David E. Reese Family Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation in Paradise Valley, Arizona. ¹ Founder David Reese led several banking institutions in New York, Ohio, and Arizona and is retired. ² Reese’s wife Louise and grown sons Everett and Caleb are officers of the foundation. ³

The foundation donates to nonprofit organizations that support people with disabilities, to educational programs, and to various medical charities. It also donates to some organizations focused on supporting left-of-center diversity issues.

Background

David E. Reese Family Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation founded in 1994 and located in Paradise Valley, Arizona. ⁴

Reese was an officer in the U.S. Navy, earned an M.B.A. at Harvard University, then joined Citicorp in New York City. He became involved with A Better Chance, ⁵ which is a program that identifies and places ethnic-minority students into college preparatory schools with the goal of creating more diversity in those graduating from colleges and universities. ⁶

He moved on to lead banks in Columbus, Ohio and in Arizona. While in Columbus he organized a Columbus Chapter of A Better Chance and also became involved in Planned Parenthood and the National Urban League Columbus affiliate. ⁷

In Arizona, Reese founded and then sold Sundance Broadcasting while continuing his banking career. He also became involved with the local United Way, joined the board of the Goldwater Institute, ⁸ became a lifetime trustee of the Heard Museum, which promotes American Indian art, ⁹ and chaired the Arizona chapter of the Young Presidents Organization. He is retired. ¹⁰

Funding

The David E. Reese Family Foundation reported revenues of $619,788 and expenses of $276,275 in 2021. ¹¹ At the end of 2021, the foundation had total net assets of $6,867,374. ¹²

In 2021, the foundation made contributions, gifts, and grants of $236,000. ¹³ In 2020 and in 2019 the foundation made contributions, gifts, and grants of $1,893,500 and $1,406,667 respectively. ^{14 15}

The majority of the 2021 contributions went to MD Anderson Cancer Center and Tostan. ¹⁶ Tostan, headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, works with rural and remote African communities to provide the education and tools to improve and empower their communities in the areas of human rights and women’s rights. ¹⁷ Other donors to Tostan include left-of-center philanthropic organizations Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Skoll Foundation, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ¹⁸

The foundation also donated to Teach for America, a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains individuals who will commit to teaching in low-income schools “most impacted by educational inequity” for a minimum of two years. Other donors to Teach for America include philanthropists Eli Broad, Julian Robertson, and MacKenzie Scott. ¹⁹

In 2019 and 2020 donations went to several nonprofit organizations that support people with disabilities, to educational programs, and to various medical charities, including Mayo Clinic, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The foundation also donated to Voter Registration Project, also known as Everybody Votes, ²⁰ a voter mobilization program that targets groups more likely to vote left-of-center such as African-American, Latino, Native American, low-income, women, and younger voters; ²¹ Planned Parenthood of Arizona; and Arizona Justice Project, ²² a nonprofit organization that represents indigent Arizona prisoners in fighting their convictions. ²³ Other donors to Arizona Justice Project include left-of-center National Philanthropic Trust, Schwab Charitable Fund, American Online Giving Foundation, and American Express Foundation. ²⁴

Leadership

David E. Reese is president of the foundation. ²⁶

Reese’s son Everett D. Reese is assistant vice president and treasurer of the foundation. ²⁷

Reese’s son Caleb F. Reese is assistant vice president of the foundation. ²⁸

1. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2021.
2. “David E. Reese, 1962.” Denison Alumni. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/david-e-reese/
3. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2021.
4.  “The David E. Reese Family Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/david-e-reese-family-foundation,860763892/
5. “David E. Reese, 1962.” Denison Alumni. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/david-e-reese/
6. “How Our Program Works.” A Better Chance. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://abetterchance.org/program/how-our-program-works/
7. “David E. Reese, 1962.” Denison Alumni. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/david-e-reese/
8. “David E. Reese, 1962.” Denison Alumni. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/david-e-reese/
9. “Board of Trustees.” Heard Museum. Accessed June 17, 2023. https://heard.org/about/trustees/
10.  “David E. Reese, 1962.” Denison Alumni. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://alumni.denison.edu/citations/david-e-reese/
11. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2021.
12. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part II). 2021.
13. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2021.
14. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2020.
15. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2019.
16. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2021.
17. Tostan website. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://tostan.org/
18.   “Partners & Donors.” Tostan – About Us. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://tostan.org/about-us/partners-donors/
19. “Transformational Donors.” Teach for America – Support Us. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://www.teachforamerica.org/support-us
20. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part XV). 2019.
21. Everybody Votes website. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://www.everybodyvotes.com/
22. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2019.
23. “About Us.” AZ Justice Project. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://azjusticeproject.org/about-us/
24. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer – Arizona Justice Project. Accessed June 16, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?q=arizona+justice+project
26. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2021.[./note]

    Reese’s wife Louise R. “Weezie” Reese is vice president and secretary of the foundation. ²⁵ The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2021.

27. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2021.
28. The David E. Reese Family Foundation. Return of A Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2021.