Jessie Ball duPont Fund

What Jessie Ball duPont Fund does

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private philanthropic foundation established through the Last Will and Testament of Jessie Ball duPont, operating continuously since 1977 and headquartered at 40 E Adams St, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida. The Fund concentrates its grantmaking and impact investing in three primary geographies — Florida, Virginia, and Delaware — addressing economic opportunity, vibrant public spaces, and equity-centered reconciliation work tied to the donor's complex segregationist legacy. Programs include invitation-only grants to nonprofits, the JAX Microfinance Fund (deploying non-predatory small business loans primarily through the Honeycomb Credit platform), the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund (a public-private vehicle targeting 500–1,000 multifamily rental units in Duval County), and The Jessie (a duPont Fund-owned nonprofit center and community convening space in downtown Jacksonville).

Operating revenue is generated almost entirely from a professionally managed endowment, with more than half of the endowment invested in mission-aligned strategies such as affordable housing and small business lending; the Fund also runs a small business loan pipeline that produced a reported $12 of investment per $1 deployed through the JAX Microfinance Fund model. The Fund does not operate a software product, API, or commercial SaaS; its principal digital assets are the dupontfund.org website (Squarespace), the JAX Access to Capital Tool (an interactive CDFI resource database for Northeast Florida), and a Fluxx-powered Grantee Login portal. Go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven — grants are by invitation only, supplemented by community convenings, research publications (e.g., Jacksonville Market Value Analysis), webinars, and public forums at The Jessie and Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park.

Governance rests with a Board of Trustees (chaired by Elizabeth Kiss, with Chuck Redmond as Vice Chair) and an executive team led by President Mari Kuraishi (co-founder of GlobalGiving) and COO/CFO Ken Shuyama, supported by an approximately 13-person professional staff including a VP of Programs, Director of Impact Investing, Director of Place-Based Initiatives and Policy, Director of Operations, Senior Financial Advisor, Senior Program Officer, Senior Grants Manager, Communications lead, and a Program Fellow, plus dedicated Events Manager for The Jessie.

Name

Jessie Ball duPont Fund

Legal name

Jessie Ball duPont Fund

Website

https://dupontfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private 501(c)(3) foundation, founded in 1977 and based in Jacksonville, Florida, that makes invitation-only grants and mission-aligned impact investments to nonprofits, small businesses, and HBCUs across Florida, Virginia, and Delaware.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Impact investing
• Community development
• Affordable housing finance
• Nonprofit foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The fund's primary revenue source is its endowment, which is professionally managed and invested. Returns from the endowment support all grantmaking, operations, and impact investments.
2. Impact Investing Returns: More than half of the endowment is invested in mission-aligned investments including affordable housing development and small business loans through the JAX Microfinance Fund, generating both social impact and financial returns.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private philanthropic foundation that deploys its endowment across three integrated activities: invitation-only grantmaking to nonprofits in Florida, Virginia, and Delaware; mission-aligned impact investing (more than half of the endowment) into affordable housing and small business loans; and place-based community development programs. Physical assets include The Jessie (a nonprofit community center) and Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park in Jacksonville's LaVilla neighborhood. The fund complements these with research publications on housing and community development and a digital resource navigation tool.

Product overview

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund operates as a philanthropic foundation that does not offer a unified software product but rather manages a portfolio of grantmaking programs, impact investing initiatives, and place-based community development efforts. Core offerings include the JAX Microfinance Fund (providing non-predatory loans to entrepreneurs), the JAX Access to Capital Tool (a database of CDFI funding opportunities), and the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund (an investment vehicle for affordable multifamily housing). Physical place-based initiatives include The Jessie (a nonprofit community center), Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park, and the Activating Jacksonville's Riverfront initiative. The Fund also produces research publications on philanthropy, housing, and community development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JAX Microfinance Fund: Invests in innovative and non-predatory online platforms that will lend to small business owners and individuals in seven counties, emphasizing lending to people who have been locked out of the traditional banking system.
• The Jessie
• Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park

