Are you registered for next week's Jacksonville New Market Tax Credit Summit? We're joining @CherryBekaert and the Downtown Investment Authority to host a conversation about how we can make these federal incentives work for our community. It's a chance to hear directly from the people structuring New Markets Tax Credit deals, with dedicated time for Q&A and networking with Community Development Entities, developers, and advisors from across the region. Seats are limited. Register today: events.cbh.com/JacksonvilleN…

We’re excited to announce two new members of our Board of Trustees, whose terms will begin in January: Brian Wolfburg, President/CEO of @OfficialVyStar, and The Rev. Amy Austin Slater, Vice Rector of Christ Church. Brian and Amy share a deep knowledge of and love for the Jacksonville community, coupled with an understanding of the important role that philanthropy can play in solving complex societal challenges. Read more: bit.ly/4ydeHDL

Did you know there's a federal tax incentive program that can help fund critical real estate projects in Jacksonville? If you're a developer, nonprofit leader, or advisor working in this space, we hope you'll join us October 6 to learn more about the New Markets Tax Credits Program. We're hosting with NTMC expert @CherryBekaert and the Downtown Investment Authority at @TheJessieJax, which is especially fitting since the building's renovation was made possible with one of Jacksonville's first New Markets Tax Credits back in 2015. Our Director of Impact Investing Chris Crothers will be speaking alongside leaders from @LISCJax, @bradelphick at Novogradac, and Stonehenge Capital, exploring how New Markets Tax Credit deals get sourced, structured, and closed in today's environment. Register today at events.cbh.com/JacksonvilleN….

Just a few weeks after its launch, the Jax GAP Fund is already making an impact on affordable housing in Jacksonville: Two developer applications are in process, representing more than 300 potential affordable housing units, and a term sheet has been issued for one project. Kudos again to Chris Crothers and the team that made this unique funding vehicle possible. Self-Help Ventures Fund, which administers the fund and lends investor capital to vetted developers, expects some of these early deals could close by the end of the year and move into construction in early 2027. News4JAX has more: news4jax.com/money/2026/09/0…

The Jax GAP Fund exists to help build more safe, welcoming homes for the people who keep Duval County running, including our teachers, nurses, and first responders. It's one part of a housing ecosystem meant to serve the entire community. Here's how: private and philanthropic investors (including us!) lend to Self-Help Ventures Fund, a trusted and experienced administrator of these affordable housing loan funds, at interest rates that support developers' ability to keep their houses affordable. Self-Help then reviews available projects and lends that low-cost capital to vetted developers. As loans are repaid, capital can cycle back through Self-Help and out again to fund the next project. After the 20-year life of the fund, the investors are paid back and can use that capital to support other community projects. It's an innovative, scalable and replicable structure, one designed to put investment capital to work that's long wanted a role in affordable housing. If it succeeds here, it's a win for Duval County, and it'll also be a model for other communities facing similar challenges.

Your voice matters when it comes to building a stronger Jacksonville for all of us. Our partners at @BZPjacksonville recently mailed a survey to households across our community, designed to understand residents' well-being and help shape future investments in our neighborhoods. If a survey arrives in your mailbox, we hope you’ll take a few minutes to share your experience. Every response helps build a clearer, more actionable picture of our community, and informs a better path forward.

What does it mean to choose American citizenship? Recently, our President Mari Kuraishi had the honor of delivering the keynote address at the annual Naturalization Ceremony at Red Hill, the home of Patrick Henry, on what would have been his 290th birthday. Drawing on Patrick Henry’s journey from British subject to American revolutionary and her own journey from arriving in the United States at 16 to becoming a citizen six years ago, she reflected on the rights, opportunities, obligations and responsibilities that come with citizenship: “Citizenship is not a destination that you get to check off. It is a virtue and a practice — a daily choice to remain who you declared yourself to be today. Henry chose it. You are choosing it. And what you bring to that choice matters enormously." linkedin.com/pulse/citizensh…

