Daniels Fund Giving Passes $1.5 Billion Mark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Sean Duffy, 303.718.9049, [email protected] 
Bruce Wilmsen, 720.941.4429, [email protected]

Daniels Fund Giving Passes $1.5 Billion Mark
America 250 & Colorado 150 Celebrations a Major Focus for 2026

Feb. 19, 2026 — The Daniels Fund, a Colorado-based private charitable foundation, today announced that it has given more than $1.5 billion throughout its history. Since its founding in 2000, the Fund has provided grants to nearly 6,000 nonprofit partners and higher education scholarships to nearly 5,500 students.

“For more than a quarter century, the Daniels Fund has been positively impacting American life and improving millions of lives, one life at a time,” said Hanna Skandera, President and CEO of the Daniels Fund. “Whether it is helping a child with developmental challenges, supporting people struggling with homelessness and addiction as they seek independent, healthy lives, or making the dream of higher education come true for young people, it is an honor to steward the mission Bill Daniels established.”

In 2025 alone, the Daniels Fund awarded a total of $78 million in grants and scholarships, including $51 million in Colorado.

The Fund focuses most of its giving in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, four states that were pivotal in Bill Daniels’ life. The Fund also invests in select national projects that align with Bill Daniels’ values.

This year, in recognition of America’s 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary, the Fund is supporting several signature initiatives, including national partnerships to strengthen and expand civics knowledge in schools and in family homes. Most notably, the National Civics Bee, for which the Daniels Fund is the Founding Partner, has expanded to all 50 states. Students across Colorado and the nation have recently completed writing essays to enter the competition. Each state winner earns the opportunity to compete in the national finals for the Bill Daniels National Civics Award and a $100,000 prize.

In addition, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood, the Daniels Fund, along with four other major Colorado philanthropies, has launched a film project titled Colorado at 150: A Legacy of Caring. A Future of Purpose. The project celebrates the state’s history of generosity by telling fives stories of lives changed through nonprofit organizations and other giving in communities across the state. The films are available for viewing, downloading, and sharing at www.CO150Film.com.

For more than 15 years the Fund has been a leader in promoting ethics education, including founding the annual National Ethics Case Competition.

The Daniels Fund grants program focuses on eight funding areas originally designated by Bill Daniels at the Fund’s founding:

  • Aging
  • Amateur Sports
  • Disabilities
  • Drug and Alcohol Addiction
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Homeless and Disadvantaged
  • K-12 Education Reform
  • Youth Development

High school graduates from the Daniels Fund’s four-state region may apply for the highly selective Daniels Scholarship Program, which makes college possible for motivated, ambitious students. In addition, the Boundless Opportunity Scholarship program provides funding for non-traditional students to obtain credentials that lead to upward mobility and meaningful employment.

ABOUT THE DANIELS FUND

The Daniels Fund was established in 2000 with a $1 billion bequest from cable television pioneer Bill Daniels. A private charitable foundation dedicated to positively impacting American life, the Fund has given $1.5 billion over its history to improve the lives of men, women and children in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.

Excellent Schools New Mexico Honored by Daniels Fund With Medal of Excellence, $250,000 Award

Excellent Schools New Mexico was honored Thursday evening by the Daniels Fund with its prestigious Medal of Excellence. The organization, which serves 14,000 children across New Mexico with high quality educational options, received the award during the third annual Daniels Fund Salute to Excellence event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

“This is an incredible honor and reflects the tireless dedication of our entire team and the innovative educators at schools we support throughout New Mexico,” said Scott Hindman, Executive Director and Co-Founder. “Opening the doors for thousands of families to choose a great school for their children has profound generational impact. The Daniels Fund was one of our early catalysts for success, and to receive this recognition now is truly special.”

Excellent Schools received a $250,000 award in recognition of its impact on children and families through a network of schools that serve at-risk populations whose outcomes are outpacing state averages. New Mexico is perennially near the bottom of national measures of student performance and child poverty.

“Excellent Schools New Mexico is a sterling example of how vision, hard work and a refusal to settle for the status quo can transform kids’ lives,” said Daniels Fund President and CEO Hanna Skandera. “Scott Hindman and his amazing team have shown America that successful, rigorous options can be created in high-poverty areas of our country, and when families can choose great schools, these children can thrive.  Their standard of game-changing excellence truly inspires us all.”

