Building a Legacy: Martin family advances spirit of generational giving

Growing up, entrepreneur Jay Martin, Sr.’s children—Melanie, Greg, Meredith, and Jay Jr. knew their dad was hardworking, successful, and gave back to the community. But they didn’t know too many details. 

“We always had lunch on Sundays together, and he would tell stories,” said Greg, “but he would never have said, ‘I give to this, I give to that.’”

Jay Sr. founded National Safety Associates (NSA) in 1970, and the business evolved from selling home fire-protection equipment into a global health and wellness enterprise that came to be known as Juice Plus+. He served as CEO until 2012 and was involved in many nonprofit organizations in Memphis and across the country, from Volunteers of America to MyCityRides, a Memphis transportation and workforce development nonprofit he founded in 2017.

“I knew he was philanthropic at heart,” said Jay Jr. of his dad. “Then when I was in college, I began to get more of a feel. I knew he worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs, and he told me about a check he had just written them as part of his giving plan. It was a generous check. He explained why it meant so much to him and why it was so important. Pretty much from then on, I knew his whole passion was giving to various organizations.” 

He “never wanted or took credit for any of his giving,” Jay Jr. said. “He came from an extremely humble background, so it was never in his personality to want or need the spotlight when it came to helping people who were less fortunate.”

Jay Sr. eventually convened meetings of his four children whenever everyone was in town (Meredith lives in New York; the others are based in the Memphis area), explaining his charitable interests and The Martin Family Foundation—a supporting organization at the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis. Then, three years ago, he formally turned the family’s philanthropy over to his children.

It all happened pretty fast, so they knew they needed help. They feel fortunate the family already had a relationship with the Community Foundation.

“We want to carry on what (my father) was truly passionate about, but at the same time, we have our own interests,” said Jay Jr. “The Community Foundation has done a great job helping us. We did some exercises to figure out our similar interests. And it’s worked out that we are aligned, with a lot of the same interests and values.”

They wrote a family mission statement and developed a set of values to guide their giving with the help of Veronica Jamison, Vice President of Philanthropic Services, and Caroline Kuebler, Managing Director of Philanthropic Services.

Though they are still in the early stages of the generational shift in their family’s philanthropy, the next generation of Martins is enjoying making plans together (and sometimes separately; of course the siblings’ ideas don’t align every time). And they have continued to rely on the resources of the Community Foundation.

Greg said that his father taught them that “to whom much is given, much is expected. Jay always said that. It’s our responsibility, because we are so blessed, to help as many people as we can.” 

Excerpted from the 2025 Community Foundation of Greater Memphis Annual Report.

Want to learn more about how fund holders can take advantage of personalized services? Contact Vice President of Philanthropic Services Veronica Jamison at (901) 722-0034 or [email protected].