Jacobses’ gift will fund 20 Carolina Covenant scholars

A transformational estate gift from Dwight Jacobs ’87 and Moira Jacobs ’87 will support future generations of Carolina Covenant scholars.

“If we could help 20 Dwights, that would be amazing,” said Dwight Jacobs.

Long before he was in the C-suite at Duke Energy, Jacobs was a kid with roots from rural Robeson County, part of a Lumbee Indian family, figuring out what college even meant. His dad passed away just before Jacobs graduated from high school. His mom worked in the school cafeteria. And though the Carolina Covenant didn’t exist yet, the spirit behind it — the belief that potential shouldn’t be limited by financial circumstance — was already at work in his life.

Decades later, the Jacobses’ estate gift in support of the Carolina Covenant — UNC-Chapel Hill’s groundbreaking program that allows qualified low-income students to graduate debt-free — ensures that other students can access the same life-changing opportunities.

“It’s tough to ask for help, even humiliating” Jacobs said. “You have to swallow your pride a little bit. So it’s not only my blessing, it’s my obligation now to do that for somebody else. I’m so grateful to be on this side of the table, able to give.”

The couple’s planned gift will ultimately fund approximately 20 Carolina Covenant students, a tangible legacy that means the world to them.

“The Covenant helps everybody who’s looking for a leg up — qualified, outstanding students from all walks of life who just need some financial help,” Jacobs explained. “This felt like the most certain thing for me to support through time. Colleges, deans, chancellors come and go, but outstanding, creative students who lack means do not. They’ll be here for a long time.”

Giving time and talent

The Jacobses visit campus regularly. Both their children attended UNC-Chapel Hill, as did two of Jacobs’ three brothers and his daughter-in-law. Jacobs has served on the UNC Children’s Hospital Board, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Visitors, and he has taught at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Jacobs currently serves as chair of the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity. ACRED, as Jacobs explained it, is more than a committee: It’s a bridge between Carolina’s diverse alumni and the University’s philanthropic goals.

Jacobs stressed that ACRED’s mission is ultimately about opportunity. “We care about students getting a shot. It’s about making North Carolina better. When all communities do well, the state does well. More people with education means more opportunities, more progress.”

Leaving a legacy

“The Jacobses’ gift — and the spirit behind it — is representative of the regenerative nature of investing in talented people,” said Candice Powell ’06, ’21 (PhD), director of the Carolina Covenant. “Those talented people invest in other talented people, recognizing the measurable ripple effect that this investment has on a person, their families, communities and the world.”

Jacobs encouraged others, especially young alumni, to find their own ways to contribute.

“UNC is a big place, and it needs volunteers, too,” he said. “There are all kinds of ways to plug in. It took me 20 years after graduation to get involved again — but now I feel like I’m leaving the University better than I found it.”

That drive to leave a legacy is at the heart of the Jacobses’ gift to the Carolina Covenant.

“Knowing what the fruits of our labor will do for others gives me joy, satisfaction and pride,” Jacobs said. “It makes me smile every morning.”