07/27/2026
MONDAY MEMORIES
Dorothy Buffum Chandler: A Legacy Built on Belief
One of the questions I’m asked from time to time is, “After nearly thirty years in philanthropy and nonprofit fundraising, who has inspired the way I think about this work?”
It’s an interesting question because the answer isn’t limited to the people I had the privilege of knowing personally. Some of the individuals who have most influenced my philosophy were mentors. Others I’ve come to know only through books, biographies, newspaper articles, and history.
One of those people is Dorothy Buffum Chandler.
Like many Americans, I first knew Dorothy Chandler’s name because of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. For nearly two decades, it was home to the Academy Awards, where millions of us watched Hollywood’s biggest night each spring. I knew the building. I knew the name. What I didn’t know was the remarkable woman behind it or the extraordinary story that made it possible.
The more I learned, the more fascinated I became.
Dorothy Buffum Chandler married Norman Chandler, heir to the Los Angeles Times publishing family. Dorothy came from the respected California Buffum family, whose department stores had become a well-known name throughout Southern California. Yet despite her family’s standing, she never truly felt accepted by the Chandlers. Years later, members of the family acknowledged that some believed she simply wasn’t good enough to marry Norman. Imagine carrying that burden while trying to find your place in one of America’s most influential families.
As if that weren’t enough, Dorothy also struggled with severe anxiety and depression during a time when mental health challenges were rarely discussed and often hidden from public view. In the early 1930s, she suffered what was then called a nervous breakdown and spent six months in psychiatric treatment. For many people, that chapter would have defined the rest of their lives.
For Dorothy Chandler, it became the beginning.
By the early 1950s, Los Angeles had grown into one of America’s great cities, yet it lacked a world-class performing arts center. Civic leaders had discussed the idea for years. Prominent businessmen had tried to make it happen. Committees were formed, plans were drawn, and speeches were made. Yet somehow, the vision never became reality.
Then Dorothy Chandler entered the story.
She first helped rescue the financially struggling Hollywood Bowl before turning her attention to an even more ambitious dream. Working from a simple pool house behind her Hancock Park home, she assembled volunteers, cultivated relationships with civic leaders and philanthropists, and led one of the most successful fundraising efforts in American history. The campaign ultimately resulted in The Music Center of Los Angeles County, a cultural landmark that transformed the city’s artistic future.
One story has always stayed with me.
According to those who knew her, if Dorothy believed someone could do more, she occasionally returned a contribution with a simple handwritten note that read, “You can do better.” One recipient was actor Kirk Douglas, who reportedly doubled his gift.
I’ve always smiled when I read that story, not because I think it’s a fundraising technique anyone should imitate, but because it tells us something far more important about Dorothy Chandler. By then, she had earned something every fundraiser hopes to earn: trust. People believed in her. They believed in her judgment. They believed in her vision. Most importantly, they believed she was asking them to become part of something much larger than themselves.
As I’ve reflected on Dorothy Chandler’s story over the years, I’ve often thought about Simon Sinek’s now-famous observation:
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
Simon has often explained that this principle extends far beyond business. It applies equally to philanthropy and public service.
People don’t buy because of what you do or how you do it. They don’t make a charitable contribution because of what you’re asking them to fund. They don’t vote for a candidate because of what they’re promising.
They buy, they give, and they vote because they believe in why you do what you do.
Dorothy Buffum Chandler lived that principle decades before Simon Sinek gave it a name.
She wasn’t asking people to build a performing arts center.
She was inviting them to become part of a vision that would enrich Los Angeles for generations.
People believed in her purpose. They believed in her conviction. Most of all, they believed in why it mattered.
Perhaps that’s why her campaign succeeded where so many others had failed. She wasn’t raising money for a building. She was inspiring people to invest in the music, the performances, and the cultural experiences that would come to life within its walls.
When The Music Center opened in 1964, Dorothy Chandler reminded everyone what truly mattered. She observed that the fundraising campaign and even the magnificent building were not the real achievement. The real achievement would be the music that would continue long after they were all gone.
That may be my favorite part of her story.
After years of raising millions of dollars, countless meetings, endless planning sessions, and the successful completion of one of America’s great civic projects, Dorothy Chandler reminded everyone that the building itself was never the destination. It was simply the place where the real mission would begin.
As I look back on nearly thirty years in philanthropy, I find myself returning to her story time and again. Every capital campaign, every endowment, every scholarship, every nonprofit organization, every family foundation, and every political campaign ultimately exists for the same reason. None of them are ends unto themselves. They are about people. They are about purpose. They are about changing lives and strengthening communities because someone believed enough to invest in something greater than themselves.
That is Dorothy Buffum Chandler’s legacy.
It is also one of the greatest lessons I have carried with me throughout my own career.
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Monday Memories
Honoring the people, places, and experiences that have shaped the nearly thirty-year journey of Patrick Willis Strategic Consulting.
Join me next Monday as I share another story that has influenced my life, my work, and my philosophy of philanthropy.
