Dorrance Family Foundation

The foundation is family-governed. Bennett Dorrance Jr. serves as president, with his father Bennett Dorrance as treasurer, Jacquelynn W. Dorrance as secretary, and Ashley Dorrance Kaplan as vice president. Investment decisions are not fully disclosed, but the foundation's assets are modest — roughly $55 million (Altss estimate) — and appear to be managed conservatively with a short-term investment fund component. Grantmaking authority rests with the board, which meets regularly in Scottsdale.

The wealth traces to John T. Dorrance, a chemist who invented the process for condensing soup in 1897 and built the Campbell Soup Company into a global packaged-food powerhouse. His grandson Bennett Dorrance inherited a significant stake and later co-founded DMB Associates, a major Arizona real estate developer. The family's wealth today is split between Campbell Soup equity, real estate holdings, and private investments.

The foundation concentrates its grantmaking in three regions: Southern California, the Island of Hawaiʻi, and Arizona. This maps directly to where the Dorrance family maintains significant real estate assets — Bennett Dorrance developed large master-planned communities like DC Ranch and Verrado in Arizona, and the family owns Touching the Earth Farm and Kohala Village Hub on Hawaiʻi Island. The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals outside these priority regions.

The foundation is not an affiliate of Campbell Soup Company and operates entirely independently. However, the Dorrance family remains a significant Campbell shareholder. John Dorrance III, Bennett's brother, is a billionaire investor who has been active in Campbell's shareholder affairs. The foundation's endowment likely includes Campbell stock, but its operating budget for grants and administration is separate from the company.

Grantmaking divides into two principal areas: education, typically scholarships and university access programs, and natural resource conservation, focused on land and water preservation. The foundation has also funded arts institutions — notably the Phoenix Art Museum, where Jacquelynn Dorrance established the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design endowment. The foundation is a private family foundation, not a public charity, and does not solicit external proposals.

Yes. Beyond the Dorrance Family Foundation, the family has been associated with the New Moon Foundation and various donor-advised giving. The full scope of their philanthropy is not consolidated — different family members direct personal giving through separate channels. Jacquelynn Dorrance's arts philanthropy, for example, operates partly through the foundation's grantmaking and partly through direct personal gifts to the Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona Costume Institute.

Bennett Dorrance is a grandson of Campbell Soup founder John T. Dorrance and co-founder of DMB Associates, the developer behind DC Ranch, Verrado, and other large-scale Arizona master-planned communities. He is also a licensed pilot and major donor to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Within the foundation, he serves as treasurer, overseeing financial controls while his son Bennett Jr. runs day-to-day operations as president.