WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) honored Delaware businessman and philanthropist Fred Sears, who will retire from the Delaware Community Foundation at the end of the year after 13 years as President and CEO.

Excerpts from Senator Coons’ remarks: 

“I rise today to recognize a close friend from Delaware, Fred Sears. A community leader and a passionate advocate for all in our community; a man whose name is synonymous with business leadership and public service in my home state of Delaware, and a man I am proud to call my friend.” 

“For decades, his impact has been felt by elected officials, non-profit and community leaders, and countless Delawareans of all backgrounds and careers. He is a true leader, an authentic champion of the community, and the embodiment of what service means in Delaware.”

“Since Fred began as CEO in 2002, the Delaware Community Foundation has tripled its long-term charitable funds and built its assets to $285 million. Dozens of non-profits and community funds have flourished under Fred’s leadership, and he and his team and their astute financial guidance continues to generate the funding that enables them to serve.” 

“Fred possesses that rare quality: the ability to inspire others. He has used his passion for service to motivate the next generation of great leaders in our state. Take, for example, one of Fred's many initiatives called The Next Generation. It is one he is most proud of, and justifiably so.”

“Thank you for giving your time and talents over decades to more than 40 community nonprofit organizations, for serving on countless boards, from Christiana Care to the Rodel Foundation, from the Housing Partnership, to the United Way. Thank you for your decades of service to Wilmington and Delaware, and for a lifelong commitment to family, friends, and community. Fred, as our friend Tony Allen puts it, everyone in Delaware is better off because of your efforts.” 

Senator Coons’ full remarks are below:

“Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a close friend from Delaware, Fred Sears. A community leader and a passionate advocate for all in our community; a man whose name is synonymous with business leadership and public service in my home state of Delaware, and a man I am proud to call my friend.

“Fred is known statewide for his generosity, his enthusiasm, and his business acumen. For decades, his impact has been felt by elected officials, non-profit and community leaders, and countless Delawareans of all backgrounds and careers. He is a true leader, an authentic champion of the community, and the embodiment of what service means in Delaware.

“Fred Sears is a Delawarean through and through, born just blocks away from his boyhood home at what was then called Wilmington Hospital, he grew up across the river from Brandywine Zoo. This Delaware native attended Mt. Pleasant elementary, Alfred I. DuPont junior high, and Wilmington Friends School for high school. Fred went on to earn a business degree from the University of Delaware, and had a great deal of fun, including a truly memorable spring break trip to the Bahamas with Joe Biden, his classmate and friend.

“After graduating from UD in ‘64, Fred began a nearly forty-year career in banking. Fresh out of college, Fred was scheduled to interview for a job with the Bank of Delaware, but accidentally walked into Delaware Trust instead. Fortunately, Delaware Trust was also hiring, and after starting as a management trainee, he rose to become the institution’s first vice-president of business development. From there, Fred went on to later work at Wilmington Trust, Beneficial National Bank, and, ultimately, Commerce Bank, where he was Delaware Market President.

“While Fred was well and widely known as a leader in our financial services industry, he found many other ways to serve our community as well.

“Early in his career, Mayor Tom Maloney asked his friend Fred to take a leave of absence from Delaware Trust to serve as the city’s Director of Finance and then later as Director of Economic Development. Fred not only fulfilled those two roles terrifically, but decided afterwards to run for an at-large City Council seat in 1976. Fred won, and went on to serve two full terms. 

“Many of us in younger generations of politics after Fred’s elected service have called on his wisdom, his insight, and his ability to bring people together, as we had important decisions to make. So Fred served on the transition teams of Wilmington Mayor James Sills, Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner, and co-chaired my transition team after I was elected New Castle County Executive in 2004. 

“For many of us, decades of success in finance, in business, in politics might be the hallmark of a complete and successful career. But for Fred, these experiences were just a few of the ways he fulfilled a lifelong passion for service in our State of Neighbors. 

“Just over thirteen years ago, while Fred was at Commerce Bank, our mutual friend Jim Gilliam Jr. called Fred one day and said to him, “I have a job for you.” After some convincing, Fred accepted the job, and since then, he has served admirably at the helm of one of the most important organizations in Delaware: the Delaware Community Foundation. The DCF plays an integral role in my home state, helping local non-profits direct philanthropy to Delaware’s most worthy causes and encouraging long-term charitable giving to improve our state. 

“Since Fred began as CEO in 2002, the DCF has tripled its long-term charitable funds and built its assets to $285 million. Dozens of non-profits and community funds have flourished under Fred’s leadership, and he and his team and their astute financial guidance continues to generate the funding that enables them to serve.