Excellent Schools New Mexico provides grants to talented New Mexico educators who launch, grow and reimagine transformational schools that put the needs of families and children first. The schools, which serve areas with predominantly Hispanic and Native American populations, have a history of raising student achievement among the state’s most at-risk students.

Recognized alongside Excellent Schools New Mexico as Salute to Excellence finalists were The Other Side Academy, with locations in Denver and Salt Lake City and Warren Village, based in Denver. They each received a $100,000 prize to advance their work.

  • The Other Side Academy transforms lives through a free, rigorous, peer-led long-term residential program that helps individuals overcome addiction, criminal behavior and chronic homelessness.
  • Warren Village empowers single parent families to build a stable, independent future through transitional housing, supportive services, on-site early childhood education and workforce development.

The awards, totaling $450,000, are in addition to funding support the Daniels Fund has given to each organization over the past several years as longstanding grantees. Over its 26-year history, the Fund has given more than $1.5 billion. 

If you are interested in donating to these organizations, please visit their websites:

Photography and Interview Opportunities: Professional photographs, video, and other information from the event are available here: danielsfund.org/salutetoexcellence.

About the Daniels Fund
The Daniels Fund, established in 2000 by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah through its grants and scholarship programs.

Bill Daniels established the Daniels Fund Grants Program to give back to people in the states he loved with specific funding priorities that held a deep personal significance for him. In 2025, the Daniels Fund awarded more than $52 million in grants to highly effective nonprofit partners that are transforming their communities.

Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.

Daniels Fund to Award $450k to Three Organizations at Third Annual Salute to Excellence Event

Medal of Excellence Finalists:

The Other Side Academy, Excellent Schools New Mexico, Warren Village

Honoring three of the most innovative and effective nonprofits in the Mountain West, the Daniels Fund will host its third annualSalute to Excellence event on Thursday, January 29 in Denver.

The award reception recognizes three notable nonprofit organizations that demonstrate and advance pioneering solutions and deep lasting community impact.  The event will showcase the leadership, influence and dedication of the three organizations and then reveal the winner of the Daniels Fund Medal of Excellence.

The finalists are:

  • The Other Side Academy, with locations in Denver and Salt Lake City, transforms lives through a free, rigorous, peer-led long-term residential program that helps individuals overcome addiction, criminal behavior and chronic homelessness.
  • Excellent Schools New Mexico, based in Albuquerque,is transforming educational opportunity across New Mexico by expanding access to high-quality public charter schools for more than 14,000 students.
  • Warren Village, based in Denver, empowers single parent families to build a stable, independent future through transitional housing, supportive services, on-site early childhood education and workforce development.

One organization will be awarded the prestigious Daniels Fund Medal of Excellence and will receive $250,000 to further support its mission. The two runners-up will each receive $100,000.

Where:Denver Museum of Nature and Science 2001 Colorado Blvd. Denver, CO 80205 View on Google Maps
When:Thursday, January 29, 2026 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  (Program begins at 7:15 p.m.)  


Photography and Interview Opportunities:Photo and video opportunities will be available at the event and professional photographs and video footage will be available post-event. Interviews with Daniels Fund leadership and grantees may be scheduled before, during, or after the event for expanded stories. In addition, we can provide interviews with people who have experienced each organization to add color and substance.

About the Daniels Fund
Established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, the Daniels Fund is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for people in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants and scholarship programs.

Bill Daniels established the Daniels Fund Grants Program to give back to people in the four states he loved with specific funding priorities that held a deep personal significance for him. In 2025, the Daniels Fund awarded 600 grants totaling $52 million. The Fund also awards full-ride college scholarships to the next generation of America’s leaders through the Daniels Scholarship program. 

Since its founding in 2000, the Daniels Fund has awarded more than $1.5 billion in grants and scholarships. Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.

To attend or for media assistance, please contact:

Sean Duffy, 303.718.9049, [email protected]
Bruce Wilmsen, 720.941.4429, [email protected]

# # #