t open for several years. In both instances, despite the differences on the surface, the grants were made for the same reason: economic development.
"Over the last year, a theme emerged. It fits with the Penroses' emphasis on the current and future well-being of our state.
Here today. Here tomorrow."