On Monday morning, The Endowment announced that CEO and President Dan Winsow was stepping down to “focus on personal priorities.”
The announcement came in a press release sent by Raleigh-based PR firm Eckel & Vaughan, which noted that the Board of Directors accepted Winslow’s resignation and appointed Sophie Dagenais to handle daily operations. Dagenais was brought on as The Endowment’s vice president of programs and grants at the beginning of the year.
Winslow said in a statement that it had been a “true privilege” to lead The Endowment.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away to refocus my time and attention on other priorities. While this wasn't an easy choice, I am proud of the work we’ve done, in partnership with the board, staff, CAC and the strong network of partners in New Hanover County, to introduce the ‘grants rainbow’ and further define the Endowment’s strategic vision. I am confident that this work will continue and will truly transform the county,” Winslow said.
Winslow was hired in August last year, six months after William Buster, the original CEO and President of the New Hanover Community Endowment, was pushed out by the board. Winslow officially started work at the beginning of October. At the end of 2024, Winslow laid out his vision for The Endowment (as it was later rebranded), which he called “philanthropy plus.”
This included the “grants rainbow” – a tiered system of grants, ranging from smaller $5,000 awards to larger, multi-year, multi-million dollar projects – and also a plan to turn The Endowment into a research hub, commissioning studies that would later become grant opportunities in New Hanover County. Winslow also staffed up, adding a slew of new positions.
Earlier this year, Winslow unveiled a “road map” for The Endowment’s future – a sweeping but vague set of grant focus areas, each tied to a specific age bracket. The presentation left some wanting more detail. When asked about this, Winslow told WHQR, “hold my beer,” suggesting that the next six to eight months would be a busy time as The Endowment refined the roadmap and hammered out specifics. The roadmap was intended to be The Endowment’s “laser focus” for the next five years.
In a statement, Board Chair Shannon Winslow said The Endowment had “made significant progress and built momentum towards transforming New Hanover County” under Winslow’s leadership.
“The board of directors remains dedicated to continuing the Endowment’s progress and mission through this leadership transition,” according to the release.
No mention of plans to find a long-term replacement for Winslow was made. The Endowment's board is apparently not currently considering interview requests. According to Eckel & Vaughan, “At this time, no additional information is available beyond what’s included in the release.”
The Endowment was created as a nearly $1.3-billion public charity as part of the 2020 sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. Under its founding bylaws, the New Hanover Community Endowment’s annual grant-making was capped at 4% of its asset value. However, IRS regulations will require The Endowment to convert to a private foundation, required by law to disperse at least 5% of its asset value by 2028. Based on its current position, that would be $85 million in grants annually.
[Disclosure notice: WHQR has received grant funding, including capacity/community grants, from The Endowment.]
