The Jackson family has deep roots in Santa Barbara County. Charles Hervey “Pete” Jackson, Jr. was an entrepreneur, horseman, and polo player who had ventured west from New York to Santa Barbara and fell in love with the West coast lifestyle. In 1944 he bought the Alisal Ranch at auction. Along with his wife, Ann Gavit Jackson, they built the Alisal into a successful cattle operation and luxury dude ranch. But they didn’t stop there. The couple was involved in a variety of other pursuits in Santa Barbara including horse breeding and racing as well as real estate investments. Pete and Ann were also passionate about philanthropy and supporting nonprofits in their community.
Shortly after Pete’s death in 1978, his son, Palmer Jackson, Sr., established the Ann Jackson Family Foundation in honor of his mother. While his parents had been supportive of many organizations in their community, this formalized their philanthropy and their commitment to bolstering Santa Barbara’s non-profit efforts. Today the Foundation distributes nearly $3.5 million per year in grants to approximately 150 non-profits – 90% of which are either based in, or have significant operations in, Santa Barbara County. Since its inception, the Jackson Family Foundation has distributed over $100 million. It is overseen entirely by volunteer trustees, including Palmer Jackson, Jr., his brothers Jim and C.J., and their cousins Deborah Jones and William Jackson.
Beginning in 2018, the Ann Jackson Family Foundation began providing restricted support to the Rangeland Trust for our efforts to conserve Santa Barbara County ranches including Rock Front Ranch near Santa Maria, and later, Spanish Ranch in the Cuyama Valley. According to Palmer Jackson, Jr., the Rangeland Trust was “closely aligned with our love of Santa Barbara, our history in ranching, and our desire to protect this treasured place.” More recently, the Foundation has committed to a broader three-year grant supporting our work to preserve the area’s working lands and keep California’s ranchers ranching. Palmer continues, “Rangeland Trust has proven to be a sophisticated and professional organization that is doing fantastic work, the kind of work that our Foundation likes to support and is proud to be associated with.”
Partnerships with family foundations are an important part of the effort to further rangeland conservation while providing ongoing support for current and future generations of ranchers. The grants we receive leverage the gifts from individual donors and help us show meaningful community support when we apply for funding from public agencies. We are grateful to the Jacksons for seeing the potential in their grantmaking to the Rangeland Trust, and we are honored to be part of fulfilling the legacy of this visionary family.
California Rangeland Trust is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax identification number 31-1631453) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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