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Message Utah's Partner in Philanthropy COMMUNITYFOUNDATION OF UTAH2024 Annual Report
2024 was a remarkable year for the Community Foundation of Utah (CFU).As we grow in our mission to serve our state, CFU facilitated over $66million in grants to serve our community. Through the strength of the CFU team and the support of our communitypartners, one accomplishment stands out: 2024 was the inaugural year forCFU’s investment in Utah through the Utah Legacy Fund. The Utah LegacyFund serves to broaden CFU’s reach across Utah, bringing our decadeslong leadership program, Invest in Success, to Southern Utah. Learn moreabout the meaningful impact of Invest In Success on Utah’s nonprofitleaders on page 8 and at utahcf.org.As CFU heads into 2025, we are energized to build even greatermomentum, depth, and impact within our nonprofit leadership programsin the year ahead. Additionally, the Community Impact Funds entrustedwith CFU continue to grow and catalyze resources for homelessness andhousing, support strategic efforts to sustain the Great Salt Lake, and drivecomputer science outcomes for K-12 educators in Utah. Learn more aboutCFU’s Community Impact Funds on pages 3-4.As CFU looks to the opportunities and challenges that Utah will face in thecoming years, we are deeply aware that this work is only achievable withthe trust and engagement we have found with our fund holders andcommunity partners. Thank You!Alex Eaton,CEOTrish Coughlin,Board ChairLetter from the CEO and Board Chair
Year in Review$66.2 Milliongiven to charitable organizationsthrough 1,352 grants$213 Millionassets under stewardship312 Fundsmaking a brighterfuture for UtahYou can now view our impactat the county level.22024 Impact Map
The Silicon Slopes Computer Science Fund (SSCSF) was created as a responseto both the rising necessity for computer science competency and the lack ofaccess many K-12 students have to a basic computer science education. Sinceits inception, SSCSF has committed over $1.6 million to support K-12 educatorsand empower students to meet the growing demand across industries forcomputer science skills. In 2024, SSCSF awarded funding to several projects, including $100,000 toUtah State University to support the Developing Computing Identity (DCI)program with 4-H clubs and afterschool programs for rural and urban youth.DCI selected 6 high-school age STEM ambassadors to design and teach a Silicon Slopes Computer Science FundCommunity Impact Funds3The Utah Impact Partnership Fund (UIPF) is a collaborative effort between CFUand the Utah Impact Partnership to establish long-term solutions tohomelessness. To date, UIPF has distributed over $10 million to support effortsto provide safe, stable housing and social services for the state’s unhousedpopulation. In 2024, UIPF granted approximately $1 million to support an emergencyshelter in Sandy City and a family non-congregate shelter in South Salt Lake.Both facilities, operated by Shelter The Homeless, offer interim shelter, medical,and mental health services, with the family non-congregate shelter specificallyoffering aid to families seeking emergency shelter. Additionally, UIPF grantedover $3 million in funding to Friends of Switchpoint, Inc. to launch The Point inMillcreek to support the state's objectives of reducing homelessness andimproving mental health outcomes for women experiencing severe mentalillness or disabling conditions.Utah Impact Partnership Fund
4The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust (GSLWET) wasestablished as a conservation effort to protect and restore the wetlands,wildlife, and water levels of the Great Salt Lake. The National AudubonSociety’s Saline Lakes Program and the Nature Conservancy in Utah leadGSLWET and are at the forefront of endeavors to raise more awareness aboutthe Great Salt Lake. In 2024, GSLWET in partnership with Utah’s Division of Forestry, Fire, andState Lands awarded over $5.4 million to four state and NGO projectscommitted to preserving the Great Salt Lake’s wetlands, improving hydrology,and supporting the efforts of its conservation staff. GSLWET’s 2024 AnnualReport details how these projects will support nearly 6,000 acres of the GreatSalt Lake’s wetland habitats.Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement TrustPhoto Credit: Mary Anne Karren/National Audubon SocietySTEM curriculum to youth from 14 different counties statewide. As a result ofthis program, students were taught computing skills through innovativeproblem solving and peer mentoring across diverse audiences.View the GSLWET 2024 Annual Report
Donor Highlight - Jim and Alda MuyskensIn 2024, CFU was excited to partner with the Muyskens family on establishing adonor advised fund. Jim and Alda Muyskens moved to Utah to be closer to familyand were eager to involve their children and grandchildren to create a legacy ofgiving. Their journey with CFU led to focusing their philanthropy on giving toeducational and environmental causes.Donor Engagement5“Moving near our children and grandchildren inspired us to includethem in our philanthropy. Our children could serve as advisorskeeping us up to date on emerging causes worthy of support and ourgrandchildren could already at a young age become activeparticipants in the art of giving.” - Jim MuyskensLearn about the benefits of a Donor Advised Fund at CFU
