He received the St. Jude Award for Inspiration in Sports in 2013 at a Global Sports Summit. Jacobs has donated millions of dollars to United Way and the Boys and Girls Club of America. He is now part of the Million-Dollar Roundtable of donors as well as a member of the Jeremiah Milbank Society. In 2013 Jacobs pledged $100,000 towards the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. He currently has honorary doctorates from the University of Buffalo, Canisius College, Johnson and Wales, University, and Niagara University. He is married to his wife, Margaret, and has six children.