Chapter 21 - The foundation survives
The DeLuca Legacy Foundation did not collapse because Marcella stole from it.
Annual grants at the time:
About $4.7 million.
Endowment:
Roughly $38 million.
The theft was serious.
Not existential.
We reimbursed affected restricted funds from insurer recoveries, restitution, and board reserves where appropriate.
No program lost a promised grant.
The foundation adopted every control Emilia had recommended.
Independent inventory custodian.
Two-person approvals.
Donor confirmations.
Digital custody records.
No family member serving simultaneously as executive director and unrestricted event custodian.
I stepped down as foundation chair.
That surprised everyone.
Why?
Because the organization needed to stop looking like my family’s moral washing machine.
An independent health-system executive became chair.
I remained a donor.
One board seat for a limited transition.
Then none.
The first gala without a DeLuca family member running it raised more money than the previous one.
May you like
My ego survived.
Barely.
