When he created The Duke Endowment in 1924, James B. Duke said he hoped his philanthropy would help meet mankind’s needs “along physical, mental and spiritual lines.” 

He used $107 million — about $1.9 billion in today’s dollars — to create what was then one of the largest philanthropic trusts in America. 

And yet, in the Endowment’s founding document, the Indenture of Trust, Mr. Duke narrowed the organization’s grantmaking footprint to his native North Carolina and nearby South Carolina — the regions then served by his hydroelectric power company, today known as Duke Energy. He focused the Endowment’s grantmaking on four named higher education institutions, child and family well-being, health care and his family’s beloved rural United Methodist churches. 

Why not cast a wider net, geographically and thematically? 

“My opinion,” he wrote in the indenture, “is that so doing probably would be productive of less good by reason of attempting too much.” 

That remains one of my favorite quotes from Mr. Duke. Today, 100 years after he committed that thought to paper, it feels more relevant than ever. If we want to achieve his dream of improving life in the Carolinas, we must spend his philanthropic assets strategically and effectively. 

For instance, we know public and private agencies spend $200 billion each year on health care in the Carolinas. Our health care grantmaking comprises less than 1 percent of that. Thus, our health care grantmaking team takes the philanthropic role of an accelerating partner, finding emerging programs or ideas we can grow to help provide greater access to care for those in need. 

On the other hand, our Rural Church program area’s annual grantmaking total equates to about 20 percent of the budgets of its central grantees, North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences. Thus, in our Rural Church area, we take the role of an initiating partner, supporting United Methodist clergy and congregations so they can create meaningful and measurable changes in the communities they serve. 

Achieving measurable good in the world requires more than good intentions. It requires a focus on data and evidence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. It demands leadership, commitment, ingenuity and collaboration. 

Our 2024 Annual Report highlights grantees who live up to those high standards each day. From researching the complexities of artificial intelligence to pursuing new ways to combat mental illness and child abuse, they create innovative solutions for some of our oldest, most persistent challenges. In establishing the Endowment, Mr. Duke bet big on the future of the Carolinas. A century later, his wise investment continues to pay dividends. We’re excited to help build what comes next.

Rhett N. Mabry,
President
The Duke Endowment