Philanthropic pioneer David Rahr dies at age 79

As former Vermont Gov. James Douglas tells the story, David Rahr had worked four comfortable years as Middlebury College’s development director when a group of peers had the audacity to ask the school official to leave his job and lead the formation of a statewide charitable fund.
“I remember thinking, ‘A secure job at the college for a startup venture? Wow, he’s taking a risk.’”
Douglas wasn’t surprised when Rahr turned the resulting Vermont Community F