In our first Foundation Friday series of the year, we’re excited to share our interview with The Morgridge Family Foundation (MFF), co-founded by John and Carrie Morgridge, which invests in leaders and organizations that are reimagining solutions to some of today’s biggest challenges, including education. Read on to learn more about their inspirational philanthropic journey and their commitment to transforming communities by investing in big ideas.
About Your Philanthropy
What inspired you to start your foundation?
Before MFF became a private family foundation, we had a donor-advised fund (DAF). We worked with our community foundations and made gifts where we lived and where our kids went to school. As we learned on the job, we found that we were most interested in ensuring access to education, especially in rural communities, and training teachers to use the latest tools. As we saw the impact we could have, we were inspired to work in more communities and across more sectors. By 2008, we saw that we needed more control than we could have by giving through a DAF, so we started our private family foundation. To date, we have granted more than $160 million to hundreds of nonprofits. Our philosophy is based on investing to solve the root causes of long-standing societal issues. Our commitment almost always continues long after we write a check. We have helped great leaders get their start and have continued to support them to ensure the ripple effect of their work.
What is one of your private foundation’s achievements that you are proud of and why?
The Rollins College’s philanthropy programming, which was made possible through MFF’s Student Support Foundation, is among many of our proud achievements. We started the program in 2003, which was five years before MFF became a standalone private family foundation in 2008. The aim was to cultivate the next generation of philanthropists, and the longevity of the program proves that high school and college students do want to learn about the needs of their fellow students. Once they know, they have tremendous empathy and drive to make a difference.
Here is what we heard from Meredith Hein, Director of Rollins’s Center for Leadership & Community Engagement:
“I wanted to share something really cool that Rollins is doing that could also benefit other SSF groups! For the first time ever, we worked hand in hand with alumni and advancement to launch the inaugural student philanthropy week. As such, 38 groups completed paperwork, went through training and marketing their groups to fully participate. We worked so hard to make this happen, and while advancement didn’t anticipate this high of a turnout, we told them otherwise! Needless to say, all the groups combined have already raised over $37,000 in four days! It’s been amazing to see our students learn more about advocating for themselves and philanthropy. I think SSF played a role in showing the campus the importance of this work. I just thought you’d want to see how impactful this can be and even share it with other schools as a model! Our advancement team has been great too!”
The total amount raised reached $83,942 from 1717 donors.
Can you tell us about a time when you were able to see the impact of your giving?
Transparency is very important to us, so at the end of every year, we calculate the direct and indirect impact of our work (based on reports from our nonprofit partners). Last year, for example, our grants directly impacted 2,087,261 lives. Our indirect reach was more than four times greater, impacting 8,527,108 lives.
Do you work with other grantors, foundations or nonprofits to drive specific projects forward? If so, how?
Yes, we partner with Stand Together, the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Mile High United Way (Denver), and other groups to help us identify impactful new projects we might not know about. This allows us to pool our funds with other donors and provide even greater support than we could on our own. We also can bring ideas to these partners. Because of their vast experience, they can help us validate our instincts or maybe steer us away from opportunities that are not yet ready for our investment. If they agree we’ve found something with great potential, they might even recommend to other donors that they invest.
About Your Foundation
How do you engage your family in your foundation?
Our children, John C. and Michelle Morgridge, grew up learning about and seeing philanthropy firsthand. Now, as the third Morgridge generation involved in giving, they each control their own budgets. We encourage them to honor their grandparents but also put their unique touch on their own giving.
Do you have any advice for people looking to start or grow their own private foundation?
Yes. The most important thing is to discover their “why.” Once their giving purpose is clear, it will drive every donation decision they make. It also helps to do an inventory of their passions, skills and values. This exercise in self-discovery can reveal what kinds of people and organizations they want to work with, and what role they want to play.
Working with Foundation Source
How does Foundation Source help you achieve your goals?
Of course Foundation Source helps us track our financial transactions, and through the online platform, we can run reports in real time and see where we stand at all times. But even more important is the ability to see our year-end impact. Our nonprofit partners submit impact reports and we are then able to assess our cumulative impact in order to adjust our giving and our thinking as needed. Foundation Source helps us continue to learn as we go, and as we grow.
We are proud to support the work of The Morgridge Family Foundation and thank them for sharing their story with us! To learn more, visit their website.
Have a Foundation Source story you’d like to share?
Write to us at for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue!
Want to learn more about the ways we support private foundations?
Whether you are looking for support for your existing foundation or want to create a private foundation, our philanthropic specialists are here to help. To learn more, schedule a call with us or reach us at 800-839-0054. Together, let’s #begiving.
