Jessie Ball DuPont Fund

Jessie Ball DuPont Fund

The Jessie Ball DuPont Fund was established in 1970 under the will of Jessie Ball duPont. Its resources originated from the estate of her husband Alfred I. duPont, whose fortune derived from finance and industry. The foundation operates from Jacksonville, Florida, and limits its grantmaking to a closed list of prior recipients. The fund pursues a diversified strategy that includes public equities held in a Northern Trust managed account, direct real estate ownership, and a substantial impact investing portfolio. Confirmed positions include ownership of the JAX Microfinance Fund, limited partnership interests in Honeycomb Credit and Illumen Capital, and joint venture participation in the Jacksonville Affordable Housing Fund. Geographic reach centers on the United States with emphasis on the South and targeted national vehicles. The impact allocation supports mission-related and program-related investments alongside conventional holdings. The organization employs 24 professionals and maintains one primary office. It participates in the Council on Foundations, Mission Investors Exchange, and Florida Nonprofit Alliance. In May 2024 the fund served as a speaker at the Mission Investors Exchange National Conference on the topic of engaging investment committees in impact strategies. The Jessie Ball duPont Center, a renovated LEED-certified property in Jacksonville, serves as an operating asset and gathering place. A structural feature is the closed grant eligibility list combined with an internal impact investing program that routes capital through dedicated vehicles such as the Community Investment Guarantee Pool. This architecture separates traditional endowment management from program-related deployments while preserving the original donor intent on eligible recipients.