Scott and Virginia Reiman invest in what works: Every child deserves a great education

For Scott Reiman, it’s all about investing for the future. From his early investments in Denver real estate to his support of ACE Scholarships, and myriad projects in between, the motivation is the same: invest in what works and in what lasts.

Scott and his wife Virginia learned about ACE Scholarships almost a decade ago. “I met Alex [Cranberg, ACE’s founder] at a Boy Scouts breakfast in 2005,” Scott Reiman told us during a recent conversation at the Reiman family home. “I was immediately impressed with what ACE was doing and wanted to be involved.”

It comes as no surprise that Scott was introduced to ACE while supporting another non-profit in town. He’s been actively involved in the community all his life, first in Milwaukee, where he was born and raised, and then in Denver, when he moved to Colorado to attend college.

 “I joined the board of the Denver Dumb Friends League in my mid-twenties and I have tried to give as much of my time to charity as possible ever since,” Scott says. “Virginia and I focus a great deal on education; it’s at the heart of all our philanthropy.”

Philanthropy has been an integral part of Scott and Virginia’s life together since the very beginning. In fact, Virginia was attending a charitable event when she first met Scott. “I was at an event for an after-school tutoring program for underprivileged children,” recalls Virginia. “A mutual friend introduced us at Larimer Square’s Cadillac Ranch, and we’ve been together ever since.”

Today, Scott and Virginia’s desire to give back to the community is stronger than ever. The Reiman Foundation gives generously to programs that advance children’s initiatives, health care and the arts. In addition to serving as a Trustee of ACE, Scott was a founding board member of the Denver Scholarship Foundation; he’s a University of Denver (DU) Trustee and sits on the board of Graland Country Day School, the Denver Art Museum, and the Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network.

“When I was a child, my Dad taught us to give back at an early age and it was never something you do as an afterthought; it is part of the job,” Scott says. In addition to instilling a sense of community in Scott, his dad also gave him the “fire in the belly,” as he calls it, to own his own business.

“My father was a serial entrepreneur,” Scott says. “He built his own publishing business from scratch and, while he eventually did very well, our childhood was not unlike that of most American kids in the Midwest.”

Scott comes from a large family. They all grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attended public schools, and enjoyed a classic middle-America upbringing.

After attending school in Wisconsin, Scott moved to Denver to finish college at DU, where the Reiman School of Finance now bears his name. “I immediately fell in love with Colorado,” Scott says, “and knew I’d make Denver my home.”

Invest in what lasts: Scott Reiman’s commitment to civic involvement

Perhaps the most revealing window into Scott Reiman’s philanthropic philosophy can be found in his work at Hexagon, the Denver-based private investment company he founded in 1992.

Almost immediately, Hexagon began looking for projects that had the potential to reshape Denver and result in a lasting impact.

“We were early, and substantial, investors in LoDo [Lower Downtown] in the mid-90s, when it was mostly abandoned buildings,” Reiman says. “Over a ten-year period we were involved in about half the LoDo projects and we still own a significant portion of Larimer Square.”

“It was incredibly satisfying to watch downtown Denver grow and know we played a small roll in its renaissance,” Scott recalls. “There is a great deal of history and beauty in our downtown. Each building tells a story, and I wanted to help preserve as much of that historic architecture as possible.”

“I’ve known Scott for a long time and am incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished together,” said Dan Ritchie, chairman of the Denver Center for Performing Arts. “From our work at the University of Denver to the Denver Art Museum and many more, I applaud Scott’s service and genuine dedication to the good of our community.”

Invest in what works: For Scott Reiman the ACE model is right

Scott and Virginia Reiman have invested significantly in ACE Scholarships over the last decade.

“It’s measurable,” Virginia tells us. “We can measure the impact we are having through ACE in the lives changed. That’s why we continue to invest.”

Most recently the Reiman Foundation joined the Anschutz Foundation and the Stabio Family to make a matching donation challenge at the 2014 ACE luncheon with Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

“It was tremendously gratifying for Virginia and me that we could maximize our gift and generate new revenue for ACE at the lunch,” Scott says.

It worked. ACE raised close to $2.9 million at the event.

“There are many deserving organizations, like ACE, that Scott and I have supported together over the years,” said Fred Hamilton, chairman emeritus of the Denver Art Museum. “But it’s our shared commitment to investing in the future and empowering individuals through education that I’m especially proud of.”

“What we love about ACE is that the model is right,” Scott Reiman said. “ACE lends a hand, but more importantly they put entire families in a position to succeed because the parents have skin in the game.”

“Scott Reiman has been a stalwart champion of ACE over the last decade,” Alex Cranberg told us. “But beyond ACE, Scott and Virginia have a great heart for kids, and are truly committed to investing to make our community a better place to live and to work.”

“We are in Denver for the long-haul, so it’s important to us that we do our part to make our city and our state the very best it can be,” Virginia said. “That’s why we support ACE,” added Scott. “And it’s why we’ll continue to do so for years to come.”