Since the death of Melville Jacobs in 1971 every year the Jacobs Fund has supported anthropological and linguistic research on living Native Americans and during that time has funded nearly 500 small grants. Because of its relatively conservative mandate urging a preference for basic research, the fund has fostered the collection of irreplaceable data on the evolving languages and cultures of Native American peoples. Thanks to the generous administrative support of the Whatcom Museum of History and Art in Bellingham and the frugality, not to say penuriousness, of the volunteer advisory board, the Jacobs Fund enjoys a very low expense ratio (1% or less), enabling the lion's share of its formerly modest endowment to be spent as the founders intended. The recent gifts that have enriched the endowment will allow an expansion of the program without changing its orientation.
We encourage those who see the value of the research the Fund supports to make contributions, large or small, to the endowment. Contributions may be sent to: Jacobs Funds of the Whatcom Museum, 121 Prospect Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, Attention: Amy Geise. Please make your check to Jacobs Funds. All gifts qualify as bona fide charitable contributions in both the United States (501c3) and Canada. Please enclose the donation form with your gift, indicating whether you would like to be acknowledged publicly or prefer to remain anonymous.
Canadians wishing to make a donation to support the Jacobs Fund should do so via the British Columbia branch of the Whatcom Museum Society at 2563 W. 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 1Y8, e-mail: gerdts@sfu.ca. The Whatcom Museum Society holds Tax Registration Number 861680635RR001 from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and will issue a tax receipt.