Beth and Josh Mondry

Connecting as students at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Business School in the late 1980s, Beth and Josh Mondry settled in Josh’s native Detroit, Michigan a few years after their graduation. For the next fourteen years, they raised three children (now ages 8, 11, and 13), built a venture capital/real estate business, and became significantly involved in their community. As Josh had visited Aspen several times throughout his childhood, he and Beth decided to make the area their home away from home. Soon after buying their condo downtown, they made the life-affirming transition to Aspen full-time last year, shocking their friends and family.

Both born into generous and politically active Jewish families, Beth, who is originally from Winnipeg, Canada, and Josh have always embraced a culture of giving. Many of their friendships in Detroit revolved around charitable activities. “When we moved to Aspen we had complete anonymity,” Josh says, which has given them the opportunity to survey the philanthropic landscape from a neutral and objective standpoint. “Because we are new to this community and don’t have a lot of long-established relationships,” Beth continues, “the Community Foundation is a really easy way for us to get a sense of what’s out there, what’s credible, and what’s interesting to us personally, so that we can give confidently and comfortably without having a comprehensive knowledge base of our own.” Beth and Josh opened their Donor Advised Fund in September, 2005.

The Mondrys balance each other with the kind of nonprofits they like to support. Beth prefers giving to broader causes where her support will affect a large group of people. Josh prefers to support organizations where he can see or know the impact on a specific person’s life. “We both had great starts with great families, and are very lucky,” Beth and Josh admit. Their commitment to passing on their strong values by example to their children is most evident, as their middle son attentively listens in.