Dede Wilsey drew upon a remarkable strategy while working as the chair of the Fine Arts Museum of the Capital Campaign of the San Francisco’s Museum to raise funds to rebuild the de Young Museum Complex in 2005. After she undertook the campaign, Dede Wilsey threw her soul and heart into the project. She raised 208 million US dollars from more than 7,000 donors. She culminated the privately funded largest cultural gift that was ever given to the city of San Francisco.
She even played a significant role in the designing and refurbishing of the museum. She worked along with the architects and other workings on the renovation of the Museum. Dede Wilsey worked on the project for 10 years with boundless energy. It is commonly known and believed that without the solid efforts of the philanthropist, the de Young could have never been rebuilt. According to Mr. Harry Parker, the former director of the Fine Arts Museums, everyone wishes that they had an efficient fundraising campaign lead by Dede Wilsey. She herself knows that it was perhaps the most difficult of the fundraising ever done by her during the past 30 years. Yet she succeeded in her plan and completed the mega project.