$1-Billion Estate Pledged to Charity by Colorado Cable Entrepreneur

Bill Daniels, a Denver cable-television mogul, has promised to leave the bulk of his $1.1-billion estate to a foundation he began in 1997.

The Daniels Fund will use 30 per cent of the windfall to finance a college-scholarship program for students from low-income families and the remainder to support programs for amateur sports, child care, the elderly, and other causes.

Mr. Daniels, 79, is chairman of Daniels Communications. Forbes magazine ranks him as the 223rd-richest person in the United States.

A former U.S. Navy pilot and New Mexico Golden Gloves boxing champion, he provided first-time television service to Rocky Mountain towns beginning in 1952.

He donated gifts of $11-million each to the University of Denver’s College of Business in 1988 and 1995, and made smaller donations in 1999 to the College of the Southwest, in Hobbs, N.M., and to the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley.

Phillip J. Hogue, president of the Daniels Fund, said the scholarship program will be the cornerstone of the institution’s grant making.

He said that Mr. Daniels has designed the program to help students with college preparation, such as application writing and test taking, and to award scholarships to roughly one-fourth of those teen-agers. The fund will begin a pilot program for students from Denver public schools this year, and eventually will enroll as many as 1,000 young people from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, Mr. Hogue said.

He emphasized that the program will assist students who fare poorly by conventional academic measures, such as standardized tests and grade-point averages, but who show promise in other areas.

“What will set this apart is if we are able to capture Bill Daniels’ style and apply it on an individual basis — to focus on youngsters that have been knocked down a time or two and deserve a chance,” said Mr. Hogue.