Ken Jackson helps animals through The Remy Fund for Pets and Animal Services, named after his beloved dog, Remy.

Pet Project

Posted January 12, 2012

KEN JACKSON remembers moving into a new house in Mountain Brook, Ala., as a fourth-grade kid and being delighted to see a dog behind the fence in the yard adjacent to his. For the first few days, every time he went outside, the dog, Pal, would stand at the fence and wag his tail until Ken came over to play with him.

But when he met the dog's owner, she cautioned Ken to stay away from the fence. Pal had a history of biting neighbors, she warned. Ken explained that he and Pal were already fast friends. "As it turned out, for the next seven years, whenever they went out of town, I was the one to take care of their dog," Ken recalls. "I loved it."

Growing up, Ken never had a pet of his own, but Pal was an early example of the great respect he always has had for animals. As an adult, he saw how pets can improve quality of life when he became an advisory board member for Hand in Paw, a volunteer-driven organization that sends people and their specially trained pets to help comfort people in challenging circumstances.

"I was able to get a first-hand view of the effect animals have on people," he remembers. "Seeing a child with cerebral palsy laughing out loud when an animal entered the room had a big impact on me, and rarely did I go on a visit that I did not tear up with emotion."

Yet it was relatively recently that he honed in on his love of animals as a specific philanthropic cause. Over the years Ken has been involved with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, most prominently volunteering as a live auctioneer and emcee for more than 300 auctions, to date raising more than $10 million this way. His other civic contributions have been significant, from endowing a scholarship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to recently gifting his large personal collection of Frank Fleming bronze sculptures to Aldridge Gardens, creating the largest collection of Frank Fleming sculptures on view to the public.

But while all of those efforts have been important to him, a pivotal moment came about 10 years ago when he was inspired to think about his legacy. He had scaled back his day-to-day role as president of his industrial-distribution company, Dudley C. Jackson, Inc., in order to spend more time with his aging mother and father. When they passed away, he had to make a decision. "I could go back to working more and make more money, but I had no wife, children, or mortgage, and I was not income-driven," he explains. "I had been working my whole life and wanted to do something else."

Though he had always given to causes he believed in, he felt he could do more. If he tried to name his passion in one word, what came to mind was "animals."

In 2010 he approached the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, a collective endowment that pools private donations and makes grants for projects that meet needs and improve lives in the Birmingham region. He had established The Mac & Tosh Fund there to make charitable grants, but he wanted to start a new fund specifically for making grants to organizations that work with traditional companion animals such as dogs, cats, and horses. He named it The Remy Fund for Pets and Animal Services after his beloved dog, Remy, who recently has passed away, and gave $250,000 toward its creation.

The first Remy Fund grants, determined by a five-member volunteer committee, were awarded last fall to Bama Bully Rescue, which finds homes for abandoned or abused pit bulls and similar dogs; Mamakat Rescue, which spays and neuters stray cats; and Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch, which provides shelter to horses that are victims of abuse, neglect, or abandonment and uses them in animal-therapy programs for at-risk youth.

Ken says the selections of the grant committee reflect both his love of animals and his pragmatism as someone who has decades of experience running a successful company. "For an organization to be effective, you have to have all the facets—the passion and the wherewithal," he says. "You can't save all the animals in the world, so what do you really want to do?"

As a result, while the first three grantees have very different missions, each has a clear focus. "There is a tremendous need for these small organizations. Take Bama Bully Rescue for example. With a $5,000 grant, they were able to buy a vehicle to transport the dogs that they rescue and find homes for. That's what they really needed. It's so cool that we can effectively touch these organizations that make a huge difference but get very little recognition."

It’s a cool tribute to the animals that have touched Ken’s life, as well.

To contribute to The Remy Fund, visit the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham at www.foundationbirmingham.org.

KEN JACKSON is a customer of Regions Bank.

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