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Remembering Kenneth Dayton
by Marisa Helms, Minnesota Public Radio
by Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio
July 21, 2003

Kenneth Dayton. (MPR file photo)

Former Dayton Hudson CEO Ken Dayton is being remembered for his charitable giving to the arts. Dayton died Saturday at the age of 80, one day short of his 81st birthday. Dayton and his wife contributed more than $100 million to several arts organizations as well as a host of other civic and cultural groups over a period of 50 years. He was the last of the five Dayton brothers to run the family's retail business and left the company's leadership in the early '80s. He is the uncle of U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton.

Minneapolis, Minn. — The five Dayton brothers, including Ken, inherited a department store from their father. They turned it into a retail empire that includes Target, Mervyn's and Marshall Fields.

In 1946, Ken Dayton committed the department store to a level of philanthropy not seen in business circles. He set a standard of giving 5 percent of its pre-tax profits to the community.

The Dayton philosophy spread. Companies watching the growth of the department stores sought Ken and his brothers to serve on their boards.

They want -- in giving as in everything else -- a quick payout, an immediate return. Alas, in too many instances giving is becoming cause-related marketing, and less and less is it a better environment in which to work and live. - Kenneth Dayton, on modern corporate philanthropy

Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council on Non Profits, says Ken and his brothers convinced others to follow the example.

"They basically went around town, chided the corporate leaders to do more," says Pratt. "They were very influential in changing Minnesota from what had been an average state to clearly an above average one."

Ken Dayton's nephew, U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, remembered his uncle as a leader.

"(He) just had an enthusiasm for life that was extraordinary, and a great a sense of social responsibility. He was one of the great business leaders of this community," says Sen. Dayton. "He and his wife Judy were involved in so many different aspects, some prominently, some behind the scenes. He's a great role model for my generation."

The Minnesota Orchestra was Ken Dayton's favorite cause. He worked with the organization for more than 60 years.

He and his wife Judy donated $2 million in the early 1970s to help build Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Dayton even wrote a "design philosophy" for the building that encouraged a sense of dignity, simplicity and eye-satisfying proportion.

In 1994, he and his wife gave $15 million to the orchestra's endowment. Minnesota Orchestral Association president David Hyslop says the Daytons never sought public recognition for their generosity.

"They are the single biggest benefactors that we've ever had, and it was done with no fanfare," says Hyslop. "You notice it is not called Dayton Hall, and Dayton this and Dayton that, like many people around the country. It's very very unique and it's just a huge loss."

Ken Dayton's giving to the arts did not crowd out his commitment to other causes.

When riots broke out in inner city neighborhoods in the l960s, Dayton and other white Minneapolis leaders helped create the Urban Coalition to study the causes and recommend solutions.

Josie Johnson, a retired University of Minnesota vice president, remembers Dayton's help raising money for the restoration of an inner city Minneapolis church.

They are the single biggest benefactors that we've ever had, and it was done with no fanfare. You notice it is not called Dayton Hall, and Dayton this and Dayton that, like many people around the country. It's very very unique and it's just a huge loss. - David Hyslop, Minnesota Orchestra

"He believed in justice, very strongly, and wasn't preachy about it -- just demonstrated it. He believed in treating people with fairness and respect," Johnson says.

One of the few times Ken Dayton came close to imparting his philosophy publicly was in a l989 Minneapolis address on corporate responsibility.

Many worried the changeover of founder-led companies to corporations led by CEOs in distant cities would end an era of giving. Dayton said, in Minnesota the opposite had happened -- the professional managers had actually increased contributions.

What was worrisome, Dayton said, was how companies were increasingly tying their philanthropy to high-profile social issues that would boost their corporate profile.

"They want -- in giving as in everything else -- a quick payout, an immediate return. Alas, in too many instances giving is becoming cause-related marketing, and less and less is it a better environment in which to work and live," Dayton said in his speech.

The speech was a departure for Dayton. Most of his work was behind the scenes, in meetings with other wealthy individuals and businesspeople.

Minneapolis Downtown Council President Sam Grabarski says it's possible many arts organizations around the country don't know they're espousing Ken Dayton's philosophies.

"He wrote a little pamphlet called "Governance is Governance," which was an advice guide to people who serve on non-profit boards," Grabarski says. "That booklet was printed and reprinted, and bootlegged and stolen, and given to people throughout the United States. So it's entirely possible whatever non-profit organization you have heard of, they actually have some of the thinking of Ken Dayton in their culture."

By the l980s, the Dayton family generosity and philanthropic philosophy of encouraging companies to contribute 5 percent of their pre-tax profits to charity was known throughout the country.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts director Evan Maurer says wherever he traveled, people commented on his good fortune for being in involved in arts in Minnesota, the home of the Daytons. Maurer says Ken Dayton gave money, but also took an interest in the organization's progress.

"It was really quite amazing. It made you feel very proud to be a Minnesotan," says Maurer. "It also gave you that sense of responsibility that people like Ken fostered in you, giving their support, supporting your ideas, your philosophy. And they were very astute at following them and communicating with you, so that it was an ongoing relationship."

The Walker Art Center, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Public Radio, to name a few, all benefited from the philanthropy of Ken Dayton.

He is also credited with educating a new generation of philanthropists.

Joe Selvaggio, the founder of Project for Pride in Living, a Minneapolis non-profit that builds and manages affordable housing, remembers asking Dayton to be the first Minnesotan to donate to charity 1 percent of his personal wealth.

"This was different. This was for individual wealth. He'd been very strong in corporate giving, the 5 percent, the Keystone Club, but this was for wealthy individuals to give on their net worth, not just their income," recalls Selvaggio. "I knew as soon as I got him to be the first signatory that the others would follow. We've been getting 10 members a month ever since. It's up to 700 now -- all because he signed the very first one."

In his l989 speech, Dayton analyzed how federal tax law changes might discourage wealthy people from charitable giving. He wondered if private contributors would increasingly tie strings or set conditions for their philanthropy. Finally, he said, education is the only way to ensure survival of the arts.

"Over the long haul, of course, nothing matters as much as the audience. Will it continue to be as interested in the arts as today's audience," said Dayton in 1989. "How can it? When there is so little art education and so little art exposure among the younger generation. We are producing a generation that is culturally and aesthetically numb, numbed by mindless movies, trashy TV and ear-splitting sounds. What can the arts expect from such a generation?"

Ken Dayton speaking in 1989. He is survived by his wife, Judy, two brothers, two sons and two grandchildren. Funeral services will be private.

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