COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The El Pomar Foundation has been around since 1937 when entrepreneur Spencer Penrose and his wife Julie created a living legacy supporting nonprofit organizations in Colorado.
Year after year the El Pomar Foundation has come forward granting organizations money when they need it most.
"We place special emphasis on community service, human services and social services because of the specific needs which exist," William J. Hybl, El Pomar Foundation Chairman and CEO, said.
The foundation's financial contributions aren't small either, totaling around $20 million annually.
"We currently have a corpus in the foundation of a little over a half a billion dollars and each year we distribute five percent of that," Hybl said.
So where does all the cash come from?
"The money basically comes from Julie and Spencer Penrose," Hybl said. "He built this hotel where we are right now (Broadmoor) and really made a fortune in copper mining, made a little money in gold mining, but he made a fortune in copper mining, and he dedicated his vast wealth to the betterment of the people in the state of Colorado."
The 10-member Board of Trustees makes decisions on who to grant money to and also makes sure the money doesn't run out.
"Now the important thing is we don't solicit funds," Hybl said. "Our funds come from the endowment, so we don't go out and say 'hey will you give to El Pomar Foundation?' It's the other way around. We give the grants."
And with each grant given the foundation continues the Penrose legacy.
"Hopefully he would be proud of that. Now he is buried at the Shrine of the Sun, at the Will Rogers Shrine so he looks down on us daily, and we hope he approves," Hybl said.
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