Carrie Morgridge, The Morgridge Foundation

Carrie Morgridge.jpg

Twitter:  @CarrieMorgridge  and Morgridge Family Foundation @MFF_Matters

Carrie Morgridge is Vice President of the Morgridge Family Foundation. The Morgridge Family Foundation invests in transformative gifts in education, conservation, health & wellness, and the arts. For the past fifteen years, she and her husband, John, have worked tirelessly to leverage their foundation's funds, spark innovation, and fuel transformation. The Foundation has made lead investments in projects with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, National Jewish Health, University of Central Florida, University of Denver, Mile High United Way, KIPP Schools nationwide, The Nature Conservancy, and Second Harvest Food Bank in Orlando, Florida  

Carrie is recognized nationally for her work as a philanthropist, student advocate and the creator of innovative professional development for teachers. She is a recipient of the distinguished Frances Wisebart Jacobs Woman of the Year award from Mile High United Way, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Denver, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado Mountain College Board of Overseers, and New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning. She has been publicly recognized for her work at National Jewish Health and Denver Academy. She also serves in an advisory capacity and speaks nationally to education advocacy and technology-focused forums. 

In her first book EVERY GIFT MATTERS, Carrie Morgridge shares inspiring stories of powerful gifts in action showing readers how to turn the act of giving into a vehicle for positive change. Drawing on 15 years of experience supporting causes that align with her passions through gifts, Morgridge demonstrates how a smart strategy, high expectations, a deep network, and hands-on personal involvement will ensure that one's gift is compounded over time to have the biggest impact possible. 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW:

In this interview, we discuss:

  1. How sometimes the smallest gifts are the ones that have the most impact.  (1:00)
  2. What a good example of a transformational gift looks like.  (6:00)
  3. "When you meet great leaders, their words are different. They are very aspirational." (10:00)
  4. "The first thing you have to do to find your passion is to volunteer and do a site visit." (23:15)
  5. "Even though we tackle really hard issues, giving should always be fun...Giving feels good." (26:30)
  6. "I hope that one day I can look back and say that we made a real difference in people's lives." (29:30)
  7. The importance of evaluating grants from the past to determine what is working and what can be done better. (34:30)

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

"What makes a good philanthropist is their passion to give back."  -Carrie Morgridge

"Volunteering can be a powerful way to give back and have a big impact." -Carrie Morgridge

 

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

  1. About the Morgridge Family Foundation
  2. Article about her in the Denver Post
  3. Interview with Carrie at FoundationSource.
  4. Profile of the Foundation in BizJournal
  5. Every Gift Matters in Amazon
  6. Toxic Charity (Amazon) and The Prize (Amazon) are books that she recommended. 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR LISTENING!

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