Our History

OUR HISTORY

B:CIVIC was born from the storied efforts of Denver’s 2% Club. The 2% Club was an informal coalition of CEOs who agreed to support and promote charitable giving through their company, and to encourage other companies and executives to get involved in the community. The 2% Club in Denver was modeled after the 5% Club in Minneapolis, later known as the Keystone Club, whose mission was to promote philanthropic giving in the community.

The 2% Club was started in 1990 at the Piton Foundation by three well-known community business leaders: Bill Coors, Sam Gary and Jim Bye. These three outstanding gentlemen recognized the importance of business involvement and wanted to encourage others to experience the personal and business rewards of giving back to the community. Later, the 2% Club moved to be housed at the Adolph Coors Family Foundation and run by foundation staff Sally Rippey and Jeanne Bistranin.

In 2008, a group of Metro Denver business and foundation leaders met to plan the next generation of the 2% Club as a new organization that would be called B:CIVIC (Businesses Committed to Investing and Volunteering in the Community.) In light of the recession, plans were put on hold until 2013.

In 2014, after a market research survey to assess the viability of an organization dedicated solely to business community involvement, leaders decided to move ahead and found B:CIVIC as a Colorado nonprofit. B:CIVIC launched in November 2014 with 100 founding members. The organization then applied for 501(c)3 designation from the IRS, which was subsequently received in February 2016.

In 2018, after an executive transition, B:CIVIC became part of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce family of organizations. Today, we focus on community leadership among businesses and the individuals who run them.

OUR GRATITUDE

B:CIVIC would not exist if it weren’t for the incredible support of the following companies and organizations:

• The Denver Foundation generously provided seed funding and served as B:CIVIC’s fiscal sponsor while we were applying for our 501(c)(3) approval, which was received in 2016.
• Fourteen companies and corporate foundations including, CH2M (now Jacobs), DaVita, Denver Broncos, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Encana (now Ovintiv), First Western Trust, IMA Financial, Janus Capital Group Inc. (now Janus Henderson Investors), Kaiser Permanente, Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Little Pub Company, The Denver Foundation, The Fox Company and Western Union, with a deep commitment to business involvement in the community worked together to serve as Founding Board of Directors and shepherd the development of B:CIVIC to meet the needs of companies of all sizes and industries. Their tireless support and top-of-the-line expertise served as the foundation of our organization.
• The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation for welcoming B:CIVIC as a part of the Chamber family, ensuring its growth well into the future.