The Utah Legacy Fund invests in grantmakingprograms and local nonprofit organizations to ensurelong-term vitality and impact across our state, now andfor future generations. In 2024, the Utah Legacy Fundlaunched CFU’s inaugural Invest in Success statewideinitiative in Southern Utah, extending CFU’s reach,strengthening nonprofit partner relationships, anddeepening our impact in communities across Utah.Exceptional leaders from 10 different nonprofit andtribal organizations, each dedicated to addressing keychallenges across the southern half of the state,gathered in St. George to enhance their expertise inboard governance, organizational finance, and strategicmanagement. Throughout the four-day program, thecohort expanded their network of peers, engaged inmeaningful discussions on leadership and capacitybuilding, and gained deeper insight into one another’smissions and impact in Utah.Utah Legacy FundCommunity Investment6“Most valuable part of [IIS]? One was being able to be in a space of belongingwhere I could actually feel safe to share what I'm going through… And thensecondly are the tools to be able to effectively manage the Board and createrelationships between Board and staff. There's so much from [IIS] that I'm going todo differently or new, as a result of what I've learned here.” - Michele Jordan Johnson Executive Director Canyonlands Field InstituteSupport the Utah Legacy Fund
Community InitiativesCFU is committed to pioneering innovation andcollaboration to invest in our community today for abrighter tomorrow. To achieve this goal, CFU invests inthe long-term strength of Utah’s social sector bydeveloping and leading a series of coordinatedinitiatives designed to attract, empower, retain, andconnect nonprofit leaders across the state. In 2024, engagement in our leadership developmentprograms grew 33%, reaching 24 professionals across 16organizations statewide and expanding our impactthroughout Utah. This growth empowers nonprofitprofessionals across all career stages of our social sector,enhancing their leadership skills and driving greaterimpact within their organizations.Morgan Stanley FellowshipIn partnership with Morgan Stanley, the 2024-25Community Development Graduate Fellowship paired 5emerging leaders with high-impact nonprofits in SaltLake City. Fellows gained hands-on experience in areassuch as spearheading affordable housing developmentefforts, improving human resource policies for a clinicserving the homeless, expanding volunteer and studentprograms for adult literacy, coordinating communityevents for families facing poverty, and organizing smallbusiness workshops in Salt Lake City’s west side. Through this Fellowship program, CFU works to fosterfuture social impact leaders through hands-oncommunity development experience. Since 2022, CFUhas partnered with 9 exceptional nonprofits, providing25 graduate students with invaluable, real-worldexperience.7
Invest in Success (IIS) has been one of CFU’s core socialsector initiatives since 2014. Since inception, IIS hasinvested in 75 nonprofit leaders across Utah to build anddevelop skills in board governance, organizationalsustainability, and capacity building to drive positivechange and leverage talent critical to serve our socialsector.In 2024, in partnership with American Express, CFUhosted IIS in Salt Lake City and, with support from theUtah Legacy Fund, expanded the program to SouthernUtah. Through these two leadership initiatives, CFUprovided professional development and cohort learningto 18 nonprofit leaders statewide, representing diverseareas of impact. After engaging in IIS, 100% ofparticipants had increased confidence for Boardengagement, and 83% of participants had increasedconfidence for capacity building.Invest in Success8“I feel empowered to be able to implement these very practical tools andresources in my organization. And being able to come together in this sharedspace and find points of connection and reflection, and problem-solving togetherhas been a highlight. It’s going to make me better for my team and really upliftour organization.” - Carrie Schwartz, Science Moab Invest in Success 2024 Southern Utah Participant
Utah Grantmakers AllianceThe Utah Grantmakers Alliance (UGA) brings togethergrantmakers and foundations to share philanthropicgoals and initiatives, and explore best practices. In 2024, UGA hosted The Giving State Report, led byJacob Allen, Senior Partner and Managing Director ofSocial Impact at Cicero Group. UGA members engagedin roundtable discussions around The Giving StateReport’s findings on philanthropic giving in Utah andidentifying areas of need, as well as opportunities forgiving more impactfully and collaboratively.To celebrate 10 years of UGA, this year CFU launched alibrary of past events. To see the broad range of topicscovered, visit our website.Ogden Circle of GivingThe Ogden Circle of Giving (OCOG) was established in2019 to support nonprofit organizations in northern Utahthrough collective community funding andgrantmaking. Additionally, OCOG developed the OgdenYouth Circle of Giving to engage younger generations ina legacy of philanthropic giving.In 2024, OCOG awarded $10,000 to YCC’s New BankFund Program, $5,000 to Safe Harbor Crisis Center, and$5,000 to Weber State Women's Center, to aid womenand families impacted by domestic abuse or sexualassault. Additionally, OCOG awarded $30,000 to OgdenCity Arts, Culture, and Events Division and theDowntown Ogden Alliance to support Ogden’s culturaland artistic communities.9View the 2024 OCOG Annual Giving Report
Board of DirectorsTrish Coughlin, ChairBrad Dickson, Vice ChairDoug Hansen, TreasurerChris ConardJosh KanterJeramy LundJennifer RobinsonMarty TateJensen WarnockAmazonB-Rad IndustriesTanner LLCDavid Eccles School of BusinessJosh Kanter Wealth Advisory ServicesAlly BankKem C. Gardner Policy InstituteKunzler Bean & Adamson, PCMercato Partners10If you want to make the world a betterplace where do you start?