HACKETT
FAMILY
FOUNDATION
JIM & KATHY
To inspire hope in those that
society is leaving behind.
To do it one person or family
at a time. And to help each of them unlock their promise and rise above the limitations of their
circumstances.
OUR MISSION:
OUR
FOCUS
AREAS
“The Hackett’s give people the belief that they can
do better and be better in life.”
DESTANIE CURTIS
Hackett Family Scholarship Recipient
ABOUT US:
Jim and Kathy Hackett have been together for 48 years. Their marriage is a testament to human connection – one person building the other up. Their partnership has become a force for good in Michigan’s Grand Rapids community.
They both grew up with a powerful sense of place, and the feeling of belonging which that place gave them. Both were born and raised in London, Ohio. Kathy’s parents were Joan and Charles Hedges. They worked hard to give their children the opportunities they never had, and it was their strength that taught Kathy the value of education and perseverance. Jim’s father Bill was a veterinarian and his mother Helen a self-directed woman with a liberal arts degree when women didn’t do that. Helen, or Bambi as she was affectionately known, was a homemaker and an artist.
In Ohio, Jim says that if your head rose above the crowd, likely you were seeking attention insincerely. It was a place of strong values where you know you answer to those around you, and you wish the best for everyone. But Jim did stick his head up, time and again. He thrived on challenges where he could apply the free thinking he’d learned from his parents. For twenty years he was CEO of Steelcase in Grand Rapids. Then Chairman of Ford Smart Mobility in Palo Alto. Then CEO of Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Kathy, as shepherd for the family, enabled Jim to commit to this path.
Jim and Kathy understood a long time ago that their good fortune brought responsibility with it. Responsibility their family has embraced. Their sons Pat and Rob, and their wives Melissa and Alex, share and are vested in the goals of the Foundation. Following them in the family footsteps are six young girls – Catie, Marah, Gabrielle, Dylan, Cameron, and Spencer.
These three generations are the bedrock of the Foundation, which hopes to make so much possible for so many others in the years ahead.
Marilyn Elder is a charismatic businesswoman and entrepreneur with a decades-long career and a passion for helping others. While working at Steelcase for 30 years, she filled a multitude of integral roles across various departments –– supporting one Director, two Vice Presidents, and eventually, President and CEO, Jim Hackett.
Marilyn has also found success managing Ruben’s Chuckwagon BBQ Sauce LLC –– a family business founded by her and her husband, Ruben –– as well as teaching a curriculum on skills for success at the Women’s Resource Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
As Director of the Jim & Kathy Hackett Family Foundation, Marilyn manages day-to-day operations, oversees the grant application process, and acts as liaison to the Hackett family as they pursue their shared goal of inspiring hope in those that society is leaving behind.