Perspective: Optimizing Support of Our Grantees
Update, February 2024:
We’re pleased to share that in December 2023, the court approved our petition.
What does this mean for our grantees? This administrative change has no bearing on the way that grantees apply for, receive, report on or communicate about grants. Eliminating the corporate co-trustee role does free up additional resources to support our programs and grants. We remain committed to our strategic focus areas of placemaking and equity in our grantmaking and initiatives.
What happens next? The duPont Fund Trustees have chosen Jacksonville-based entrepreneur and philanthropist David Miller as the body's seventh Trustee. His tenure began February 6, 2024. You can learn more about David here.
Original post:
October 24, 2023 - During the past few years we have been focused on modernizing the duPont Fund’s operations, to make our work with you easier and more efficient, and our community relationships more effective. We have simplified our grant application and reporting processes, moved our grants payments to secure electronic forms, moved many administrative functions in-house, and streamlined our vendor relationships to maximize service.
The latest step in this process is the decision taken by the duPont Fund Board of Trustees to petition the Circuit Court in Jacksonville to update our governance structure by removing the requirement that one of the Fund Trustees be a representative of a corporate co-trustee. This requirement dates back to a time when such arrangements were more common, and many organizations have moved away from this setup. We believe it is the right time for us to do the same.
What does this mean for our grantees and partners? Eliminating this role means the duPont Fund would have more resources to support our programs. There would be no impact to the way we engage with our partners and grantees. Additionally, our strategic focus on equity and placemaking will not change.
Why now? Over the past three years, we have internalized many of the functions that the corporate co-trustee historically performed: grant and vendor payments, human resources and other administrative functions. The Board has determined that the funds used to pay the corporate co-trustee could be better allocated to other projects. At the same time, our Board of Trustees now includes community leaders who bring the financial, governance and due diligence expertise that we historically sought from the corporate co-trustee.
What’s next? We are working through the legal process and look forward to updating you as we progress.