What Jackson County Economic Development Foundation does

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation (JCEDF) is a public-private partnership and nonprofit economic development organization serving Jackson County, Mississippi, with a staff of approximately five led by Executive Director Mary Martha Henson. JCEDF is operated by the Jackson County Port Authority and governed jointly by the Jackson County Board of Supervisors and the four municipalities of Gautier, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, and Pascagoula. The foundation's stated mission is to attract, retain, and expand business investment in the county, which generates $9.7 billion in GDP (4th in Mississippi), employs a 68,000+ labor force, and derives 52.4% of its GDP from manufacturing concentrated in shipbuilding, aerospace, refining, and advanced manufacturing.

JCEDF's core deliverables are services rather than software products: an Economic Dashboard providing labor force, wage, and key indicator data; a Property Search & Analysis tool for site selection; and a Business Data & Analysis suite covering employers, GDP, manufacturing productivity, and cost of living indices. Workforce development is delivered through the P3 (Passion, Purpose, Paycheck) career coaching program across all seven Jackson County high schools (with a mobile application component), K-12 Career and Technical Education across 24 pathway areas, and FABLAB Jackson County, a Chevron–Fab Foundation partnership fabrication facility in Vancleave supporting STEM education and prototyping. The technology stack described is conventional economic development tooling (data analytics, GIS mapping, workforce intelligence systems, property/site databases) with no proprietary AI components.

JCEDF operates as a public-private partnership funded through a combination of public appropriations and private corporate partner contributions. Core services to businesses are provided without fees. The foundation has no disclosed operating revenue, no funding rounds, and no equity ownership structure; it is governed by a board of directors drawn from corporate partners, the Jackson County Port Authority, and municipal leadership. JCEDF has been recognized with the 2025 Mississippi Gold Shovel Award, anchored in part by BWC Terminals' $316 million Pascagoula project, and has supported expansions at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Northrop Grumman, Chevron, and Fairbanks Morse Defense.

Name

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation

Legal name

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://jcedf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation (JCEDF) is a nonprofit public-private partnership that drives business attraction, retention, workforce development, and site selection for Jackson County, Mississippi, serving employers and the four municipalities through data tools, P3 career coaching, and CTE programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Jackson County

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public-Private Partnership Funding: Revenue generated through a combination of public funding (local government appropriations, state economic development grants) and private sector contributions from corporate partners and members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation (JCEDF) is a public-private partnership that provides economic development services for Jackson County, Mississippi, including business attraction, retention, and expansion support. It offers site selection assistance, workforce development coordination, incentive negotiation, and community integration for prospective and existing employers, supported by an Economic Dashboard and Property Search & Analysis tools.

Product overview

Jackson County Economic Development Foundation (JCEDF) is a public-private partnership that serves as the primary economic development organization for Jackson County, Mississippi. Rather than offering a traditional software product, JCEDF provides a suite of economic development services including an Economic Dashboard for real-time market data, Property Search & Analysis tools for site selection, and workforce development programs. The P3 (Passion, Purpose, Paycheck) program delivers career coaching through a mobile application in local high schools, while the FABLAB Jackson County facility supports STEM education and prototyping. JCEDF's K-12 Career and Technical Education programs span 24 pathway areas across county schools, supporting industries including shipbuilding, aerospace, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic Dashboard

