Staking the future Buying social change
Quark founder seeds long-term scholarships for gays and lesbians at Colorado schools

By Brian Weber, Denver Rocky Mountain News Education Writer

Denver software wizard Tim Gill has conjured up one of the more ambitious scholarship programs in the country for Colorado gay and lesbian college students.

The initiative could hand out a quarter-million dollars or more annually, depending on how many of the state's four-year colleges participate by matching Gill's money.

"Higher education is probably the most important and significant breeding ground for leaders of our (gay) community and the country in the future," said Katherine Pease, executive director of the Gill Foundation, Tim Gill's philanthropic arm.

"We're taking a long-term approach to social change."

Generally, small scholarships are aimed at gays, said financial aid officials and gay-rights activists. Most are from private donors, tied to one school for smaller amounts and for an indefinite number of years.

The Gill Foundation invited 20 colleges to join its effort. Starting in 2001, schools will get $2,000 a year from Gill. Evenutally Gill will finance a four-year scholarship for four students at each school.

The school must match Gill's gift. That match could go to the Gill winner, another student or be used to start an endowment to fund future scholarships.

At its highest potential, the program would benefit 160 students annually with a total of $320,000. If 15 schools participate, a more likely figure, 120 students would get a total of $240,000.

No one has tried to spend and generate that much money at so many schools, officials said.

"It's longtime overdue," said Adam Tenner, interim executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based group that works on the needs of gay youth with 120 organizations around the country. "There's a myth about the wealth of the lesbian and gay community which has slowed down the recognition of the (financial) need of gay and lesbian youth," he said.

A scholarship also satisfies other, less tangible needs.

Many gay teen-agers feel excluded from mainstream high school culture. Some get harassed, most hide their sexual identities, certain they are unaccepted, research shows.

The Pride Foundation and a partner group in Seattle have been giving gay students scholarships for three years. They awarded $115,000 and more in emotional support this year, said Audrey Haberman, Pride's executive director.

"Many of the recipients say it means a lot to get it based on who they are," she said. "That's a powerful message for them."

Gill, 46, understands that message well. He was an openly gay teen-ager and active in the fledgling gay rights movement as a student at the University of Colorado in the 1970s.

In 1981 Gill started Quark Inc., a desktop and Internet software company, using a $2,000 loan from his parents. He guided Quark to lead the industry with 700 employees in nine countries.

Still privately held, Quark's worth is secret. However, Gill gave an idea of the size of his bank account to the Chronicle of Philanthropy earlier this year: In 1999 he said he donated $30 million to his foundation, about half his income.

Gill became serious about philanthropy when he donated $1 million to fight Amendment 2, an anti-gay rights measure Colorado voters passed in 1992 but which was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996.

Since then, his foundation has given away $11 million from an endowment that now stands at $82 million. Grants focus on issues related to gays, lesbians, AIDS, arts, social justice and education of other gay donors on how to best use their money.

The foundation began testing the scholarship idea three years ago at the University of Denver. The first year three people applied, five the next. A dozen wanted the grant this year.

Foundation officials expect most winners to be openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individuals who show leadership abilities. However, heterosexual students active in gay issues also may apply.

Winners must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and do 40 hours of community service annually on gay issues.

Gavin Rember won the scholarship in 1999. Among other activities, he was a founder of a gay-heterosexual alliance at Denver's East High School and was openly gay.

The Gill scholarship made DU financially available, Rember said.

"It allowed me to see how open the school was," he said. "That is a consideration for gay students."

That's a foundation goal: to advance gay rights issues on campuses by financially vesting schools in the program.

"Discrimination is bad for business and bad for education," Pease said.

The foundation designed the program with officials from DU, the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado College and Colorado State University.

The University of Colorado is an uncertain participant. Scholarships directed at a specific group could be a legal problem and the school seldom pledges matching funds for several years, said Barbara Schneider, director of admissions.

But Metropolitan State College of Denver welcomes the assistance. Some gay students lack money and emotional support from home, said Karen Bensen, director of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Trans Student Services on the Auraria campus.

"At Metro $2,000 a year covers almost all their expenses," said Bensen, who helped the school apply for the Gill program. "I think it'll be great."

There are other obstacles, such as students themselves. Many are uncomfortable being openly gay at 18, lessening the attraction of money carrying that commitment.

Some high schools only reluctantly recognize gay and lesbian groups, making it even more difficult for students to be open. Counselors may hesitate to distribute information about a scholarship attached to a controversial topic.

That fits nicely with the foundation's drive for openness and education about homosexuality, Pease said.

"The reality is they can't avoid it," Pease said. "Gays and lesbians are everywhere, including high schools.

"They must learn how to deal with it."

· Contact Brian Weber at (303) 892-5245 or weberb@RockyMountainNews.com.

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