Pictured above: Emerson School in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in the 1930s. Photo provided by History Colorado.
The following are excerpts from Chapter 2 and 4 of our book, “A Century of Impact: The Denver Foundation’s First 100 Years.” It offers a glimpse into the history of the foundation, highlighting our ongoing journey to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work.
Supporting Education
Since its inception, The Denver Foundation’s endowment has addressed educational causes. Over the years, the foundation has given funds to many organizations that support teachers and students. Beginning in the 1930s, this meant school lunches and uniforms; by the 1990s and 2000s, it meant anti-bullying initiatives and extracurricular activities. Today, it includes K-12 school reform and support for organizations working in those spaces.
Foundation-funded education programs were catching the eye of the local newspapers as early as 1933, with reports of the earliest educational grant going toward Denver-area teachers to feed students who lacked “proper nourishment.” The grant provided lunches at school and additional meals at community centers.
The impact of these decades’ worth of efforts can be seen in the volume of thank-you letters collected within the foundation’s archives, and in its thriving scholarship programs that continue today. Allocating funding from the foundation’s endowment to education is a proven way to provide vital, long-term funding for students, teachers, and administrators.
Scholarships: Every Student, Every Path
Inclusiveness work must take a holistic look at the organization and all that it touches. As early as the 1970s, a philosophy of inclusiveness informed the foundation’s funds that sought to support college students. Over time, the foundation came to manage several of these scholarship funds, but they were each a little different—with varying criteria, timelines, and application processes.
In 2007, the IRS reformed pension plan laws and restricted the way scholarships are administered from donor-advised funds, a type of fund that The Denver Foundation manages. The foundation took this opportunity to restructure and formalize the scholarship programs in a way that honored donors’ wishes while complying with the changes. What resulted was a revamped scholarship portfolio. The foundation also reviewed the application processes for each scholarship and invested in training for scholarship selection committee members to ensure that the scholarships were as equitable as possible.
“We’re trying to make the case that for all nonprofits, when you practice inclusiveness intensively and holistically, not just as an add-on or as diversity training you do once a year, it actually makes you more effective.” — Rebecca Arno, former vice president at The Denver Foundation, in The Denver Business Journal, 2008
The Denver Foundation manages more than 80 scholarships, including the Reisher Scholars Program.
With The Denver Foundation’s centennial, the Reisher Scholars Program is on the track to become the largest private scholarship provider in Colorado. With scholarship funding assets set to increase significantly in the coming years, the foundation is planning a major expansion of that program. Foundation staff have been preparing for this for years, and, as they affirm, “We are ready for the new.”
The Reisher Scholars Program is just one of many efforts charging forward for student aid. Since 2001, the program has awarded nearly $40 million to help students complete their degrees at nine partner schools around Colorado. The scholarships are much more than transactional; they’re transformative.
The Reisher Resilience
Roger Reisher was born in 1928, one of seven siblings. Raised on a modest farm in Nebraska, he was eager to seek an education but didn’t have the means.
After serving in the Army, he relied on the GI Bill for help with his college tuition. The first in his family to go to college, he studied finance at the University of Colorado. He went on to a successful career in banking—a career that would earn him a spot in the Colorado Business Hall of Fame.
Reisher opened First Westland National Bank within the FirstBank Holding Company in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1963. On the 25th anniversary of FirstBank, employees honored Reisher’s commitment to education by creating the FirstBank Scholars Program. The program’s vision was to provide tuition assistance for students while fostering their leadership capabilities and resilience. Reisher’s success and his humble beginnings inspired him to give back—to give students the gift of education. As his family’s philanthropic goals grew, they turned to The Denver Foundation to administer the scholarships. Roger and Margaret Reisher partnered with the foundation for over 20 years, and today, the Reisher Scholars Program supports more than 500 students every year, embodying the fruits of hard labor and incisive philanthropic goals.
Abhi Joseph’s Story
Abhi Joseph is a Reisher Scholar from the 2022 cohort whose journey of overcoming educational barriers is one that many students can relate to. He dropped out of high school in his teens but later completed his high school equivalency exams. At the time, he determined that college wasn’t for him.
Fifteen years later, he realized that he had lost sight of his dreams, and returning to school seemed to be the right path forward. Becoming a single dad to two children spurred Joseph on this journey to be true to himself and set a good example for his kids.
He signed onto an associate’s degree program at a community college and later applied to Colorado State University. The Reisher Scholars Program made Joseph’s transition to Colorado State possible by supporting him financially and on a personal level. The Reisher Scholars community at Colorado State University became his lifeline.
“Today,” Joseph says, “I stand as a testament to resilience and the transformative power of education.”
The foundation has always supported access to education, and many donors have endowed funds for the benefit of those seeking to learn. Financial support for education through scholarships offers students a relationship with an organization that believes in them and wants to keep them on the path toward their goals.
To learn more about opening a scholarship fund, contact our team at information@denverfoundation.org or 303.300.1790.
