In 2024, The Duke Endowment marks 100 years—inspired by the people of the Carolinas, working on solutions together and invested in a shared vision for the future.
A century in the making, the Endowment is a product of the vision and success of Mr. Duke and his family—and the tradition of philanthropic giving they shared.
The Duke Endowment of today supports nonprofit organizations doing vital work in the four program areas defined by James B. Duke in his Indenture of Trust. We continue to adapt to meet changing needs in tune with Mr. Duke’s love for humanity.
Committed to the Carolinas
Yesterday, Today and Into the Future“While in my opinion nothing can take the place of a home and its influences, every effort should be made to safeguard and develop these wards of society.”
“I want to see to it that adequate and convenient hospitals are assured in their respective communities, with especial reference to those who are unable to defray such expenses of their own.”
"When you have a great community growing like the Carolinas you’ve got to have five kinds of leaders whose minds are trained. The first is preachers, the second is teachers, the third is lawyers, the fourth is chemists and engineers, and the fifth is doctors.”
“My old daddy always said that if he amounted to anything in life it was due to the Methodist circuit riders. If I amount to anything in this world I owe it to my daddy and the Methodist Church.”
“I have endeavored to make provision in some measure for the needs of mankind along physical, mental and spiritual lines.”
— James B. Duke
Family
James B. Duke’s hard work and innovative thinking set him on the path to becoming one of the nation’s greatest industrialists and most generous philanthropists of the 20th century.
Humble Roots
James B. Duke was born to Washington Duke and Artelia Roney Duke on December 23, 1856, on a farm near Durham, N.C. Both his mother and half-brother died from typhoid fever before James turned 2. In 1863, his father was conscripted to fight in the Civil War and was imprisoned by Union forces. When the war ended two years later, Washington Duke walked the 130 miles back to his farm. Family lore holds that he had only 50 cents, two blind mules and a ramshackle barn with some dried tobacco inside.
From Selling on a Corner to Cornering the Market
The Duke family first sold their tobacco out of a horse-drawn wagon, but soon grew successful enough to expand into a factory in Durham. More factories followed, until the company became a leader in the industry.
Business
James B. Duke's keen eye for business and innovation propelled him to success not only in the tobacco industry, but also hydroelectric power, textiles and others.
Committed to Innovation
Advertising was still quite new, but Mr. Duke used the burgeoning strategy to set his product apart. He created tradeable picture cards and coupons and advertised on billboards to build his brand.
Mr. Duke was a pioneer in hydroelectric power—electricity generated by flowing water. His textile plants used this technology decades before the method was commonplace.
Electrifying the Carolinas
By the 20th century, textile manufacturing was big business in the Carolinas. Mr. Duke saw that without a robust and reliable power grid, growth within the textile industry would not materialize. He founded the Southern Power Company to provide hydroelectric power to both mills and local communities, which grew and thrived because of his foresight. The power company, which later became Duke Energy, would also provide the money to realize Mr. Duke’s grand philanthropic vision.
Piedmont & Northern
In addition to tobacco and hydroelectric power, the family also invested in textiles, banking and railways, weaving an interconnected web of businesses. With both passenger and freight service, James B. Duke’s Piedmont and Northern line, known as the Great Electric System of the South, helped the textile industry boom in the Carolinas.
Giving
The early years of James B. Duke’s life were fraught with uncertainty and loss. As his fortune grew, Mr. Duke set out to care for others along the same lines by which he and his family had been helped.
Philanthropy: A Family Business
Even before The Duke Endowment was established, the Duke family built a legacy of charitable giving. They were deeply committed to higher education, and supported orphanages, community hospitals and their beloved Methodist church—building and repairing rural churches and ensuring fair payment for traveling preachers.
A Blueprint for Giving
In the early 20th century, philanthropists were creating private foundations as a more systematic approach to charitable giving. Mr. Duke applied to philanthropy the same acumen and rigor that brought him success in business. After 10 years of working out his philanthropic vision for the Carolinas, he gathered family members and trusted business associates at his Charlotte mansion in 1924. For days, they refined the Indenture of Trust—a document that codified his philanthropic vision and which continues to drive The Duke Endowment’s strategic grantmaking today.
Legacy
On December 11, 1924, James B. Duke signed the Indenture of Trust, setting his plan in motion. With an initial gift of $40 million, he established The Duke Endowment, managed by 15 trustees. Mr. Duke clearly outlined in the Indenture of Trust how funding from the Endowment should be allocated and dispersed.
A New Generation of Giving
Upon his death, much of Mr. Duke’s fortune went to the Endowment and, separately, to his beloved only child, Doris Duke. She later followed in her father’s philanthropic footsteps, establishing the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation – a separate entity from The Duke Endowment.
Focused Philanthropy
On December 11, 1924, James B. Duke signed the Indenture of Trust, setting his plan in motion. With an initial gift of $40 million, he established The Duke Endowment, managed by 15 trustees. Mr. Duke clearly outlined in the Indenture of Trust how funding from the Endowment should be allocated and dispersed.
Mr. Duke’s Final Gift
In 1925, James B. Duke fell ill with pernicious anemia, an incurable disease at the time. Though he had been in good health most of his life, he died that year at age 68. In his will, he left another $67 million to The Duke Endowment.
An Enduring Tradition
Mr. Duke liked hearing things read aloud because it helped him absorb information and think. So, he wrote into the Indenture a requirement that the Trustees gather each year to hear the document read aloud in full.
It has been 100 years since James B. Duke established The Duke Endowment. In that time, the organization has awarded billions in grants, helping people in communities across North Carolina and South Carolina. We remain committed to this work, and to Mr. Duke’s vision of improving life in the Carolinas.
Guided by Mr. Duke’s words, the Endowment of today continues to evolve to fulfill his vision in ways relevant to new social, economic and technological realities.