The Ann Jackson Family Foundation, founded in 1978, has been a longtime pillar in Santa Barbara’s philanthropic community.
Since Palmer Jackson Jr. became a trustee more than 20 years ago, the foundation has continued to be a consistent and generous funder.
“In our household we were used to Dad coming home late, not just from work, but from board meetings,” Jackson told Noozhawk in a recent interview, referring to his father, Palmer Jackson Sr., the foundation’s founder and board president.
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“I wasn’t really aware of the foundation until, say, 25 years ago, but we were all aware of my father’s philanthropic focus.”
Growing up in a family committed to philanthropy, it is natural for Jackson to be playing a key role in the foundation established by his father in honor of his mother, the late Ann Gavit Jackson, Jackson’s grandmother.
“It was kind of part of our upbringing,” he said. “That’s what you were supposed to do.”
With the help of his brothers, Charles and James, and cousins Deborah Jones and William Jackson, the foundation’s future remains steady under the guidance of this third generation.
When asked how the foundation has changed since he became involved, Jackson said there has been little change.
“We support somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 nonprofits, and we’ve been doing that for maybe 25 years — similar numbers for a long time,” said the 52-year-old Jackson, who has been managing trustee for the past three years.
“The caveat is that because we support so many (of the same) organizations year after year, it’s a little tough to break in as a new one, because that would mean we have to reduce our support for somebody else.”
Even when it comes to the foundation making small donations — between $2,500 and $15,000 — decisions to move these funds can be critical to the future of the nonprofits that rely upon them.
“Those are some of our hardest discussions,” Jackson said.
With 90 percent of its grants supporting Santa Barbara-based nonprofits, the Ann Jackson Family Foundation plays a major role in the growth and development of the community.
Every year, the foundation provides grants, ranging from $2,500 to $50,000, to an organization.
Last year, “there were some really big projects, and we ended up going up to $100,000 in one year for several organizations, one of those being the Cancer Center (of Santa Barbara),” Jackson said. “That’s a big one for us.”
Although the nonprofits the foundation funds rarely change, the way that the foundation supports them has.
Jackson explained that foundations are required to give away at least 5 percent of their principal each year, a figure that does not include the investment return on the foundation’s assets. The 5 percent disbursement standard is common in the foundation world.
But a foundation also can take some of its principal and make a “program-related investment” in a nonprofit, he said — as a loan, for example.
“What some foundations are doing is they’re taking some of their principal and actually investing it in nonprofits,” Jackson said.
They are “starting to say ‘You know what, here we have this stock portfolio … maybe we could leverage that a little bit rather than just using 5 percent of the proceeds,’” he said.
Last year, the Ann Jackson Family Foundation donated nearly $2.5 million of its roughly $50 million portfolio to a diverse array of community organizations, schools, youth and art programs, and health projects, among many other programs.
“Most years (the foundation goes) over by $100,000 or more,” exceeding the 5 percent requirement, Jackson noted.
“We decided to take $250,000 out of our portfolio and lend it to The Granada Theatre for 10 years at 2 percent (interest), so it doesn’t count toward the 5 percent cash we have to give away, but it’s a huge help to them,” he said.
“In this case, we were able to (invest) along with a bunch of other donors for a total of $25 million that got rid of another loan obligation that (The Granada) had and reduced their interest rates, saving them a million dollars a year for 10 years.”
The Ann Jackson Family Foundation also distinguishes itself in its relationships.
“One of the things that is a little unusual about our foundation is the number of boards that our board sits on,” Jackson said.
He and his fellow trustees sit on the boards of at least a dozen of the nonprofit organiztions that receive foundation grants.
“I think it gives us empathy, because we understand that every organization needs money,” he said.
Jackson said the Ann Jackson Family Foundation has been a consistent supporter of Santa Barbara’s Partnership for Excellence Conference, an annual event that brings together nonprofit and philanthropic groups from throughout Santa Barbara County to discuss the future of the community.
“The whole focus is helping nonprofits get better at what they do,” he said.
With more than 500 attendees, the conference’s impact is substantial for the nonprofit and donor partners.
Jackson pointed out that the conference is “not only (about) networking, but about education and excellence.”
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— Noozhawk contributing writer Kellie Kreiss can be reached at news@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.