Products and services

• JAX Microfinance Fund An investment vehicle that provides loans at non-predatory rates to local entrepreneurs and small business owners in seven Northeast Florida counties, including those from underrepresented backgrounds locked out of traditional banking. Deployed through the Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• $10 million city commitment catalyzed for affordable housing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Honeycomb CreditcoreTechnology or Integration · 27 June 2023Crowdfunding investment platform for small businesses that has invested in Northeast Florida entrepreneurs through the JAX Microfinance Fund.
• GlobalGivingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMari Kuraishi co-founded GlobalGiving, which connects donors with grassroots projects globally, having facilitated over $1 billion for projects. Fund President maintains board involvement.
• LISC JacksonvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Initiative Support Corporation partner working on affordable housing and community development initiatives. Fund President serves on advisory board.
• Groundwork JacksonvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit trust dedicated to creating a more walkable, livable community. Led community engagement for Activating Jacksonville's Riverfront project and supports the Emerald Trail.
• DVDLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgency of cultural forecasters working with cultural institutions and public spaces nationally. Led the Jacksonville Riverfront activation plan development.
• WXYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew York-based design and planning firm, project partner for Jacksonville Riverfront design and public space planning.
• JLP+DcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding strategy and development firm serving as project partner for Jacksonville Riverfront governance strategy and funding recommendations.
• Riverfront Parks NowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed benchmarking research alongside DVDL for the Jacksonville Riverfront activation planning.
• Creative Urban AlchemyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvised on community engagement alongside Groundwork Jacksonville for the riverfront activation project.
• Vibrant Places, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegistered 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting belonging for all Jacksonville residents through promoting access to public spaces and enriching programming, including Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park.
• Mission Investors ExchangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational professional organization for foundation impact investing. Fund President serves on board; shares expertise on engaging investment committees and boards in advancing impact.
• DataKindminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit focused on data science for social good. Fund President serves on board.
• Jacksonville Community Land TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity land trust focused on affordable housing. Fund President serves on board.
• The People's SupperminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization that hosted reflection dinner following the Reckoning with Southern Legacy conversation with Ty Seidule.
• Stratford HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobert E. Lee's birthplace; Jessie Ball duPont was among those who preserved it. Fund supports their work telling complete history, honoring First Africans, and moving away from Lost Cause mythology.
• Fuqua SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer segregationist academy in Farmville, VA. Fund provides matching tuition assistance for African American students and funding for removing segregationist-era structures.
• University of the South (Sewanee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHBCU designated as Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center. Fund participates in ongoing dialogue as part of Je seie's legacy reconciliation work.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Self-Help Credit Union: Mission-driven CDFI that administers the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund alongside duPont and the city; directly comparable in lending to underrepresented entrepreneurs and affordable housing financing.
• Calvert Impact Capital: Impact investing nonprofit that channels capital to communities through CDFIs and place-based funds, with a similar mission-aligned investment thesis to the duPont Fund's impact portfolio.
• The Kresge Foundation: Mid-sized U.S. private foundation with a long-tenured endowment, explicit impact investing program, and place-based urban strategy; one of the closest comparables to duPont Fund in size, structure, and approach.
• The William Penn Foundation: Philadelphia-area place-based private foundation with significant impact investing activity and a focus on community and economic opportunity; highly analogous in geographic and programmatic concentration.
• LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation): National CDFI and community development intermediary focused on affordable housing and economic opportunity; operates the Jacksonville office where duPont's president serves on the advisory board.
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation: Large private foundation focused on economic opportunity, community development, and place-based work for children and families; overlaps heavily with duPont's economic opportunity and vibrant places priorities.
• The Barr Foundation: Private foundation with comparable scale and a clearly place-based (Greater Boston) strategy combining grantmaking and impact investing, structurally similar to duPont's Northeast Florida model.
• The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida: Local community foundation serving the same Jacksonville geography, a direct co-investor in the Affordable Housing Fund and a natural peer for place-based philanthropic capital.
• The Surdna Foundation: Private family foundation of comparable scale to duPont with a strong impact investing practice and place-based community development focus, making it a close operational and structural peer.

Broad incumbents

• The Ford Foundation: Much larger U.S. private foundation with a globally recognized impact investing program (more than $2B in mission-related investments); provides a clear macro benchmark for how duPont's impact investing thesis could scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dupontfund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8u11dA-PNuWLFkXoAmSd5w
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/marikuraishi
• Facebookfacebook.com/dupontfund

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jessie Ball duPont Fund