Donor Intent

DANIELS FUND

Honoring Bill Daniels' direction to make life better for the people
and communities of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming

Honoring Bill Daniels' directions

The Daniels Fund Board of Directors and staff consider it their privilege and responsibility to serve as caretakers of Bill Daniels' legacy. We are 100% committed to honoring the direction Bill left to us. After all, any individual generous enough to leave the rewards of their life's work as a gift to the community deserves nothing less.

Whether it's a $100 donation to a charity they are passionate about or a sizeable bequest to establish a foundation, every person motivated to give deserves to have their wishes followed.

Our capacity to give comes from one source: Bill Daniels

Bill Daniels was well known for his generosity to people from all walks of life. Guided by his compassion, Bill transferred his $1 billion estate to form the assets of the Daniels Fund to carry forward his legacy of giving.

Our founder's directions

Before his death, Bill Daniels carefully crafted the Daniels Fund's bylaws to define our charitable giving — grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships for deserving individuals — as well as our funding areas and geographic scope. Bill’s choices were personal, motivated by his life experiences. He specified that his choices were not to be changed in the future.

A private foundation defined

Bill structured the Daniels Fund as a private foundation — a type of organization with a charitable purpose approved by the IRS. We are governed by a board of directors, and we adhere to IRS regulations and restrictions. We do not accept any public or private funding, or donations from any source.

A permanent part of the community

Bill Daniels intended the Daniels Fund to be a permanent part of our community, operating in perpetuity. We generate returns by carefully investing our assets, creating our capacity for charitable giving while maintaining — or even growing — the base of assets to carry us into the future.

Preserving donor intent

The Daniels Fund strives to ensure its work reflects both Bill Daniels' written directives, and his unmistakable style. That style is built upon ethics, integrity, honesty, respect for all people, belief in the value of a hand-up, dedication to the community, loyalty, reliability, professionalism, entrepreneurial spirit, belief in the free enterprise system, patriotism, and a commitment to excellence.

Handing it down…forever

Preserving donor intent requires focus and hard work. Without that, it's easy to drift, and there are foundations that have.

The Daniels Fund shares Bill’s life and legacy broadly and publicly to our constituents and the community. We do this through our website, printed materials, and an extensively researched book documenting Bill’s life and his direction to us. Videos and other biographical information about Bill's life and values are available on our website and on interactive kiosks.