David Wallace Douglas is a left-of-center American philanthropist, lawyer, writer, and environmentalist activist. He is the eldest grandson of Henry A. Wallace, who served in the Franklin Roosevelt administration as the 33^rd Vice President of the United States ¹ after he made a fortune in the hybrid seed business. ²

Family

Douglas is married to the former Deborah Smith, who has partnered with him in philanthropic projects. ³ His sisters are Ann Cornell and Joan Murray. ⁴ His cousin, Scott Wallace, mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Congress as a Democrat from Pennsylvania in 2018, in a campaign that attracted national attention given his status as an ultra-wealthy heir to a Democratic political family. ⁵

Career

Douglas has devoted much of his work to clean drinking water. He was the founder of Water Advocates, a charity that operated from 2005 to 2010. ⁶ From 2010 to 2015, he led Advocates for Development Assistance, which had a similar mission. ⁷ Douglas is listed as president of the environmentalist Wallace Genetic Foundation, which was founded in 1961 and in 2017 began the process of dissolving. ^{8 9}

As of 2020, Douglas is the president and treasurer of the Wallace Genetic Foundation II, which holds more than $94 million in assets. ¹⁰ Douglas has written several books: Wilderness Sojourn: Notes in the Desert Silence (1989), Pilgrims in the Kingdom: Travels in Christian Britain (2004), and Letters of Faith (2015). ¹¹ Douglas served on the board of Waterlines, a New Mexico-based drinking water organization; it no longer funds projects as of 2021. ¹²

Philanthropy

Douglas has been the subject of profiles in Inside Philanthropy. In January 2022, he was identified as a “reinventor” heir of the Wallace fortune. ¹³ In 2020, the Wallace Genetic Foundation II provided significant resources to left-leaning environmentalist and family-planning organizations, including $25,000 to the Conservation Fund; $25,000 to Earthjustice; $30,000 to the Environmental Integrity Project; $50,000 to Family Health International; $50,000 to the National Wildlife Federation; and $25,000 to Population Services International. ¹⁴

Political Activity

Douglas is known for keeping a low profile. ¹⁵ Despite his relative anonymity, he has appeared in public to make political statements. In 2016, Douglas joined other descendants of prominent New Deal-era liberals and progressives to condemn the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, saying Trump had promoted hate and fascism. ¹⁶

In 2017, he participated in a panel discussion at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, celebrating the legacy of the New Deal. ¹⁷ In the fall of 2020, Douglas joined a City University of New York online discussion on his grandfather’s legacy of “Anti-Fascist, Anti-Racist Politics.” ¹⁸

Donations

Douglas has personally made more than $30,000 in reportable political contributions to Democratic candidates since 2013, including to his cousin Scott Wallace; Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Tom Udall (D-NM); and Rep. Xochitl Torres-Small (D-NM). ¹⁹

1. “Public Invited to Hear About H.A. Wallace.” Farm Progress. April 17, 2007. https://www.farmprogress.com/story-public-invited-to-hear-about-ha-wallace-9-11492.
2. An Uncommon Man. Youtube/An Uncommon Man. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7zDxpvW8d0.
3. “About.” Wallace Genetic Foundation. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://www.wallacegenetic.org/about/.
4. “Jean W. Douglas.” Jean Wallace Douglas (Age 91). Washington Post, October 14, 2011. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/jean-douglas-obituary?id=5978545.
5. Briggs, Ryan. “Blasting Wallace Campaign, Cook Shifts PA-1 in Favor of Fitzpatrick.” City & State Pennsylvania. July 6, 2018. https://www.cityandstatepa.com/content/blasting-wallace-campaign-cook-shifts-pa-1-favor-fitzpatrick
6. Goldstein, Steve. “Meet the Philanthropist Leading the Fight for U.S. Development Aid.” Inside Philanthropy. July 15, 2014. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/7/15/meet-the-philanthropist-leading-the-fight-for-us-development.html.
7. “Who We Are.” Global Water 2020. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://globalwater2020.org/who-we-are.html.
8. “About.” Wallace Genetic Foundation. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://www.wallacegenetic.org/about/.
9. Wallace Genetic Foundation, Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF), 2017. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/136162575/09_2018_prefixes_11-14%2F136162575_201807_990PF_2018092815741835
10. Wallace Genetic Foundation II, Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF), 2020. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/814236372/202111349349100446/full.
11. “Who We Are.” Global Water 2020. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://globalwater2020.org/who-we-are.html.
12. “Welcome to Waterlines.” Waterlines.org. Accessed March 20, 2022. http://waterlines.org/index.html.
13. Callahan, David. “The Most Powerful Heirs in Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. January 19, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/1/19/the-most-powerful-heirs-in-philanthropy.
14. Wallace Genetic Foundation II, Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF), 2020. Accessed March 20, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/814236372/202111349349100446/full
15. Goldstein, Steve. “Inside the Beltway, Under the Radar: What’s David Wallace Douglas Up To?” Inside Philanthropy. July 8, 2014. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/7/8/inside-the-beltway-under-the-radar-whats-david-wallace-dougl.html
16. ^[1] Valdes, Alisa. “Descendants of New Deal Architects Champion Progressive Causes, Rail Against Donald Trump.” Santa Fe New Mexican. June 24, 2016. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/descendants-of-new-deal-architects-champion-progressive-causes-rail-against-donald-trump/article_e2ffb3ca-dcb6-5a48-aac6-afee1ee87393.html
17. “Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.” C-SPAN. August 19, 2017. https://www.c-span.org/video/?432089-2/franklin-d-roosevelts-deal
18. “John Nichols — The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party: The Enduring Legacy of Henry Wallace’s Anti-Fascist, Anti-Racist Politics.” CUNY Hunter College. September 22, 2020. https://hunter.cuny.edu/event/john-nichols-the-fight-for-the-soul-of-the-democratic-party-the-enduring-legacy-of-henry-wallaces-anti-fascist-anti-racist-politics/?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=cuny&utm_content=27138d54-162f-481c-9409-8edad6347a56&utm_campaign=.
19. “Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. December 31, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&contributor_name=douglas&contributor_employer=waterlines&line_number=F3-11AI.