Helen Myers McLoraine (1918–2003) was the founder of The Pioneer Fund, a philanthropic organization "with a focus on figure skating, higher education assistance and medical research".
[1] She was a private investor in the gas and oil industry since the 1950s and became an early female figure in business leadership.
[1] Olympic medalist Scott Hamilton was a benefactor of The Pioneer Fund's support of figure skating and currently serves on its board of directors.
Ongoing scholarships have been funded at Regis University,[3] The Denver Foundation, and Girls Inc.[4] In addition, The Pioneer Fund supports the Helen McLoraine Developmental Chair in Neurobiology at the Salk Institute and has provided continued research and postdoctoral grants.
[5] According to IRS returns, The Pioneer Fund provided $8.3 million in donations in 2009.