Colorado · Nonprofit
The Denver Institute
The Denver Institute (Colorado) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,297,173 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($4,549,555). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 32
- Grants received
- $7.3M
- Net assets
- $372k
What The Denver Institute does
Mission
To prepare people to serve God and others in their daily work so that workplaces and cities are transformed.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Women, Work, and Calling- This program is an ecosystem of individuals and organizations committed to equipping Christian women for godly influence in public life. It consists of a large annual event with a local and international audience, quarterly professional development webinars and networking events, 5-month leadership intensives, and various small group learning opportunities.
$506,928 spent$94,618 earned by the program49% of program spendingPublic events - The Denver Institute hosts public events in partnership with churches, businesses, and nonprofits on topics related to theology, work, calling, culture, and a wide array of professional industries.
$331,055 spent$61,544 earned by the program32% of program spendingEducational resources - This program includes over 27 courses on Denver Institute's Faith and Work Classroom platform, hundreds of blog posts, multiple books, and episodes of two regularly released podcasts. The program also includes training and speaking engagements at churches, businesses, and other organizations. Through these avenues, the Denver Institute equips participants with resources to develop their vocational discipleship, deepen connections with others, and change their workplaces and cities.
$72,418 spent$13,368 earned by the program7% of program spendingCityGate - This initiative connects leaders and organizations similar to The Denver Institute from across the country who are committed to a Christian vision for their cities. CityGate hosts annual gatherings, regular training webinars, and supports the development of vocational discipleship programs like the 5280 Fellowship in other cities. Supported by a significant multi-year grant, CityGate also produces and distributes a nationwide library of stories and resources designed to inspire faithfulness, vocational imagination, and cultural renewal through work.
$72,419 spent$13,790 earned by the program7% of program spending5280 Fellowship - This is a rigorous and selective nine-month leadership program for emerging leaders in Denver, Colorado. The program consists of theological study, spiritual formation, professional development, and learning from senior leaders in the city.
$51,727 spent$10,500 earned by the program5% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,034,547.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $559k to $218k (−61%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 8%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
89% of The Denver Institute’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (90% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 5 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Ross Chapman
CEO
Board chair
Doug Smith
Chairman & Treasurer
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2021 and FY2022 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $48k → $650k.
10 of 32 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 25% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of The Denver Institute’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 32 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
The Denver Institute leans on a few funders — its largest provides 62% of grant income and the top three 81%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 31% · 2018 29% · 2019 45% · 2020 51% · 2021 33% · 2022 62% · 2023 42% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
39% of The Denver Institute's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
The Denver Institute draws 89% of its grant income from funders outside Colorado, across 9 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.8M arriving through sponsors registered in 6 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
The Denver Institute runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 2,394 religion nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,394 religion nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like The Denver Institute
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Colorado
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for The Denver Institute: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds The Denver Institute?
- The Denver Institute (Colorado) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $7,297,173 to it, the largest being LILLY ENDOWMENT INC ($4,549,555). 20 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does The Denver Institute have?
- IRS filings report 32 organizations giving $7,297,173 in grants to The Denver Institute, 20 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of The Denver Institute?
- LILLY ENDOWMENT INC is the largest funder on record, with $4,549,555 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like The Denver Institute find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Denver Institute →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 32 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing