While big-name philanthropists give away eye-popping sums, many of the most impactful donors are those who give what they can to their local communities.
Take Jake Jabs, the 95-year-old CEO of American Furniture Warehouse, a business he bought for just $80,000 in 1975. When he bought $1.5 million in assets for that amount, the company was headed for bankruptcy, but he built it into an empire across Colorado, Arizona, and Texas with 18 locations. American Furniture Warehouse remains privately held and family-operated, and pulled in roughly $858 million in revenue in 2025, making it one of the largest private companies in Colorado.
And now he’s sharing his business success with local nonprofits; he recently told CBS News. In the past year, he’s given more than $1 million to charities across Colorado.
It’s a full-circle moment for Jabs, who said he grew up poor.
“I saw a lot of poverty,” he said. “I’ve traveled to 50 countries, and I see a lot of poverty, so I like to give to charity and things that help people and live them out of poverty.” This year, he earned the American Red Cross Heroism Award, which goes to “ordinary people with extraordinary courage,” and the Volunteers of America Good Samaritan Award, which goes to recipients who “embody compassion, generosity and selflessness in their communities.” Both honors are typically reserved for local firefighters, nurses, and bystanders who step up in a crisis, not CEOs.
