SOURCE OF WEALTH: Legacy Bank
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Arts & Culture, Medical Research
OVERVIEW: Martin Dickinson and family move philanthropy through the Donald C. & Elizabeth Dickinson Foundation, which bears the name of his parents though does not maintain a website. Dickinson and his family support select organizations primarily in San Diego County, with an eye towards education, cultural organizations, and medical research. Available tax filings indicate that the foundation awarded nearly $1.9 million in grants in 2018.
BACKGROUND: Martin C. Dickinson earned a B.A. in economics, served four years in the Navy, and then earned an M.B.A. in finance. Dickinson rose to leadership positions in many of San Diego’s top commercial banking institutions, including La Jolla Bank & Trust Company and Scripps Bank. He went on to co-found Legacy Bank, which later merged with Landmark National Bank.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: The Dickinsons, via their foundation, have supported places like Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, and Summerbridge San Diego. They also steadily support University of San Diego’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. Under the umbrella of education the family also support cultural institutions like Zoological Society of San Diego, and Fleet Science Center. Dickinson is vice chair of San Diego Botanic Garden and Dickinson’s wife Carol is on the board of National Tropical Botanical Garden, which runs gardens in Hawaii and Florida. The couple helped create the Dickinson Family Education Conservatory.
MEDICAL RESEARCH: Grantees have included Autism Tree Project, NCH Healthcare Systems, Rady Children’s Hospital, and the Regents of UC San Diego. The foundation’s grantmaking has supported Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and its purchase of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer to be used for Scripps research in marine drug discovery. The Dickinson Foundation also supports first-year graduate students for a one-year fellowship at Scripps.
LOOKING FORWARD: Dickinson’s children serve the foundation as well, with son, Kris, as executive director and daughter, Rebecca, as a member of the board. They should be watched carefully in the next generation of Dickinson philanthropy.
CONTACT:
The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation accepts applications in written format at the address below:
Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation
Po Box 7078
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
