Jessie Ball Dupont Religious Charitable & Educational Fund

## Approach & Strategy

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund operates as one of the Southeast's most distinctive private foundations — shaped by an unusual founding mechanism and an evolving commitment to equity and belonging. The Fund was established through Jessie Ball duPont's Last Will and Testament to support the places and institutions she knew and loved during her lifetime. This creates a fundamental constraint that defines the Fund's grantmaking to this day: primary eligibility is limited to organizations that received funding from Jessie Ball duPont between 1960 and 1965, plus organizations supporting temporary relief in Virginia, Delaware, and Florida.

This "legacy eligibility" structure means the duPont Fund is not a typical open-grant foundation. The universe of eligible grantees is historically bounded, though the Fund has evolved its interpretation to expand access to communities historically excluded from Jessie's philanthropy — including HBCUs, small parishes in the Florida panhandle, and innovative nonprofits serving vulnerable populations.

The Fund's programmatic strategy clusters around two pillars as of 2025-2026:

1. Economic Opportunity: Affordable housing, patient capital for small businesses, and financial inclusion. Flagship initiatives include the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund and a Market Value Analysis to guide targeted housing intervention.

2. Vibrant Spaces: Place-based investments in public spaces that build belonging and community cohesion. Signature projects include "The Jessie" — a collaborative nonprofit office and community gathering space in Jacksonville — and the Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park in the historic LaVilla neighborhood.

Additionally, the Fund invests more than half its $311M endowment in mission-aligned investments (impact investing), including affordable housing vehicles and small business lending — making it a hybrid grant-and-investment philanthropic actor.

A defining feature of the Fund's current era is its "Legacy & Repair" work: an explicit acknowledgment of Jessie Ball duPont's support for racial segregation and a commitment to repairing that harm through targeted support to communities she excluded. This shapes grantmaking toward racial equity, with particular attention to HBCUs and Black communities in Florida, Virginia, and Delaware.

## Funding Patterns

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a legacy-eligibility foundation, meaning its grantmaking has historically concentrated on a defined set of organizations rather than open-competition grants. Key patterns:

Eligibility Boundaries - Primary: Organizations that received duPont funding 1960–1965 (still determines most grantmaking) - Secondary: Organizations in Virginia, Delaware, and Florida providing temporary relief - The "A Fresh Look at Eligibility" report (2018) signals ongoing refinement of who qualifies

Grant Size Estimates - No typical_grant_size data is publicly available in IRS filings reviewed - Peer comparison with similarly-sized foundations in FL/VA/DE suggests grants of $25,000–$500,000 for operating partners, with larger commitments for capital projects - Impact investments (via program-related investments) can be substantially larger — the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund involved multi-million dollar capital deployment

Funding Cycles - No publicly posted open application process; the Fund works directly with eligible grantees - The "Grantee Login" portal on the website suggests an active relationship management system with existing grantees - New grantees are rare and typically enter through the legacy-eligibility expansion process or through the Fund's community convening work

Sector Distribution (inferred from programmatic focus) - Housing and community development: ~35% - Education (particularly HBCUs, K-12): ~25% - Healthcare and human services: ~15% - Arts, culture, civic engagement: ~15% - Capacity building / technical assistance: ~10%

Impact Investing More than 50% of the endowment is deployed in mission-aligned investments — this is unusually high and distinguishes the duPont Fund from most foundations its size. Organizations seeking CDFIs or community investment vehicles should explore this pathway.

## Peer Comparison

The following table compares the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to peer foundations in Florida, Virginia, and Delaware of similar asset scale:

Key differentiators: - duPont Fund is the only foundation in this peer group with an explicit racial equity and legacy-repair commitment woven into its grantmaking strategy - The hybrid grant + impact investing model is rare — over 50% endowment in mission-aligned investments vs. typical 5-10% for peer foundations - The legacy-eligibility constraint creates a highly exclusive grantee pool, making it difficult for new organizations to enter — but the Fund's equity work creates new pathways - As Jacksonville's largest locally-focused private foundation (alongside Blue Cross FL Foundation), duPont shapes the city's nonprofit sector in ways peers in smaller markets do not - The "Jessie Ball duPont Fellows Program" and convening work position the Fund as a thought-leadership institution, not just a grant writer

Competitive context for applicants: Nonprofits in Jacksonville, FL that are NOT legacy-eligible should look to Blue Cross FL Foundation (competitive health grants), Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, and Chartway Promise Foundation before pursuing duPont direct grants.

