Spend five minutes with Katie MacWilliams, and you’ll understand why she’s one of Denver’s highly regarded leaders. With a great mind for business and a big heart for community, Katie has built a career defined by both professional excellence and civic commitment.
“I’ve had a wonderful career, but the most rewarding part of my life has been the opportunity to give back.” Katie MacWilliams
After growing up in the Midwest and spending years in New York City, Katie moved to Colorado in 1996 to become Treasurer of Coors Brewing Company, a professional milestone that would also set the stage for her giving. Over the next three decades, she built an impressive career in corporate finance, eventually taking leadership roles in both the brewing and medical device industries. Beyond her boardroom accomplishments, Katie is best known for her work in the community.
“I’ve had a wonderful career,” Katie says, “but the most rewarding part of my life has been the opportunity to give back.”
That belief in service has guided her relationship with The Denver Foundation, where she has served as a committee member, trustee, and generous fundholder. Her connection to the foundation runs deep, and at the heart of that is her support for The Fund for Denver, our permanent endowment.
Decades in the making
Katie’s relationship with The Denver Foundation began in 2011, when a close friend and longtime Denver philanthropist, Barb Grogan, encouraged her to establish a donor-advised fund (DAF).
“I’d just received a financial windfall after the company I worked for was sold,” Katie recalls. “Barb was such a strong supporter of The Denver Foundation, and I trusted her judgment. Setting up a DAF felt like a meaningful way to give back to the community that had given me so much.”
As happens with so many of our fundholders, the relationship grew in ways Katie didn’t expect. A few years later, Katie joined our Philanthropic Services Committee, where she began to learn more about how we fund our work and how much more could be done with a stronger endowment.
“I started to look more closely at the foundation’s balance sheet,” she says. “At the time, we were proud to talk about our total assets, three-quarters of a billion dollars, nearly $800 million. But I was struck by the fact that only a relatively small portion of that was actually under The Denver Foundation’s own control.” Of all the grants The Denver Foundation makes each year, 80% is directed by its generous fundholders, and 20% is directed by The Denver Foundation’s own grantmaking programs. The foundation listens to the community to understand the needs and uses those insights to guide where to grant its dollars.
Katie’s belief in supporting the foundation’s permanent endowment, The Fund for Denver, was both practical and passionate. She quickly understood that while donor-advised funds, scholarship funds, and special projects are vital, the endowment is what sustains our ability to act quickly, creatively, and equitably when Denver needs it most, both now and into the future. The endowment is what has enabled the foundation to continue this work for 100 years.
“It really opened my eyes,” she says. “We were doing incredible work in the community, but if we wanted to make a bigger and more consistent impact, we needed to grow The Fund for Denver.”
Katie didn’t just voice that belief; she acted on it.
Putting words into action
“‘Why don’t we do more fundraising for The Fund for Denver?’ I remember saying. And I was surprised by some of the reactions,” she recalls.
“Some people said, ‘Well, I already have my DAF; that’s how I want to give.’ But I kept thinking, this is our foundation. We need to make sure it’s strong enough to do more good.”
That realization led Katie to make her first personal gift to The Fund for Denver in 2015. “I wanted to raise the profile of the fund,” she says. “I wanted people to understand that it’s not just about giving today, it’s about ensuring The Denver Foundation can continue to meet the needs of this community for decades to come.”
In true Katie fashion, her initial gift was significant and made with purpose and intent. “When I decided to give, the foundation asked if they could use my donation as a matching gift to encourage others,” she says. “And of course I said yes. I hoped it would inspire more people to do the same.” And it did. MacWilliams’ gift sparked an increase in support for the fund. Over the course of the next year, donors gave more than $800,000 to our permanent endowment.
A new call to action
Now, almost a decade later, Katie has made another significant contribution, this time transferring a portion of her own donor-advised fund directly into The Fund for Denver in support of our Centennial Campaign. With a focus on the future, she has a simple message for others who care about the community: Join her.
“It was a great time to do this again,” she says. “My fund had grown over time, and this is the moment to put my money where my mouth is.”
“It’s our community’s endowment. It’s a gift that gives in perpetuity. It’s about creating ongoing support for the people and places we care about most.” Katie MacWilliams
“You don’t have to give up your donor-advised fund – I didn’t. But consider making a gift from it, of any size, to The Fund for Denver. It’s a way to support the foundation, to ensure it has the strength to keep doing this important work forever.”
For Katie, the appeal of The Fund for Denver lies in its permanence and its promise.
“It’s our community’s endowment,” she says. “It’s a gift that gives in perpetuity. It’s about creating ongoing support for the people and places we care about most.”
Katie sums it up best in her own words, spoken a decade ago when she shared information about her initial gift to the Fund for Denver – words that are still true today:
“Simply put, I love what The Denver Foundation represents and does in our community, and I want there to be more of it, both now and for many years to come.”
The feeling is certainly mutual.
Become a part of our shared history and join Katie and other changemakers in shaping Denver’s future. Give to our Centennial Campaign today.
