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Avenir Foundation Inc

Annual Giving
$1.0M
Grant Range
$200K - $10.5M

Avenir Foundation Inc

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: Approximately $1,000,000 (2023); expected to exceed $50,000,000 by 2026
  • Total Assets: $1.2 billion (2024)
  • Grant Range: $200,000 - $10,500,000
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily Colorado, with select national grants
  • Application Process: No public application process - preselected organizations only

Contact Details

Address: Lakewood, CO
EIN: 84-1245939

Note: The foundation does not have a publicly available website, phone number, or email address for grant inquiries. They do not accept unsolicited applications.

Overview

The Avenir Foundation Inc, established by the family of Homer L. Dodge, experienced extraordinary growth in 2024 when its assets increased 1,000-fold—from $1 million to $1.2 billion—following the transfer of 2,000 Berkshire Hathaway shares from the Alice Dodge Wallace Trust. Homer Dodge, a physicist and university president, invested $120,000 with Warren Buffett in 1956, and the foundation represents his family's philanthropic legacy. Led by President Alice Dodge Wallace (Homer's daughter), the foundation has historically devoted most of its giving to Colorado's fine arts scene, with major support for cultural institutions including Central City Opera, Denver Art Museum, and Colorado Symphony. The foundation is now positioned to become one of Colorado's most significant philanthropic entities, with analysts projecting mandatory annual distributions exceeding $50 million by 2026 due to IRS requirements for foundations to distribute a percentage of their assets.

Funding Priorities

Historical Grant Programs

The foundation has provided significant multi-year support to Colorado cultural institutions:

  • Central City Opera: $4.3 million total in recent years, including $1.2 million (2024), $500,000 for general operating and matching endowment (2023)
  • National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum: $1.5 million (2024)
  • Denver Art Museum: $1 million (recent), $4.6 million total over the years
  • Colorado Symphony Fund: $542,719 (recent), $3.2 million total historically
  • Emma Willard School (Troy, NY): $10.5 million to improve teacher salaries and create endowed chairs
  • Colorado State University: Naming gift for Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising (2008)
  • University of Oklahoma: $6 million to Department of Physics and Astronomy (2005)

Priority Areas

  • Arts and Culture: Primary focus, particularly opera, orchestral music, visual arts, and museums
  • Education: Support for universities and educational institutions, particularly in fine arts and sciences
  • Historic Preservation: Museums and cultural heritage organizations
  • Women's Education: Support for girls' boarding schools
  • Reproductive Rights: Notable $200,000 grant to Planned Parenthood Federation of America (2021)

What They Don't Fund

As a private foundation that only funds preselected organizations, the foundation does not consider applications from organizations outside their established relationships.

Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees:

  • Margaret Boynton Wallace
  • Norman L. Wilson
  • William Dodge Wallace

President: Alice Dodge Wallace

Alice Dodge Wallace earned her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Oklahoma and Master of Arts in Education from Stanford University. She received an honorary degree from Colorado State University in 2011 for her humanitarian work advancing education, fairness, and equality. According to Colorado State University, "Throughout her lifetime as a humanitarian, Wallace has worked to advance education, fairness and equality for all."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Avenir Foundation does not have a public application process. The foundation has indicated on IRS filings that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."

This is a common practice among private foundations—approximately 71% of the 112,733 private foundations filing Forms 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 reported similar policies.

Grants are awarded through trustee discretion to organizations with which the foundation has pre-existing relationships, often reflecting the personal connections and interests of the Wallace family and board members.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable due to invitation-only grantmaking structure.

Success Rates

Not publicly available, as the foundation does not accept applications.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable—the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications or reapplications.

Application Success Factors

Since the foundation operates on an invitation-only basis, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, analysis of their grantmaking patterns reveals the following characteristics of funded organizations:

Organizational Profile of Recipients:

  • Established cultural institutions with strong reputations in their fields
  • Organizations located primarily in Colorado, particularly the Denver/Front Range area
  • Educational institutions with connections to the Dodge/Wallace family
  • Organizations in fine arts, particularly performing arts and museums
  • Institutions advancing women's education and empowerment

Grant Characteristics:

  • Multi-year support to core organizations (e.g., Central City Opera received multiple grants totaling $4.3 million)
  • Large transformational gifts to educational institutions ($10.5 million to Emma Willard School, $6 million to University of Oklahoma)
  • Support for both operating expenses and endowment building
  • Focus on sustainability and institutional capacity

Relationship Factors: According to Inside Philanthropy's reporting on the foundation, the Wallace family maintains close ties to the organizations they support. Alice Dodge Wallace is an alumna of Emma Willard School, which received a $10.5 million gift. Her father Homer Dodge chaired the physics department at the University of Oklahoma, which received $6 million for its Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process: This foundation cannot be approached through traditional grant application methods. They fund only preselected organizations.
  • Relationship-driven grantmaking: All funded organizations appear to have pre-existing connections to the Wallace family or board members. Personal and institutional relationships are central to funding decisions.
  • Colorado arts focus with exceptions: While Colorado fine arts institutions receive the majority of funding, the foundation does make select grants nationally to institutions connected to the family's history.
  • Dramatic growth ahead: The foundation's 1,000-fold asset increase means grantmaking will expand significantly by 2026, potentially opening opportunities for organizations already in their network.
  • Multi-year partnerships: The foundation demonstrates commitment through sustained support over many years rather than one-time grants.
  • Large-scale gifts: Recent grants range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, suggesting the foundation focuses on significant institutional impact.
  • Family legacy focus: The foundation's grantmaking reflects Homer Dodge's legacy in physics, Alice Wallace's interests in arts and women's education, and the family's Colorado roots.

References

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