The Duke Endowment is a private foundation established in 1924 by

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

James B. Duke. It supports selected programs of higher education, health care, children's welfare, and spiritual life in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The foundation provided funding to build, expand and upgrade hospitals across the Carolinas in the early 20th century, focusing in particular on hospitals serving rural and Black residents. A 2024 study in the ''American Economic Review'' found that this funding significantly improved the medical sector, improved physician quality and fostered medical innovation, in addition to reducing infant mortality and long-run mortality.

Background

James B. Duke endowed the foundation on December 11, 1924, with $40 million. In the Indenture of Trust, Duke specified that he wanted the endowment to support

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

, Johnson C. Smith University; non-profit hospitals and children's homes in the two Carolinas; and rural United Methodist churches in North Carolina, retired pastors, and their surviving families. When Duke died in 1925, he left the endowment an additional $67 million. Adjusted for present value, total gifts would amount to more than $1.3 billion today. The market value of the endowment's assets has grown to $3.69 billion in 2017. From 1924 to 2018, the endowment awarded over $3.7 billion in grants. The Duke Endowment is a co-publisher, along with the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, of the ''North Carolina Medical Journal'', a journal of health policy analysis and debate. The endowment was established by a trust indenture that specifies how the funds were to be used. First, $6 million was to be used to either found a

or to enhance Trinity College in Durham, North Carolina, if that school changed its name to Duke University within three months. The remaining funds were to be invested (primarily in Duke Power Company stock). Of the income generated annually by these funds, 20% were to be reinvested, each trustee was to receive 0.2%, and the rest was to be paid out in the following allocation:

References

External links

The Duke Endowment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke Endowment Medical and health foundations based in the United States Duke family 1924 establishments in North Carolina Educational foundations based in the United States