Investment Performance

The Denver Foundation's investment performance has been consistently strong, in bad times as well as good.

All gifts to The Denver Foundation are invested together in a unitized investment pool. An all-volunteer investment committee hires and reviews recommendations from an outstanding investment advisory firm. Our approach is moderately conservative, designed to grow charitable assets over the long-term and avoid the extremes of the market.

Over the past ten years, through December 31, 2011, The Denver Foundation's investments have grown an average of 4.8% per year.  This is approximately 6.3% better on average each year than the S&P 500 for the same time period.  The Denver Foundation ranks in the top 14% of more than 2,000 institutional investors nationwide.

If a person invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 on January 1, 2002, it would have been worth $13,332 on December 31, 2011.  If that same amount were invested in The Denver Foundation's portfolio ten years ago, it would now be worth $18,027, almost doubled from the original investment.

Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Pool

The Foundation now offers a Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Pool to donors. The SRI Pool extends The Denver Foundation’s mission by giving fundholders the option to invest a portion of their funds in a manner consistent with their values. This pool is separate from the Foundation’s unitized portfolio and invests in a mix of socially-responsible funds.  Click here for more information.

Administrative Fees

Moderate administration fees are charged annually for all funds. Fees currently range from 0.2 to 2 percent. The fee covers services to include legal, accounting, investing and other business requirements, as well as grant administration.

Questions? Call the Philanthropic Services Group at 303.300.1790.