We ask all Durfee Fellowship applicants, “Why do you do what you do?”

Here’s our answer to that question, in the form of our mission statement.

Mission Statement

• The Durfee Foundation is a family foundation that seeks to adhere to the values of our founders, Dorothy Durfee Avery and R. Stanton Avery, by rewarding individual initiative and leadership
• The majority of our grantmaking focuses on the Los Angeles region, where the foundation’s history lies, and where funding needs are great
• We build partnerships with individuals and institutions that share our ideas of creativity, risk-taking, fiscal care, integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and continuous learning.
• We seek to build community in unexpected ways
• We make grants where our dollars will have the greatest impact. We hope that Durfee funds provide leverage for other funding opportunities
• Durfee is a patient investor. We are willing to make grants where the outcome may be hard to measure or not measureable for many years
• Above all, Durfee’s focus is on extraordinary people who make things happen