Click on the links below to learn more about why Northern Colorado individuals, families, and organizations choose to partner with the Community Foundation.
Dave and Carol AndersonThe Enander Family Foundation Fund
Mueller & Associates, CPA
Tom and Jean Sutherland
Dave and Carol Anderson Family Fund
Dave and Carol Anderson moved to Loveland from Indianapolis in 2004 following Dave’s retirement from Elanco Animal Health R&D and Carol’s retirement from speech therapy. The move allowed them to be closer to Carol’s family in Cheyenne while also being a part of the Loveland sculpture community. They enjoy spending time at their cabin in Estes Park, which doubles as Dave’s sculpture studio. Carol has been an active volunteer with the Northern Colorado Quilter’s Association and Elder Care, and both have volunteered with their HOAs in Loveland and Estes Park.
Why did you establish a Donor Advised fund at the Community Foundation?
We were made aware of the Community Foundation when updating our estate plan with attorney Jan Lord of Berthoud. Giving back has been an important part of our retirement and estate planning, and the Community Foundation helps us organize that giving. The exceptional dedication to the local community by business acquaintances who are connected with the Foundation (Jim Sprout, Jan Lord, Peter Scott, and others) was also important in our decision.
What services does the Community Foundation offer to your family and your fund?
Establishing a Donor Advised fund allowed us to transfer appreciated stock to the Fund, helping our donation dollar go further. The Community Foundation’s online portal makes donation record keeping simple and accurate.
Why would you encourage others to establish a fund or learn more about the Community Foundation’s services?
We all need to support our local community in any way we are able. The Community Foundation has put us in touch with local organizations that are trying to make Northern Colorado a better place to live. Groups like Loveland Generations, House of Neighborly Service, Project Self-Sufficiency, Food Bank of Larimer County, and others have been brought to our attention.
What value does the Community Foundation bring to our region?
The Community Foundation makes us aware of local needs and sponsors programs that help us understand giving and the importance of legacy to the next generations of our family.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with community members and potential donors?
The Foundation staff are an exceptional group of individuals devoted to serving the community and helping all of us who are members of the Community Foundation family meet our goals.
The Enander Family Foundation Fund
Written by Paul Harter, President of Aqua Hot Heating Systems, Inc. and member of the Enander Family Foundation Fund Committee
Harold “Hap” Enander, pictured at left with his wife, Sue, had a very unique reputation. People who knew him agree that he was a jokester who loved to kid around, be ornery, and keep people on their toes. But he was also giving. His friends and acquaintances still tell stories of his generosity and speak of how loving and caring he was toward all those around him.
A self-made man, Hap founded the manufacturing business Aqua Hot Heating Systems, Inc., which grew into a successful corporation. His success did not come overnight, however. Hap came from humble beginnings and a diverse assortment of careers including farming, law enforcement, and truck driving, just to name a few.
Beyond his professional life, Hap had a lifelong commitment to serving those in need both in and out of church. He did this through missions and other volunteer work. His passion for Haiti and its people inspired his frequent travel and missionary work there. He was also very active in his church and was particularly enthusiastic about helping youth. Youth and young adult ministries were very close to his heart, and he provided both the setting and the means for retreats and camps. And when he wasn’t helping youth, he was serving as church treasurer or even jamming on the bass guitar for the church’s praise team.
After 70 years, Hap passed in 2009. His legacy of love for the Lord and ministry has survived and even thrived through the creation of the Enander Family Foundation Fund, to which he willed nearly all of his significant assets.
This is a groundbreaking arrangement, as Aqua Hot is the first corporation ever gifted to the Community Foundation. This was accomplished through the hard work and visionary culture of the Community Foundation team. The Community Foundation’s support helped the Enander Family Foundation Fund Committee quickly get down to the business of focusing on Hap’s passion and the mission of the fund: Improving the lives of children, students, and young adults by encouraging them to develop a strong, solid, and active relationship with Jesus Christ, and encouraging youth to live lives based on fundamental Christian principles and values while demonstrating this faith to others.
Mueller & Associates, CPA
An interview with Paul and Teresa Mueller
What does your organization do?
We are a CPA firm focusing on tax and accounting solutions for business owners, nonprofits, and high-net worth families in Northern Colorado. We work with our clients to achieve financial independence, of which philanthropy is an important component.
One of our core values is community service. Every employee is encouraged and provided the resources to be involved on boards and in community organizations that reflect their personal passions and interests.
What is your philanthropic philosophy? What are your charitable goals as an individual or organization?
Since we derive our revenues from the community at large, we have a responsibility to support and enhance our community. We primarily support nonprofits that demonstrate good stewardship and that work in a collaborative environment to leverage relationships and resources.
How does your organization carry out this philanthropic philosophy?
We live this core value through the trinity of time, talent, and treasure. Firm involvement and support of nonprofits is evaluated based on a 6-step criteria process.
Why would you encourage other families and/or businesses to sponsor the Annual Celebration of Philanthropy?
The Annual Celebration is a reminder about the importance of philanthropy in maintaining a vibrant, “best-in-class” Northern Colorado community. This is done by spotlighting (as opposed to promoting) examples of successful local activities. We hope that our continued involvement encourages other businesses and entrepreneurs to engage in community service.
Sutherland Family Fund
An interview with Jean Sutherland
What did your family learn from the experience of managing your own private foundation?
Having our own private foundation was a very new experience, and it provided an amazing and gratifying learning curve for us. We learned how much need there was for help and how much that help was appreciated. The obligation was always there to do it right, to be fair, and to be humble about it. We owed so much to our community, and to be able to give to it in return was a very wonderful feeling. In bringing our foundation into the Community Foundation to merge with our family donor advised fund, is a right and true feeling as well. It is not a change…it is an enhancement of what we were able to do privately.
Why did your family decide to convert your private foundation to a Donor Advised fund at the Community Foundation?
The fact that we have found a home for our foundation that will continue beyond our own lives is the most gratifying aspect of belonging to the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado family. It is not only that our fund will be a donor advised fund that allows us to continue our very personal involvement with the philanthropy that will come from it in future years, but that we so fully respect and believe in the institution that will be administering our donor advised dollars from here on out.
Jean, can you share your thoughts about your service on the Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees?
I have been most privileged to serve on the Board of Trustees for the last few years. I have been so impressed by the dedication of both the board and the staff as I have gotten to know them and the mission they represent. I appreciated both the meticulousness of the financial operation and the evolution I have seen from that to a new vision of engagement with the community in initiating support for new and stimulating programs that will enhance our Northern Colorado community…..such great programs as UniverCity Connections, Homeward 2020, and the Colorado Conservation Exchange for our region. Colorado Conservation Exchange is an initiative close to my heart – the bringing together of our rural land stewards with our urban consumers to make true conservation work. What a lot our Community Foundation can do with great partners…an institution to be proud of and why we feel privileged to make our foundation part of it.