Jacobs Family Foundation
Joe & Vi Jacobs Center
404 Euclid Ave.
San Diego, CA 92114
(619) 527-6161
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November 26, 2007
Giving Wisely
Barron's
by Suzanne McGee
As with investing, brains can trump brawn when it comes to giving. Meet 10 donors who make sure their dollars go far.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett may get all the ink, but it takes more philanthropists than that to make the world go 'round. Hundreds of others also are leaving big marks - not necessarily because they have giant foundations but because they give wisely. They know how to make their dollars go far.
Barron's asked Geneva Global, a top consulting firm in philanthropy, to identify 10 donors who epitomize thoughtful and effective giving. Some of these folks work far behind the scenes - Lynn Fritz, for instance, supports training and technology for disaster-relief workers around the world - while the efforts of others are quite visible. The Jacobs family of San Diego has given a remarkable second life to a poor neighborhood there. The Works of all 10 donors stand as valuable object lessons as this year's season of giving gets under way...
"There are lists everywhere of who the biggest philanthropists are, but that doesn't answer the real question; the biggest givers may not be the most effective," says Steve Beck, chief executive officer of Geneva Global. After all, he points out, no one measures the caliber of an investor by the size of the portfolio, but by the returns.
The 10 donors, who support everything from executive education in the U.S. to water wells in Ethiopia, all are having real impact in their own lifetimes.
Jacobs Family
Valerie Jacobs Hapke, along with her mother, sister, husband and son, have been rejuvenating poor neighborhoods in their hometown of San Diego, tapping a $150 million family foundation that grew out of the family business, Jacobs Engineering Group.
STRATEGY: In approaching a community, the family aims to "attack everything at once: employment, transportation, child care, health care," Hapke says. "Everything is related." Its Market Creek project is a model for this, with the family transforming a blighted piece of land into a community shopping center.
REACH: Residents of the Market Creek neighborhood now can buy groceries locally at affordable prices and tend to their banking and enjoy three new restaurants. "About $32 million that residents used to spend outside the community on essential services now stays here," says Hapke. That's in addition to the jobs: 190 new full-time positions have been created.
EFFECTIVENESS: using the foundation's assets as loan guarantees, rather than just making grants, has let the family carry out large-scale projects. Ultimately, the family plans to spend the foundation's assets and transfer ownership of all the projects to the community.
PLANS: the foundation is snapping up land near Market Creek, so the community can control development.
The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation is a non-profit foundation that operates on the premise that residents must own and drive the change that takes place in their community for it to be meaningful and long-lasting. JCNI explores new pathways to change through entrepreneurial relationships, hands-on training, and the creative investment of resources.
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