## Recent Activity

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has been actively reshaping its programmatic focus and organizational structure in 2024-2025, with several significant developments:

Organizational Changes (2025) - *January 2025*: Ken Shuyama joined as Chief Operating Officer; Brooke Edmondson joined as The Jessie's Events Manager — indicating continued investment in the collaborative space - *June 2025*: "Focusing Our Investments for Greater Impact" announcement signals strategic portfolio refinement - *July 2025*: Leadership change: "Enhancing Our Programmatic and Financial Leadership to Support Communities of Belonging" — the Fund is actively building capacity at the senior level

Community Programs - The Jessie (collaborative nonprofit office/community hub in Jacksonville) continues as a flagship project, hosting events and providing nonprofit office space - Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Park in LaVilla neighborhood is actively programmed through the Vibrant Places Collective - The Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund remains an active impact investment vehicle - Murals and public art installations in downtown Jacksonville completed

Research and Convening - March 2025: "126 Florida Nonprofits Found 28,000 New Donors" — the Fund commissioned research on philanthropic behavior in Florida - The Fund continues its "Two Centuries of Jacksonville" video series, covering transportation, green spaces, placekeeping, and the impacts of consolidation - Research publications on market-rate housing analysis, affordable housing financing, and giving patterns in Florida remain publicly available resources

Strategic Direction The Fund's 2025-2026 trajectory emphasizes: deepening community belonging in Jacksonville, affordable housing capital deployment, and continued legacy-repair work with communities historically excluded by Jessie Ball duPont's own philanthropy.

## Application Tips

1. Understand the legacy-eligibility constraint before applying The duPont Fund's most important rule: funding is primarily available to organizations that received grants from Jessie Ball duPont herself between 1960 and 1965, plus organizations providing relief in Virginia, Delaware, and Florida. Before investing significant effort, contact info@dupontfund.org to ask directly whether your organization qualifies. Do not assume you are eligible.

2. Read "A Fresh Look at Eligibility" (2018 report) The Fund published a white paper re-examining how to interpret Jessie's donor intent in a modern context. Understanding this framework is essential for any organization making the case for eligibility expansion. Organizations serving communities historically excluded by Jessie's philanthropy — particularly Black communities, HBCUs, and underserved neighborhoods in FL/VA/DE — have a clearer pathway under the Fund's equity-repair framework.

3. Align with one of two programmatic pillars The Fund's grantmaking is organized around: (1) Economic Opportunity — affordable housing, patient capital, small business access; and (2) Vibrant Spaces — placemaking, community belonging, public spaces. Position your work within one of these two frames using the Fund's own language (e.g., "communities of belonging," "place-based," "interconnectedness").

4. Geographic focus is strict: Virginia, Florida, Delaware Work in other states is not fundable unless directly connected to the Fund's legacy-eligibility network. Florida (particularly Jacksonville/Duval County) receives the most attention; Virginia and Delaware receive secondary attention.

5. Explore impact investing as a pathway If your organization operates a CDFI, community development corporation, or affordable housing vehicle, the Fund's mission-aligned investment program may be a better fit than a grant. More than half the endowment is deployed this way. Contact the Fund to discuss program-related investment possibilities.

6. Use The Jessie as a relationship entry point "The Jessie" — the collaborative nonprofit office space in Jacksonville — hosts events and gatherings accessible to the broader nonprofit community. Attending Fund-sponsored events, research forums, and convenings is the most organic way to build a relationship with Fund staff before formal engagement.

7. Match the Fund's tone and values The Fund is explicitly committed to racial equity, legacy repair, and acknowledging historical harm. Applications that use this language authentically and demonstrate awareness of structural inequities will resonate with Fund staff. Avoid colorblind or purely service-delivery framing.

8. Be patient — this is a relationship foundation The duPont Fund does not operate high-volume, open competitive grant cycles. Grantee relationships are long-term. Initial contact may not result in a grant for years. The investment in relationship-building — through attending events, sharing research, participating in convenings — is the pathway that yields results.