Conclusion

Barbara Picower devoted nearly every waking hour of the previous decade to JPB and to improving the lives of people who deserve better. While she was surrounded by a highly talented staff and board, she was the driving force behind JPB’s success.

When she announced her plan to step down as president, it was another bold decision. But it was quite consistent with the way she ran the foundation since its creation. She identified areas she cared about and endeavored to go very deep on them. She often provided much more money than grant seekers requested, convinced that they could do more with more. She kept her issue areas fairly narrow, and continued to refine them over time, certain that more money given in more focused ways would be more effective. She almost reflexively shunned the limelight, always placing the focus on the grantee partners and the communities they served.

Her approach was highly personal—she placed an extraordinary amount of stock in her intuition and personal relationships. She identified leaders she trusted and gave them the resources they needed to succeed. She brought on a limited number of key senior staff and empowered them to shape strategies and transform fields. She invited leaders in the field to serve on her board, and she surrounded herself with advisory committees to help her make decisions. While she eagerly took their advice, she only did so after learning as much as she possibly could about a given subject. And she spent nearly every day studying, asking questions, talking, listening, and learning.

This singular approach to philanthropy reached what you might call its apotheosis when Barbara turned to her close friend and trusted colleague, Deepak Bhargava, and determined that the foundation’s future should now rest in his hands. It was an audacious decision, but hardly an inconsistent one. She was narrowing her focus, concentrating her resources, putting trust in close colleagues, and following her gut. A classic Barbara move, if you will.

The fullness of Barbara’s legacy, as well as the fruits of her team’s labors, will unfold in its own time and in its own way. What is clear is that as JPB evolves under its new mission and carries out its updated program strategies, it will always embody the values of its founder.