The Colorado Trust

TRUSTEE PROFILE: JEAN JONES
Jean Jones, President and CEO of Girl Scouts – Mile Hi Council, served as a Trustee of The Colorado Trust from 1996 through 2006. As she approached the conclusion of her tenure as a board member, Jean shared her thoughts on Trust grantmaking efforts over the past decade, as well as opportunities for the future.

CommunityConnections: What did you know of The Colorado Trust 10 years ago when you were asked to serve as a Trustee?
Jean Jones: I had served on the Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation Board, so I had knowledge about the very formation of The Colorado Trust and was enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve on The Trust’s Board. From the start I believed its initiative-based funding approach could really benefit the nonprofit community.

CC: From your perspective, what are some of the most important issues The Trust has addressed over the last decade?

JJ: Because it is so unique, I think the Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative is one of the most significant. The initiative and evaluation of the Nurse-Family Partnership Program also was so important. You can really see the scope and impact of that initiative. I appreciated too the evaluation conducted for our early Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative. It was objective and showed that individuals in participating communities who focused on the project and provided leadership had the ability to pull others into that passion. The lesson we learned is that leadership is key, and we’ve really taken that to heart in other initiatives. I also want to mention the Colorado Health Institute. It was an innovative undertaking with three foundations working together to form this objective organization.

CC: What are some of the toughest decisions you and the Board have grappled with?
JJ: Prioritizing funding areas has certainly been tough. There also have been challenges trying to understand the full scope of issues and problems, and in determining which slice to take on. And it’s been hard to see many of the individual initiatives come to an end.

CC: What do you see in the future for The Trust?
JJ: Working with foundations and funders for so long, I believe there’s been a real commitment at The Trust to actually partner with the groups we fund. There’s a total lack of arrogance. I don’t think anybody thinks of it as “my” money; it’s in trust to serve the community. It’s important for The Trust to keep that humility and the focus on the people being served through the nonprofit community. John Moran has been a great role model in this regard, not only for The Colorado Trust but for the foundation community as well. I also hope the commitment continues for judicious partnering with other funders, and a willingness to take informed risks.

CC: What have you most enjoyed about your role as a Trustee?
JJ: Most enjoyable has been learning about many of the needs in our state. I’ve also certainly enjoyed working with my fellow Trustees and the staff – we’ve had a wonderful group of people. I also know our two new Trustees (R.J. Ross and Gail Schoettler) and know that they’ll serve The Trust well.

Trust Board members may serve up to two, five-year terms. Sister Lillian Murphy, RSM, President and CEO of Mercy Housing, Inc., also retired at the end of 2006 following 10 years of service to The Colorado Trust. Sister Murphy will be profiled in an upcoming edition of CommunityConnection.