1976–Today
Doing Well & Doing Good
The history of Gary Community Ventures
Sam Gary
A Wildcatter Who Bet on Colorado’s Future
Sam and Nancy Gary spent over 40 years pioneering the idea that business, policy and philanthropy can — and should — work together to create opportunities for kids and families.
“Wildcatter” Sam Gary wasn’t afraid to venture into the unknown. It’s why he didn’t just find oil where no one else thought to look, he saw opportunity where others did not. Thirty years before we had terms like “social entrepreneurship” and “impact investment,” Sam was deploying a flexible combination of business, policy and philanthropy to increase opportunity for Colorado kids and families.
Shaping the Arc of Opportunity Together
Sam embodied the wildcatter spirit, taking risks in business so he could support his true passion — community development.
While Sam focused on diversifying his oil business, Nancy completed her master’s degree at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and became a child health associate in pediatrics.
Later, she earned her doctorate in clinical child psychology from the University of Denver and dedicated her career to providing physical and mental health support to children and families through her Denver-based practice.
Nancy’s professional perspective shined a light on the needs of Colorado’s children, leading to Sam and Nancy’s subsequent focus on children and families.
From Oilfields To Opportunity
After spending 15 years in the oil industry and drilling 32 dry holes, Sam discovered the Bell Creek field in Montana in 1967. With the discovery of Bell Creek, Sam had achieved a major business goal, but sharing his good fortune was important to him as well as to Nancy.
When the two founded Gary Community Ventures (then known as The Piton Foundation) in 1976, it was an opportunity to fulfill one of Sam’s strongest ambitions — to use the power of philanthropy, business and government to address the growing problems of poverty and unequal opportunity throughout Colorado. Sam also didn’t believe the organization needed to exist in perpetuity to create lasting impact. With a strong belief in his responsibility not to pass on today’s problems to tomorrow’s generation, Sam later charged the organization with thoughtfully transferring all of its resources to the community by 2035 and ensuring those resources make a lasting, transformative impact on Colorado kids and families.
With Sam’s passing in 2020, we’re continuing to realize his vision alongside his wife Nancy, investing all our resources into making Colorado the best place to raise kids, build a future and thrive for generations to come. Together with our partners, we’re bringing Sam’s daring spirit to everything we do.
Key Moments That
Shaped Our Work
1976
Sam and Nancy Gary established their foundation, which was initially named The Piton Foundation. The initial grants focused on three areas: children, youth and families; education; and health. The organization also served as a convener, bringing together grantmakers, government officials and community leaders to drive social change.
1978
Sam served as a founding member of the Colorado Forum and, through this association, spearheaded the creation of Colorado Open Lands.
1985
Piton’s Community Development Project, a partnership with the Ford Foundation, invested in revitalizing neighborhoods that had been long-neglected. In total, the grantees created or rehabbed 7,700 housing units.
1985
Sam, Nancy and several others, including Elaine Gantz Berman, Anna Jo Garcia Haynes and Dr. Stephen Berman, founded the Colorado Children’s Campaign to create a voice for kids at the Capitol. They aimed to address child well-being through multiple domains; work in a bipartisan, data-driven way; and be independent — beholden solely to children’s interests.
1991
In partnership with leaders in business, education and philanthropy, Piton formed Citizens for Quality Schools, which supported school choice. Later, in 1998, Piton supported the creation of Denver’s first charter school.
1992
Piton evolved to become an operating foundation, focusing its efforts on developing, managing and incubating new ventures.
1993
Piton helped create and incubate Colorado Capital Initiatives to provide loans to community-oriented micro businesses and entrepreneurs. This initiative is now part of the Rocky Mountain Microfinance Institute.
1996
The Denver Workforce Initiative, a partnership between Piton and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, launched to help individuals upskill and find family-supporting jobs.
2001
The Stapleton Foundation (now known as the Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities), which Sam helped found, supported the creation of Denver’s Central Park neighborhood and continues to ensure the community is developed with mixed-income housing, including rental units, market-rate homes and permanent affordable housing.
2003
The Urban Land Conservancy was established to revolutionize the way that land is preserved and developed, providing permanently affordable real estate for the benefit of kids and families in underserved communities.
2006
Through capacity building, advocacy, polling and public awareness efforts, Piton played a leading role in the creation of the Denver Preschool Program.
2007
Tax Help Colorado launched, offering free tax preparation to families at community college campuses across the state.
2012
With the sale of his oil company the year prior, Sam created Gary Community Investment Corporation to leverage a range of investment tools across all asset classes to create lasting social impact.
2014
To ensure the organization creates lasting impact, Sam created an ”enduring priorities” memo in which he declared that Gary would sunset and thoughtfully transfer all of its resources to the community by 2035.
2017
Elevation Community Land Trust was established to partner with Colorado communities to create permanently affordable homeownership opportunities through the community land trust model.
2020
Gary launched two new ventures, COVIDCheck Colorado and the Emergency Child Care Collaborative, in response to the COVID pandemic.
2020
Proposition EE passed and funded universal preschool for Colorado 4-year-olds through a voter-approved tax on the sale of tobacco and nicotine products.
2020
Following Sam’s passing, Piton was renamed Gary Community Ventures, and operates Gary Philanthropy, Gary Advocacy and Gary Ventures as three distinct entities to realize Sam’s vision of combining the power of business, policy and philanthropy to drive systemic change.
2021
The Dearfield Fund launched to provide down-payment assistance to first-time homebuyers who have faced systemic barriers to owning a home.
2022
Colorado voters approved Proposition 123, the state’s first successful ballot measure to fund affordable housing.
2024
The Family Affordability Tax Credit was signed into law and cut child poverty in half.
2024
The Colorado Pay It Forward Fund expanded the ecosystem of education and training pathways that lead to well-paying jobs in Colorado.
2025
House Bill 25-1021 created a capital gains subtraction for business owners who choose to convert at least 20% of their business to a broad-based employee ownership structure.
A New Generation of Wildcatters
