WE SUPPORT AND CELEBRATE IDEAS AND INNOVATORS
The Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation (PDFF) gives every entrepreneur the opportunity to realize their bold vision. Rooted in Delaware’s innovative spirit and guided by Governor Pete du Pont’s legacy, we seek transformative ideas, deliver strategic support, and build capacity for entrepreneurs.
Through membership or program participation, we pair entrepreneurs with seasoned mentors for hands-on guidance. We also match them with vetted, contracted service providers for targeted services and consulting. Most importantly, PDFF gives each entrepreneur a seat at the table, providing access to influential leaders who can help their business grow.
We need people who have bold vision that shows where America needs to be going and how we can get from where we are to those places.
– Governor Pete du Pont
MISSION
We promote our country’s spirit of private enterprise by fostering access to the marketplace for every entrepreneur and their ideas.
VISION
We support and celebrate ideas and innovators, create jobs, and promote innovation and enterprise for all.
OUR CORE VALUES
We are committed to Governor Pete du Pont’s values of free enterprise, self-reliance, service orientation, and equality of access. They are testaments to his life of service and are reflected in all that we do every day.
Free Enterprise
Pete du Pont loved the ideals that are this country’s bedrock, that the United States is a unique place in which an individual can explore his or her ideas and pursue the American Dream. For Pete, free enterprise was the canvas on which individuals could paint their ideas in “bold, primary colors.” Patriotism, coupled with the belief that all people in the United States can use free enterprise to pursue their dreams, is essential to bringing these ideas to life.
Self-Reliance
Pete du Pont believed in self-reliance. He believed that “doing” is far greater than “talking about doing.” Performance is the strongest expression of the spirit of free enterprise. Self-reliance, resilience, and accountability empower people. For Pete, a small group of self-reliant and determined individuals is one of the most powerful forces in the world (the “Davids” in a world of “Goliaths”).
Service Orientation
For Pete du Pont, entrepreneurs were the heroes who created solutions to our world’s most troublesome challenges by bringing new ideas to life. Guided by empathy for entrepreneurs, Pete dedicated his life to serving small businesses and the innovative solutions they provided by listening to entrepreneurs’ needs, reducing red tape, and removing barriers to innovation.
Equality of Access
Pete du Pont believed that regardless of background or experience, anyone with a good idea should be able to bring that idea to fruition. Equal access to capital and support are fundamental to the work of the Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation, currently exemplified in its E3 and Reinventing Delaware programs. Both aspire to fairness and equity, giving enterprising individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds opportunities to create and expand businesses.
