ABSTRACT
Surdna was established in 1917 by John Andras. He created his foundation in 1917 in her honor. Its main activity until the late 1960s was the support of the Julia Dyckman Andrus Memorial, a home for destitute and infirm old people, and of the Andrus Children's Home for orphans. James Buchanan Duke gave his endowment the benefit of large resources and a serious commitment to education, health care, and the poor in the region of his birth, the Carolinas. At the same time he gave it the handicap of the most detailed and restrictive charter of any of the large foundations and of tight and permanent ties to the Duke Power Company. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation of New York with assets of $360 million is unique among the largest foundations because of its commitment to science and technology, to improvement of the management of both private and public institutions, and to support for research and training in economics.
