A Letter to Our Mighty Partners: Those We Fund, Those We Friend, and Those We Follow
Winter solstice. As I now sit in the darkness of winter and process the many inspiring conversations, field walks, conferences, road miles and shooting stars experienced in the last six months, I find myself reflecting back on Fall of 2022 in an attempt to sculpt meaning and purpose from the many experiences I collected along the way. You could say I was “on tour” this fall. Not the same cities that a typical rock band tours, unless the band composed songs primarily about public lands, western waters, and forgotten traditions. However, it was a string of towns so embedded in their sense of place that they quietly defined the portrait of western values. From the Montana Beartooths to the New Mexican Borderlands, out to Colorado’s Eastern prairies, west to the red desert canyons where the Colorado River meets the Green and back through the San Luis Valley.
I was on a journey, both physical and spiritual, listening and speaking at conferences, exploring the story of my own ancestors with members of the Northern Cheyenne, debating the moral implications of planned human migration with government agencies, listening to the lessons of families who’ve made their living on the same piece of ground for seven generations. And I reflected—a lot—on how all this relates to our work at Mighty Arrow.
I’ve come to realize none of this work gets done without a couple of things; the first being truly special people. People willing to take on personal risk, the way Nicole Rosemarino at Southern Plains Land Trust did 30 years ago, securing their first land conservation property with her student loans. Or Alex Sánchez and Beatriz Soto, who saw a need and founded the first Latino-created, Latino-led advocacy nonprofit in the central mountain region of Colorado. Or Mike DeHoff and Meg Flynn with the Returning Rapids Project, who are willing to plan their own expeditions to monitor a geological phenomenon because no one else had noticed it yet.
As we tuck into the final days of this year—and round out our first 10 years as a Family Foundation—I’ve been thinking about identity, our personality as an organization and how we show up. I think back to when the Mighty Arrow Board sat around a dining table at the Family home in Fort Collins almost a decade ago, discussing Mighty Arrow’s values: authentic, curious, engaged, nimble, entrepreneurial, humble, trusting, having fun and celebrating our partners. This is how we, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, continue to show up. When the world around us is changing, it’s those values that ground us. It’s those values that remind us who we are and what we are here to do.
At the heart of it all is our founder, Kim.
Kim reminds us often—typically with actions, not words: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” She was raised to value the sharing of wealth more than keeping it for herself, and Mighty Arrow is the embodiment of that philosophy. It’s also a throwback to New Belgium Brewing, the inclusive, employee-focused business that generated the wealth behind our fund, and where Kim’s border collie “Arrow” ran around the brewery grounds for 12 years.
Kim has challenged us to ask the important questions: What if we all began to think differently about how we use our privilege, how we share our wealth, how we envision our legacy? What if, collectively, we understood inheritance as more than dollars in the bank—but instead as a healthy planet, a functioning democracy, and an equitable world?
As we head into the new year, we continue to aim true and be fearless even when facing challenges that daunt us. In our last board meeting we spoke about how to take care of the people in our partner organizations. For us, “taking care” is about equal and honest partnership—listening much more than we talk, and stepping up when the times call us to. It is also why Kim and her family have committed to donate the entirety of our fund by 2040. This is our 2040 Vision.
Our partners remind us every day just how much we have to fight for. In a recent conversation with Kim about our growing community of Mighty Partners, she said, “I have a lot of confidence in us. Similar to how New Belgium was built, we know we can’t do this alone. And looking around, I see strong, smart people who are willing to question, willing to refine and willing to change. One of the hardest jobs as a leader is to hold onto your lightness, to your brightness, to be dynamic, nimble and fearless.”
On the road this fall, I visited a canyon just outside Moab, Utah, where I once walked with my mother and my wolf-dog. Together the three of us had left footsteps in the red sand. The weight they both carried for me then, I carry for them now. The stream beside me wept, trickling over the rock and sand where evidence of a recent flash flood left behind plowed trees and piles of willows woven together. I gave in to the heaviness of where I stood. I removed my shoes, socks, and top layers to fully submerge myself in a cold pool beneath the canyon walls.
Sometimes we forget how big the world is and how small we can feel in it. We can also forget how mighty we are, and that our small ripples contribute to the great forces making change in the world. I am still blessed to be reminded of this in the daily work Mighty Arrow inspires within us. You inspire in us.
Thank you for all of the ripples you bring into this world, for all that you do.
I’ll leave you here with words from Kim: “We’re aiming high for the future. It’s daunting, it’s exciting and it's the work of a lifetime. With a heart full of urgency and joy, I invite you to join us.”
We’ll see you in the New Year. We’re celebrating 10 years! And cheers our great partners making this work so rewarding along the way!