A History
of Giving
Success in delivering innovation in the enterprise software industry enabled Dave and Cheryl Duffield to give back to causes and institutions that have had a lasting impact on their own lives.
The Duffields' first philanthropic interest, The Duffield Family Foundation, was founded in 1994 with the sole goal of revolutionizing the status and well-being of companion animals. Renamed Maddie's Fund in 1999, this organization has changed the face of companion animal welfare (see more below) by investing more than $300 million in innovation, leadership development, education, and collaboration across the companion animal care industry.
Fast forward to today, the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation (DCDF), founded in 2016 in Incline Village, Nevada, is the Duffield family's current vehicle for funding transformational services and programs -- most notably, support for U.S. Veterans with PTSD, access to pet care, and The College of Engineering at Cornell University.
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Dave and Cheryl founded Maddie's Fund® in 1994 to honor their feisty Miniature Schnauzer Maddie. While playing with her one evening, they made her this promise: If they ever had any money, they would use it to help companion animals and the people who love them, so others could experience the same joy they had with Maddie.
The Duffields made good on their promise, and now 30 years later, Maddie's Fund has become a national voice in the animal welfare community, awarding over $300 million in grants for innovative solutions, education programs, and collaborations.
In their lifetime, they have given more of their personal wealth to animal welfare than any other individuals. All thanks to Maddie.
A flagship initiative of DCDF, Liberty Dogs™ is a national Service Dog training and placement program for U.S. military Veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based in Reno, Nevada, and scheduled to open in the Summer of 2026, Liberty Dogs offers hope and dignity for Veterans seeking support for their healing and recovery.
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On campus, Veterans will spend two weeks learning, living, and training with their Liberty Service Dog™. They will leave with their new companions,
prepared to lead more independent and fulfilling lives. All services are provided at no cost to program participants.
Access to Veterinary
Care Initiative
According to PetSmart Charities, an estimated 50 million pets in the U.S. don’t receive the care they need to thrive. DCDF's access to care initiative aims to significantly expand the number of dogs and cats receiving medical attention by partnering with and supporting existing programs for immediate impact. We will also direct additional efforts toward rural communities lacking veterinary services by delivering access to care solutions tailored to that community's needs.
Over time, we intend to significantly reduce or eliminate barriers to pet care, improving the quality of life of our valued pets and their human companions.
As a graduate of Cornell University (BSEE '62, MBA '64), Dave looks back on his college years as a very special period in his life. As a student, he pitched on the baseball team, joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and played bass guitar in a rock band. He also met some memorable professors who introduced him to systems thinking, automated data processing, and the IBM mainframes and programming languages of the time.
​The Duffields have given back to Cornell by building and maintaining Duffield Hall, home of the University's nanotechnology and engineering research initiatives.
They have also supported Cornell's Duffield Institute for Animal Behavior and the Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program.
Board of
Directors
Dave Duffield, Co-Founder and Director
Cheryl Duffield, Co-Founder and Director
Amy Zeifang, Director
Laurie Peek, Director
The well-being of pets is directly related to the well-being of people, and to play a part in this relationship for 30+ years has been one of life's great treasures.
--Dave Duffield
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