Cleveland H. Dodge was born in New York City in 1860. Dodge’s great-grandfather and grandfather had founded the Phelps Dodge Corporation, a successful mining company. The family made a name for itself in business while building a reputation for philanthropy. William Earl Dodge, grandfather to Cleveland H. Dodge, was a founding board member of the YMCA and Syrian Protestant College (later the American University of Beirut).
Dodge joined the family business in 1884 and became vice president in 1909. He became chairman of the board of trustees of Robert College in Constantinople the same year—a position he would hold until his death.
Dodge attended Princeton University with Woodrow Wilson, and the two became lifelong friends. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s famous telegram warning of the “destruction of the Armenian race” mentioned Dodge by name. President Wilson contacted Dodge with Morgenthau’s urgent request to form a relief committee.
Dodge called the first meeting of the group that would become Near East Relief in his office in Lower Manhattan on September 16, 1915. He was chosen as Treasurer. At that meeting, Dodge quietly informed Secretary Samuel T. Dutton that he would cover all operating expenses so that every dollar contributed by the public could be used for direct relief. Dodge financed NER’s operating expenses until his death in 1926. With World War I, the demand for copper increased dramatically. Dodge was deeply troubled by the idea of profiting from the war. He created the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation in 1917, with a general mandate to use its resources "for the betterment of mankind." It remains an important supporter of NEF's work today.
Dodge’s twin sons, Cleveland and Bayard, continued their father’s legacy of philanthropy. Cleveland E. Dodge was actively involved with NEF from 1920 to 1978. He was an NER Trustee and was named President of NEF at its creation in 1930—a position he held for 23 years. Under his leadership, the Near East Foundation established pioneering development programs in 26 countries. In 1953, Dodge became chairman of the NEF Board of Directors. He resigned the chairmanship in 1968, but continued to serve as an honorary chairman and member of the executive committee for the rest of his life.
Bayard Dodge was President of the American University of Beirut (AUB) from 1923 to 1948. His son, David S. Dodge, served on the AUB Board and as its vice president and acting president. David S. Dodge was the president of NEF in 1977-1978, and chairman of the Board of Directors for more than a dozen years in the 80s and 90s.
Cleveland H. Dodge's descendants continue his family's tradition of leadership within NEF.
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