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Congratulations, Elizabeth!
For more than two decades, Elizabeth Killough has helped shape the UnTours Foundation and the belief at the heart of its work: money can do more than grow. It can help build a more just, welcoming, and sustainable world. As Elizabeth retires from her role as Co-CEO, we’re celebrating the conviction, imagination, and warmth she has brought to that mission—and the many people she has inspired along the way.
Elizabeth joined the Foundation in 2004 as Assistant Director, working side by side with founder Hal Taussig. She arrived with a lifelong commitment to peace and justice, shaped by work in anti-hunger advocacy, and organizational development for nonprofits and businesses. At the UnTours Foundation, she found a place to put those commitments into practice: investing in businesses that create opportunity while showing other foundations what they can accomplish when their investments reflect their values.
Elizabeth has been a tireless advocate for mission-aligned investing. Her message is straightforward: a foundation’s responsibility to its mission extends beyond the grants it makes. The money it invests matters, too. Through her leadership, writing, and conversations with fellow foundation leaders, she has challenged the idea that charitable assets should sit apart from charitable purpose.
That belief is built into the UnTours Foundation. Its endowment is invested in businesses selected for their potential to create positive change. Elizabeth has helped bring that model to a wider audience, offering both a compelling question—What is your money doing while you wait to give it away?—and practical encouragement for foundations ready to explore a different approach.
Share a memory with Elizabeth
Elizabeth has made this work feel personal for so many of us. She has brought people together, championed their ideas, and found moments of warmth and humor along the way. As we celebrate her and everything she has helped make possible, we’d love to hear what you’ll remember most.
Use the board below to share a favorite story, photo, or video. Whether it’s a moment from years ago or something she said that stayed with you, your memories will help tell the story of the difference Elizabeth has made. You’re also welcome to leave her a note or a wish for the next chapter.
Singing Dog Vanilla
Bill of Singing Dog Vanilla still remembers the introduction Elizabeth made 16 years ago to Indonesian vanilla farmers looking for a buyer. Today, Singing Dog works with more than 400 farming families. Bill credits that introduction and UnTours Foundation’s early support with helping the business grow, and Singing Dog now gives back to help other businesses get their start. What stays with Bill most is how Elizabeth made him feel, even when the work was hard: supported, and glad to be doing it alongside her.
Young Mountain Tea
For Young Mountain Tea, Elizabeth was a champion of a simple but powerful idea: farmers should share in the value of the tea they grow. Through two flexible revenue share loans, UnTours Foundation helped the company deepen its partnership with Himalayan farmers, including a factory they co-own. Raj sees Elizabeth as a “bright light,” grounded in reality and fierce in her commitment to a more inclusive world.
Watch Elizabeth’s vision in action
Elizabeth directed these three short films with 215 Timelapse to make the possibilities of mission-aligned investing easier to see and share. Dollars That Make Sense asks foundations to look closely at what their endowments support. Money for Change shows what happens when foundations invest directly in the communities they serve. Bold Gold invites them to consider how much more they could do with the resources they already have. Together, the films reflect Elizabeth’s gift for turning a big idea into a clear and compelling call to action.
