Jessie Ball duPont Fund - 25 Years of Giving

In Trust: A Financial History

The trustees of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund have always been excellent stewards with respect to their fiduciary responsibilities, though philosophies about how best to invest the Fund's endowment have changed over the years.

When Mrs. duPont died in 1970, her estate was among the largest ever filed in the State of Florida. Assets on the date of her death were calculated to be worth $42 million. By the time the estate was settled and the Jessie Ball duPont Religious, Charitable and Educational Fund made its first grant in October 1976, the assets had grown to about $76 million.

Mrs. duPont was deliberate in naming close financial associates to serve as the original trustees. Of those named in her will, only the Rev. Sandy Juhan had no relationship to Florida National Bank, part of the duPont family empire for 50 years and named as the original corporate trustee. Relying on their own expertise, these trustees personally made every decision involving the purchase and sale of the Fund's endowment holdings.

Under their guidance, the Fund's assets grew to roughly $100 million between 1976 and 1985, enabling the Fund's trustees to pay out $50.7 million in grants.

The second generation of trustees, understanding that the investment world was becoming increasingly complex, relied more on the expertise of the corporate trustee to guide their decisions regarding the Fund's investments. Florida National Bank continued in this role until North Carolina-based First Union (now Wachovia) acquired it.

The sale prompted the trustees to re-evaluate the corporate trustee relationship and, through a competitive bid process, select Northern Trust Bank of Florida N. A. as the corporate trustee in 1990.

When Northern Trust joined the Fund, assets stood at about $135 million.

Early on, Northern Trust recommended that the Fund's trustees adopt a total return investment policy. Since private foundation rules require the Fund to pay out a minimum of 5 percent of its annual average portfolio value in qualified distributions, adopting a total return investment policy allowed the Fund to grow its asset base more aggressively and increase the size of the Fund's grant budget.

And as market and investment opportunities become more complex and varied, the trustees continue to seek expert counsel to help them understand the array of investment opportunities available.

The results of this care are indisputable:

From fiscal 1977 through fiscal 2002, the Fund has enjoyed an annualized return, net of all operational and management expenses, of 10.89 percent.

Mrs. duPont left $42 million in 1970 with which to create the Fund. In its first 25 years, the Fund has paid out grants worth $205,543,650 - almost five times the original bequest.

Those grant payments, combined with the $178,589,488 increase in market value from fiscal 1977 through 2002, leave the Fund with total investment earnings over 25 years of $384,133,138.

Clearly, Mrs. duPont would be pleased with the trustees' attention to "the conservation, protection and betterment" of her estate.

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