Philanthropy and politics go hand in hand, Denver philanthropist Tim Gill told hundreds of professionals Thursday during a keynote speech at the 2005 Out & Equal Workplace Summit.
“At first I didn’t want to give money out to politics because politics is dirty and evil,” Gill said. But now he believes that “philanthropy without politics is not even doing half the job.”
The annual summit addresses workplace equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers. This year’s event runs through Saturday at the Adam’s Mark hotel downtown.
Gill founded Denver-based software-maker Quark Inc. in 1981 and pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars after selling his stake in the company in 2000. He put roughly $200 million into the Gill Foundation, which he started in 1994 to support gay and lesbian causes.
Recently, Gill has put his time and money into “punishing the wicked,” as he calls politicians who are anti-gay.
Gill spent hundreds of thousands last year on a campaign credited with turning control of both houses of the state legislature over to Democrats.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
