Gift Offers Networking Opportunity to DU Women in Tech

It’s hard to find a couple more committed to entrepreneurship, education and philanthropy than Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor. They are authors, activists and investors—and they plan to give away 100 percent of their wealth during their lifetimes.

Though neither attended the University of Denver, the couple’s Anchor Point Foundation has made two generous gifts to DU.

Thanks to their latest gift, made in 2018, about 10 female Computer Science majors will be able to attend the 2018 Grace Hopper Celebration this fall in Houston—the largest annual gathering of women technologists in the world.

“Too few founding CEOs are female,” said Feld. “Claiming to be gender-blind or race-blind abdicates responsibility. Diverse teams are better for business, and Amy and I can make a big difference in the world by supporting women and minorities at the college level.”

“Too few founding CEOs are female. Claiming to be gender-blind or race-blind abdicates responsibility. Diverse teams are better for business, and Amy and I can make a big difference in the world by supporting women and minorities at the college level.”

Feld, a co-founder of Foundry Group in Boulder, has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. He also is a supporter of Techstars, a Boulder-based tech accelerator that focuses on improving diversity among entrepreneurs. He chairs the National Center for Women in Information Technology, and he has written several books on entrepreneurship. Batchelor, too, is a writer, community leader and role model for women in technology. As co-founder and partner in Social Venture Partners Boulder County, she brings good business practice to nonprofits that support good causes.

“We are so fortunate to have captured Brad and Amy’s attention,” said Scott Leutenegger, professor and chair of the Computer Science Department at DU. “Their generosity squarely satisfies a core component of DU IMPACT 2025: supporting the inclusion of women and underrepresented students in the sciences. It also gives a great boost to Project XITE, where we are cultivating our most entrepreneurial thinkers, through experiential programming and great collaborative events.”

Anchor Point’s gift also supports the Chancellor’s Global Innovation Fund, as well as Pioneering Summer, Project XITE’s 10-week on-campus accelerator for student-led ventures.