The Legler Benbough Foundation

The Legler Benbough Foundation (LBF) was a private philanthropic foundation based in San Diego, California. Endowed by local businessman George “Legler” Benbough in 1985, the foundation’s overall objective was to improve the quality of life for the people of San Diego. Following Benbough’s death in 1998, the directors of the foundation created a new governance model and grantmaking strategy that focused on three core areas: a disadvantaged San Diego neighborhood, a group of arts and culture organizations in Balboa Park, and the science and innovation sector in and around the University of California, San Diego. The foundation staff, empowered to make grants without any further authority, worked with selected grantees as “partners” in each area. Together, they developed projects that provided maximum impact and spent down the foundation’s assets by the end of 2021. At the urging of others who recognized the unique nature of its model, the foundation prepared this study to explore the governance model and the grantmaking experience in each of the specific focus areas, to describe the foundation’s impact, and to offer lessons learned to students and practitioners across the philanthropic sector.