Animal Fund, U. of North Dakota Each Gets Nine-Figure Gift

Stray animals and a university hockey team are the beneficiaries of two big gifts:

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* David A. Duffield, chairman of the software company PeopleSoft, in Pleasanton, Cal., and his wife, Cheryl, have given $200-million to their family foundation to start a nationwide effort to adopt cats and dogs.

* Betty and Ralph Engelstad have given the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, $100-million. Roughly half the money will be used to construct a new arena for the university’s championship ice-hockey team. Mr. Engelstad owns the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nev.

Friends say the Duffields hope to turn the United States into a “no-kill nation.” The foundation will accept grant requests from animal-related charities that promise not to euthanize stray pets, or that have such a policy in place.

Richard Avanzino, former chairman of the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, took over as chief executive and president of the Duffield Family Foundation, in Alameda, Cal., on January 1.

Mr. Avanzino said the Duffields’ support for the foundation could eventually reach $2-billion.

The couple’s commitment to the “no-kill movement” came from their devotion to their miniature schnauzer, Maddie, who died last year. The couple adopted the dog 12 years ago when PeopleSoft was a fledgling company.

Soon the dog became a beloved family member, and the Duffields “committed that they would put money back to help Maddie’s kind,” said Andrew McCarthy, public-relations manager at PeopleSoft.

Mr. Avanzino said that to receive grants from the foundation, organizations must work with municipal animal-control agencies to try to reduce the number of animals who are put to death in the groups’ geographic area. The foundation will set specific numerical ceilings on how many animals are to be killed in a period of months or years, and if the charities insure those numbers are met, they will continue to receive funds.

Charities that within five years can claim they were responsible for making sure that no animals were killed will receive $1-million apiece, with no restrictions on how they can use the money.

“When they reach the goal that every dog and cat in the county has a loving home, they will get a $1-million bonus,” Mr. Avanzino said. “It is like winning the lotto.”

He stressed that the foundation would not dictate what the charities should do to eliminate euthanasia. The fund plans to start a site on the Internet through which charities will be able to share information and keep tabs on the number of killings in areas where other grant recipients work.

The foundation’s goals have received criticism. Roger A. Caras, president emeritus of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in New York, said that while he lauds the intentions of the donors and Mr. Avanzino, a “no-kill nation” is a pipe dream.

He said the city shelter in New York killed 40,000 animals in 1998. “If this city were to become a no-kill city,” Mr. Caras said, “we would have to find homes for 40,000 to 45,000 animals. That is patently impossible, no matter how much money you put into it.”

At the University of North Dakota, officials plan to open a 12,000-seat hockey arena in 2001. Mr. Engelstad was a goalie on the university’s team when he was a student there.

The university is working with Mr. Engelstad to determine how the rest of the $100-million gift will be used.

The new arena will replace one built in 1972 and named after Mr. Engelstad in 1987 in honor of his numerous gifts.

That year the couple donated $5-million for endowment; in 1998 they gave stock worth $2-million for athletics; and also last year Mr. Engelstad donated a collection of military documents valued at $1.4-million for the library’s special collections.

The Associated Press reported that Mr. Engelstad told the university four years ago that he was considering making a major gift but was withholding it until the institution’s athletic director, Terry Wanless, left his job. Mr. Wanless announced in August that he would resign in the summer of 1999.

Earl Strinden, chief executive officer of the university’s fund-raising foundation and alumni association, acknowledged that Mr. Engelstad had voiced disapproval over a coaching change on the university’s hockey team, as well as over the new logo of the Fighting Sioux. But Mr. Strinden flatly denied that Mr. Engelstad took any retaliatory action at the time, or made any demands before he announced the gift.

“He reached a time when he’s built up his business empire and is shifting gears. That’s exactly what this is,” Mr. Strinden said of the gaming mogul’s philanthropy.

Mr. Engelstad declined to be interviewed for this article and did not answer questions at a press conference announcing the gift.