Brett Family Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Brett Family Foundation
The Brett Family Foundation concentrates its giving on local Colorado civic infrastructure and public policy, preferring to strengthen intermediaries and networks that serve Boulder County and the state. Major gifts support the local community foundation (including designated funds and emergency wildfire relief), state-level policy and taxpayer education, and capacity-building for nonprofit trustees and leaders. The foundation favors institutional operating and program support rather than many small project grants.
Focus Areas
Boulder County community foundation endowments and disaster relief fundsColorado public policy and taxpayer education (state-level civic advocacy)Nonprofit leadership and trustee network development in Colorado
Who They Fund
university departments, centers, and student support funds (CU Boulder)local communities affected by wildfire (Lyons, Boulder County)Black/African American students and communitiesnonprofit organizations and governance networks (Colorado Trustee Network, NAACP Boulder County)
About Brett Family Foundation
A defining feature of the Brett Family Foundation’s recent giving is its repeated support for community foundation vehicles in Boulder County, especially the Brett-Shoemaker Fund for the Lyons Community Foundation and wildfire relief through The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. Those grants sit alongside steady backing for Colorado policy and civic organizations, showing a funder that works through intermediaries as much as direct awards. Across the recent grants list, the foundation also supports Colorado Trustee Network capacity, university-based civic and equity programs, and public-interest media. The pattern points to local Colorado philanthropy with an emphasis on civic infrastructure: community foundations, policy institutions, and nonprofit leadership networks. Several of the largest grants go to The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County, including designated support for Lyons and the wildfire relief fund, while The Bell Policy Center appears as another recurring recipient through operating and program support. University of Colorado Foundation grants connect to the Colorado Trustee Network, the Center for African and African American Studies, and related student and academic support funds. The foundation’s giving reads as institution-building rather than one-off project funding, with a clear preference for organizations that can distribute resources, shape policy conversations, or support community recovery.
What Brett Family Foundation Funds
In community foundation support, the foundation gave $106,500 in 2024 and $90,000 in 2025 to The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County for the Brett-Shoemaker Fund: Lyons Community Foundation. It also made a $100,000 grant in 2023 to the same organization for program support tied to the Brett-Shoemaker Fund and wildfire relief. On civic policy, it supported The Bell Policy Center with $60,000 in 2023 for operating support and a taxpayer education project, followed by $58,000 in 2025 and $50,000 in 2024 for general support. Its higher-education giving includes the University of Colorado Foundation, which received $36,000 in 2023 for the CU Boulder Conference on World Affairs, the Center for African and African American Studies Fund, and Marshall Fire support, plus later grants for the Colorado Trustee Network and the Bueno Center for Multicultural Education Fund. The foundation also funds public-interest media and civic information, including grants to The Colorado Independent dba Colorado News Collaborative and Colorado Times Recorder.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$481K
Total Assets
$6.5M
Total Revenue
$371K
Total Expenses
$652K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $4K and $10K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$4K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$10K
Geographic Reach
Local7 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Unlock Deep Analysis
Sign up for a free Kindora account to access AI-generated insights into this funder's giving patterns, decision-makers, and fit signals.
Get Started FreeSee Similar Funders
Free Kindora accounts unlock side-by-side comparisons with foundations that share this funder's focus areas and giving profile.
Get Started FreeExplore related grant guides
Want a Personalized Pitch for Brett Family Foundation?
Sign up free to see how well your nonprofit fits this funder, get an AI-generated pitch, and unlock similar foundations.
Free plan available
No contracts
Cancel anytime