Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation

Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation

The Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation was established in Arizona in 1990 by Kemper Marley and Ethel Marley. Their wealth originated in land ownership and the United Liquor Company, which the family later exited. Stephen M. Corrigan now leads the foundation as president alongside treasurer Nancy Elitharp Ball. The foundation allocates capital across real estate and a diversified public equity portfolio managed by external advisors. Confirmed holdings include Buckeye Land at Turner Road and Southern Avenue, Marley Park Development in Surprise, and the Buckeye Westwind North project covering more than 1,500 acres. Geographic exposure centers on Arizona with additional grant activity across the United States. Ticket sizes for grants typically range between $1 million and $10 million. The foundation also maintains a strategic partnership and donor-advised fund at the Arizona Community Foundation. Assets total approximately $250 million, with the largest components being a corporate stock portfolio valued near $98 million and several land parcels. The foundation employs external advisors including Times Square Capital Management, Mondrian Investment Partners and Merrill Lynch. In January 2025 it sponsored the Spirit of Philanthropy Awards in Phoenix. A related vehicle, the Robert Kemper Corrigan Foundation, focuses on health grants. The foundation’s architecture keeps real estate development inside wholly owned or joint-venture entities such as KEMF Investments, LLC and KEMF Westwind entities, while grant decisions remain separate from operating business interests. This separation allows continued participation in Arizona land projects without converting the entire balance sheet into a traditional endowment model.