Supporting the Violet Jabara Jacobs Endowment Fund ensures you are making a profound impact today while also creating your legacy for tomorrow.

Giving to an endowment fund means your support will last for generations to come. These funds are invaluable in uncertain economic times so that organizations can continue to support the communities that need them most. Endowments allow you to make a significant investment in the future, provide opportunity for incremental funding, and ensure your values and priorities are supported long-term.

NEF strategically invests our endowment to responsibly protect your investment while maximizing your impact.

Violet was a first-generation Lebanese American who grew up in Brooklyn and earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley in 1937. Her husband, Joseph Jacobs, founded the Jacobs Engineering Company in 1947, which has become one of the largest engineering firms in the country.

Involved in philanthropy early on, Violet was generous in spirit and was dedicated to supporting the economic and educational development of Lebanon. In 2007, her daughter, Dr. Linda K. Jacobs, established the Violet Jabara Charitable Trust with a two-fold mission: help improve the lives of the people in countries in the Middle East and to foster greater understanding of the Middle Eastern culture in the United States. Violet passed in 2015 leaving a legacy of generosity and leadership that her daughter, Linda, continues as a NEF Board member and supporter of many great causes.

Violet and Linda founded Near East Foundation’s endowment fund in 2008, believing in our mission and feeling driven to ensure NEF can be a life-saving resource for generations to come.