Initiatives — PD Jackson Family Foundation

We are dedicated to choosing gift recipients based on our values.

Harmony

The poet Rabindranath Tagore says, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.” Our foundation seeks out organizations that find clever and compassionate ways to bring people together or to help them cultivate a deeper understanding of the natural environment.

Community

We think that community can be a supportive and sustaining force if an individual feels rooted in it and free to thrive. We support organizations that nurture each individual and seek to offer a stable ground from which growth might occur.

Growth

In a safe and nourishing environment or community, meaningful growth occurs. We support organizations that focus specifically on positive growth, whether through the re-introduction of a native species to an ecosystem or through the cultivation of a person’s inner life.

Our Initiatives

When Phil Jackson formed the P.D. Jackson Family Foundation, he reflected on the individuals, communities, and causes that have influenced his worldview and shaped his character. He expressed an unwavering commitment to support all of them. As part of his legacy, the foundation will continue to bolster those people, communities, and causes.

1.+Med_Vu2.jpg — Environmental preservation

A resident of the Flathead Valley since 1973, Phil has watched how the population growth and wide range of industries have impacted the region. He has also seen firsthand how a lack of knowledge about ecosystems has resulted in the disappearance of regional flora and fauna. He remembers fishing for salmon in Flathead Lake back when there was a healthy and robust salmon population. He has been a long-time supporter of the Flathead Lakers, an organization started in 1958 to address, in part, the quality of water in Flathead Lake and the preservation of the lakeshore.

Phil’s care for the environment begins in Northwest Montana where, to stay close to the earth, he has been a frequent camper at West Shore State Park. In the 1970s he built his lakeside post and beam home using green building principles, aiming to impact the land as little as possible. His care for the environment radiates outward to urgent global projects, including watershed restoration, clean energy initiatives, youth education programs about the environment, and the protection of coral reefs.

Phil first witnessed racism and abject poverty around the native population in Wolf Point, Montana by the Fort Peck Reservation for Assiniboine & Sioux tribes. During his graduate work at the University of North Dakota, he participated in Upward Bound and worked intimately with native students who had limited access to education. Later, during his professional basketball career, he led basketball programs for Lakota youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation and invited guests such as Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, and Bill Walton. At that time, he became dedicated to supporting the Lakota tribe and was given honorary membership as well as the name Swift Eagle (Ohoko Wabli).

Phil’s experience with indigenous populations in Montana and the Dakotas has inspired him to support these communities throughout the country. The foundation is particularly interested in supporting indigenous peoples and organizations located on reservations and in isolated areas of the country (like Wolf Point, Montana) where access to resources is limited.

ChelseaandJoshJacksonpart3 032.jpg — Local Communities in Montana

During his youth, Phil and his family would spend their summers at a campground near Glacier National Park. At that time, he developed an affinity for this corner of Montana. In 1973, he bought land on Flathead Lake and kept coming back to it. While his work life forced his family to be centered around major cities in the US, he wanted his children to spend their summers growing up in this region that he had cherished as a boy.

Regardless of where they live throughout the year, Phil and his kids consider Northwest Montana to be their true home. They are dedicated to its many communities, hoping above all to assist with educational, environmental, and housing initiatives in the region.

A Christian upbringing taught Phil about stewardship. Both of his parents were ministers and he often accompanied them on work visits to local hospitals and prisons. In college, he took a composite major of psychology, philosophy, and religion. A course in Eastern Philosophy opened him up to Buddhism and gave him a focus on meditation as another element of spiritual life.

Through his personal and work experiences he has discovered that in order for people to reach their goals, they have to nurture their personal growth and cultivate their inner life. He supports organizations that strive to educate, edify, and enlighten; that build strong, open-minded, and compassionate leaders; and that focus on inner growth as a way to accomplish change in the world.

“With your support, we are able to provide funding for vital projects and programs that preserve and protect the park.”

**- Nikki Eisinger**
Former Director of Philanthropy, Glacier National Park Conservancy