Measuring a Legacy: Learning from the Jacobs Family Foundation's Community-Driven Journey

What does it look like when a philanthropic family commits—seriously and over decades—to both audacious risk-taking and genuine community ownership of neighborhood change? And how do you assess and learn from a change of that magnitude? This session tells the story of how the Jacobs Family Foundation moved from traditional grantmaking to a long-term strategy centered on economic development and neighborhood revitalization through its operating foundation, the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI), ultimately transferring full governance of JCNI to community leadership.

Drawing on a year-long study by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy—more than 100 documents, 26 stakeholder interviews, and three decades of neighborhood data—this session will help families align learning and assessment with their values, ask whose voices shape the story of success, and build systems of feedback and accountability that center community. Attendees will come away with hard-won insights on governance, family legacy, community ownership, and candid reflections on nearly four decades of deep community investment.