Quantifiable outcome

• Average manufacturing wage of $80,129 - 46% above Mississippi state average of $54,817
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Fairbanks Morse DefensemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2025Fairbanks Morse Defense acquired Rolls-Royce Naval Propulsion facility in Pascagoula, becoming the only privately owned US foundry capable of casting large Navy-standard propulsor systems. JCEDF Deputy Director participated in ribbon-cutting ceremony.
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD Hyundai)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2025HII signed a memorandum of understanding with HD Hyundai to explore collaboration on accelerating ship production for defense and commercial projects. JCEDF supports the regional shipbuilding ecosystem benefiting from this partnership.
• Mississippi State University (MSU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2025MSU is developing the Northern Gulf Aquatic Seafood Lab at Sunplex Light Industrial Park in Jackson County. JCEDF hosted the groundbreaking ceremony. MSU also conducts R&D on unmanned aerial systems and agriculture food systems in the county.
• Jackson County Port AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJCEDF is operated in partnership with the Jackson County Port Authority, which manages the Port of Pascagoula. This partnership provides strategic infrastructure access including deep-water ports critical for industrial operations.
• University of Southern MississippicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSM Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) located in Ocean Springs focuses on sustainable coastal and marine resources, new marine technologies, and scientist education. JCEDF collaborates with USM on innovation economy growth.
• Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJCEDF partners with MGCCC for workforce training and development programs. The college provides customized training for major employers and career technical education aligned with local industry needs.
• ChevroncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChevron Pascagoula Refinery is a flagship employer in Jackson County. JCEDF partners with Chevron on workforce initiatives including FABLAB Jackson County and economic development coordination.
• Ingalls Shipbuilding (Huntington Ingalls Industries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHII's Ingalls Shipbuilding is Jackson County's largest employer and manufacturing operation. JCEDF collaborates on workforce development, community partnerships, and economic growth initiatives supporting the shipbuilding industry.
• Bollinger ShipyardscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBollinger Shipyards operates in Jackson County as a key defense contractor. JCEDF supports their shipbuilding operations and workforce needs as part of the regional defense industrial base.
• Northrop Grumman Aerospace SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthrop Grumman operates its Unmanned Systems Center in Jackson County, conducting aerospace manufacturing. JCEDF supports their operations and workforce development needs.
• Singing River Health SystemmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSinging River Health System is a major healthcare provider and employer. JCEDF collaborates on workforce initiatives including the Healthcare Academy and healthcare career pathways.
• Fab FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFABLAB Jackson County is a partnership between Chevron and the Fab Foundation. JCEDF supports this technical platform for STEM education, workforce development, and business idea prototyping located in Vancleave.
• Jackson County Board of SupervisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJCEDF is a public-private partnership with formal governance including Jackson County Board of Supervisors President Barry Cumbest on the board of directors.
• Municipal Governments (Gautier, Moss Point, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJCEDF works with all four municipalities in Jackson County including mayors from each city on the board of directors for coordinated economic development.
• CSX TransportationmajorOthersCSX Class I railroad provides freight rail service to Jackson County with connections to Canadian National (CN), Norfolk Southern (NS), and Kansas City Southern (KCS).
• Mississippi Export RailroadmajorOthersShort line railroad providing rail service in Jackson County, connecting to national freight networks.
• Trent Lott International AirportmajorOthersRegional airport in Moss Point with adjoining aerospace park. JCEDF team engaged with TLIA at MRO Americas to promote aviation opportunities.
• BWC TerminalsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBWC Terminals is locating a $316 million bulk liquid storage facility in Pascagoula supporting Chevron. JCEDF worked alongside State, Chevron, and Port Authority to bring the project to Jackson County.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Louisiana Economic Development (LED): State-level economic development agency for Louisiana, adjacent to Mississippi along the Gulf Coast. Engages in comparable business attraction, workforce development, and shipbuilding/oil-gas cluster support across overlapping geography.
• Greater Houston Partnership: The primary economic development organization for the Houston region, a much larger Gulf Coast industrial hub. Comparable in mission (business attraction, retention, workforce) and Gulf Coast geography, but operates at a substantially larger scale than JCEDF.
• Mississippi Development Authority: The state-level economic development agency for Mississippi, of which JCEDF is a regional/county-level counterpart. Engages in overlapping industrial recruitment, incentive administration, and workforce development statewide, including awarding the Gold Shovel recognition JCEDF received in 2025.

Direct peers

• Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce: The Mobile Chamber serves as the primary economic development organization for Mobile County, Alabama, just across the state line from Jackson County. It runs comparable business attraction, retention, and workforce development programs targeting Gulf Coast industrial employers in shipbuilding, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.
• Huntsville / Madison County Chamber of Commerce: Economic development organization for Madison County, Alabama, which hosts a large defense/aerospace industrial cluster (Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin). Comparable in defense-driven industry mix and workforce development emphasis, though operating in an inland rather than coastal geography.
• Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance: Economic development organization for Baldwin County, Alabama, immediately east of Mobile. Comparable in mission and scope to JCEDF, it focuses on attracting and retaining employers along the eastern Gulf Coast with similar workforce development and site selection services.

Regional players

• Greater New Orleans, Inc. Regional economic development alliance serving the New Orleans-area parishes in Louisiana. Operates with a comparable public-private partnership structure and Gulf Coast industrial-port economy focus as JCEDF, though at a larger metropolitan scale.
• Coastal Mississippi (Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau / Hancock County Tourism/Econ Dev): The official destination marketing organization for the Mississippi Gulf Coast, serving overlapping geography with JCEDF. It complements economic development with tourism promotion but addresses a related set of regional employers and workforce considerations.
• Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission: Mississippi Gulf Coast port authority operating Port Bienville and Stennis Space Center-adjacent facilities. Operates in overlapping Mississippi Gulf Coast geography with similar industrial and infrastructure focus as JCEDF's relationship with the Jackson County Port Authority.
• Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce: Regional chamber and economic development organization serving Escambia County, Florida, immediately east of Jackson County across the Gulf Coast. Engages in comparable business attraction, retention, and workforce development activities targeting coastal industrial employers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0HrDqNJGewE9i882zjWvLA
• Facebookfacebook.com/jacksoncoedf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jackson-county-economic-development-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/jacksoncountyedf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Jackson County Economic Development Foundation