“Fred didn’t join the DCF though just to raise money and just to be important and recognized; he rather sought to improve the entire philanthropic community and quality of community life in Delaware, and his success in doing so reflects his values and his vision.

“Fred is a true leader: honest, insightful, thoughtful; creative, positive and confident. And Fred possesses that rare quality: the ability to inspire others. He has used his passion for service to motivate the next generation of great leaders in our state.

“Take, for example, one of Fred's many initiatives called The Next Generation. It is one he is most proud of, and justifiably so. Next Gen takes groups of civic-minded young professionals with limited or no experience in philanthropy, and, with just the right amount of guidance and encouragement, helps mold them into nonprofit board leaders. Since 2004, Next Gen’s chapters up and down the state have helped direct over $300,000 in grants to community needs all over my home state of Delaware.

“My good friend, Tony Allen, who also calls Fred a mentor, and a friend, and a brother, tells a story of how Fred helped establish the African American Community Empowerment Fund. The fund is today known as the Council on Urban Empowerment, and it promotes philanthropy that supports educational, social, and economic empowerment of African American Delawareans. As Tony notes, Fred didn’t just help establish the fund, he wasn’t just one of its first donors; he attended every meeting of the group. 

“In 2010, Tony introduced Fred when Fred Sears was set to receive an award for nonprofit leadership. As Tony put it then, “While patience is a virtue, impatience is a weapon. And Fred can be appropriately impatient. Fred doesn’t demur to what others would call insurmountable tasks and taboo topics of conversation. He takes every opportunity to constructively push the status quo.” 

“Tony’s absolutely right, and given that legacy of leadership, it’s no surprise Fred has been honored by countless organizations for his business and community efforts. He’s received a “Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award” from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He’s been given a distinguished service award from the Wilmington Rotary Club. He’s been deemed a “Superstar in Business” by the Delaware State Chamber, and was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Delmarva Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

“Those awards and merits are certainly a reflection of Fred’s values and his many successes. But those of us who’ve had the privilege to work closely with Fred and to know him, know that his commitment to service shines most brightly in the hundreds of interactions he has with Delawareans every day, whether he’s offering ideas and advice, or just saying a quick hello.

“We know that even though Fred’s leaving the Delaware Community Foundation, he’ll undoubtedly continue to serve the community he loves. In fact, Fred just accepted an appointment from Governor Markell to chair Delaware’s Expenditure Review Commission, suggesting Fred has no intention of taking “retirement” literally.

“Mr. President, in a testament to Fred’s thoughtfulness, leadership, and sense of compassion, just a day after the passing of our beloved friend Beau Biden earlier this year, Fred spoke to the Bidens and offered to help the family establish an organization in Beau’s name. That idea became the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children – and two days after it was launched, they’d already raised over $125,000.

“If this is all there was to Fred’s story, it would be a remarkable one. But there is even more to Fred as a businessman, a philanthropist and a person. 

“If you speak to those who have been around him the longest, they will tell you his true passion is his family: his wife JoAnn, his son Graham, his daughter-in-law Kathryn, his son Jason, his daughter-in-law Jen, and, of course, his treasured grandchildren, Kylie, Paxton, and Charlie.

“I have no doubt that Fred’s retirement means he’ll be spending a lot more time as Pop Pop to his three treasures, becoming even more of a fixture at their frequent school functions and their baseball and soccer games. 

“Fred’s friends and family will also tell you how much he adored his mother, Marjorie, visiting her daily at Stonegates until her passing, and how much he cares for his father-in-law today. 

“They will tell you that Fred loves dancing, snappy suspenders, and vinyl records. 

“Fred’s friend Tom Shopa will tell you about Fred’s passion for golf, and how for decades he has kept track of all of his golf scores, the number of putts he made, the weather that day – recording every single detail just as his father did.

“Fred’s friends and colleagues will tell you they hear Fred say “thank you” dozens of times every day.

"So today, I pause for a moment on the floor of this great institution to say “thank you” to Fred.

“Thank you for giving your time and talents over decades to more than 40 community nonprofit organizations, for serving on countless boards, from Christiana Care to the Rodel Foundation, from the Housing Partnership, to the United Way.

“Thank you for your decades of service to Wilmington and Delaware, and for a lifelong commitment to family, friends, and community.

“Fred, as our friend Tony Allen puts it, everyone in Delaware is better off because of your efforts.

“Thank you, Fred Sears, and congratulations on many jobs well done. I eagerly look forward to seeing where your so-called “retirement” will take you next.

“Thank you, Mr. President.”