There is exciting momentum in Jacksonville around affordable housing: new cross-sector partnerships are financing high-quality, attainable, affordable units for our community. Recently we joined JWB Real Estate Capital and the @CityofJax to break ground on an important project that will create 108 new rental units in Arlington and on the Westside. These homes include units specifically designed for seniors and families, two groups who are underserved in the current affordable housing market. This project brings together financing from public and philanthropic sources, and we're proud that our investment helped close the financing gap to get this project over the finish line. Read more from the Florida Times-Union on how this project came together: jacksonville.com/story/news/…

Last week, we stood alongside private and philanthropic partners to launch the $20 million Jax GAP Fund, a new community-based loan fund designed to close financing gaps for affordable housing developers in Duval County. This fund will create safe, welcoming places to live for hardworking members of our community, like our teachers, our nurses, and our first responders. It is one important piece of a housing ecosystem that serves every resident of Duval County. Hear from our Director of Impact Investing Chris Crothers, one of the architects of the Jax GAP Fund, about how this five-year effort came together, and why this model's ability to bring sidelined capital into affordable housing deals is so powerful: bizjournals.com/jacksonville…

Last week's bill signing between the @cityofjax and the Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance marked a major milestone in six years of work by our team and dozens of committed community leaders, experts and advocates. Together, we set out to understand our community's expectations for it's riverfront parks and to develop an activation model that would deliver the world-class experience our parks and people deserve. Congratulations to our Director of Place-Based Initiatives and Policy, Sondra Fetner, for her leadership role in shaping this partnership model and customizing it for Jacksonville’s needs. Alongside Board Chair Dave Sweeney and Interim Executive Director Linzee Ott, Sondra's persistence and creativity helped create a partnership that helps maximize the City's ongoing investments in our parks by bringing the expertise and fundraising of the private sector to the table. The result is a win for Jacksonville residents and visitors: active, vibrant, well-maintained riverfront parks that are open and welcoming to all.

We’re proud to stand alongside fellow investors from the private and philanthropic sectors to launch the $20 million Jacksonville Growth and Affordability Partnership Fund (Jax GAP Fund), an innovative loan fund that will finance up to $80 million in new affordable multifamily rental housing for Duval County. The Jax GAP Fund helps address Jacksonville’s affordable housing shortage by creating a community-based source of gap financing for housing developers. This is possible thanks to a $10 million anchor investment from Northern Trust, as well as investments from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and its donors, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. Bringing experience and expertise managing similar funds, Self-Help Ventures Fund will administer the Jax GAP Fund. “The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is proud to stand alongside our private and philanthropic partners investing in the Jax GAP Fund, which represents one important strategy for strengthening the overall housing ecosystem in Jacksonville.” - Mari Kuraishi, President of @duPontFund Read more about the Jax GAP Fund: dupontfund.org/s/Jax-GAP-Fun…

It’s a really exciting week for our affordable housing work here in Jacksonville! Yesterday, we joined our friends at JWB and the City to break ground on the first of three sites that will bring a total of 108 affordable housing units to the Westside — a project we helped fund through our impact investing work. With both garden-style and townhome units, the project will set aside a dedicated set of units for seniors who might benefit from smaller spaces, while also offering spaces for larger families that are currently underserved in the affordable rental market.

At this year’s @MissionInvest national conference, our team gathered with more than 800 other leaders from across the impact investing field for conversations around investing amid uncertainty and how we can use impact investments to expand collective prosperity. Our President Mari Kuraishi joined a panel discussion exploring the ownership economy and how expanding access to appreciating assets and wealth-building opportunities can help support broader shared prosperity. #MissionInvest2026

Our team is still riding the high from the @PurposeBuiltCS conference, which was hosted in Jacksonville this year by our friends at @LiftJax. Spending the week connecting with and learning from practitioners representing communities across the country while showcasing the impact of the work happening right here OutEast was a powerful reminder of how important it is to invest with residents, not around them.

For 15 years, @GENERATION_W has been making an impact through their incredible conference and other programs. At this year’s anniversary celebration, our President Mari Kuraishi reflected on the importance of pursuing impact in every context, and recognizing that lasting influence often comes through inspiring others.

Congratulations to our trustee Rev. Allison DeFoor for receiving the Regional Leadership Award from the Northeast Florida Regional Council for his dedication to regional collaboration and coordination. jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026… As President & CEO of the Northeast Florida Land Trust, he has strengthened conservation efforts in Clay and Nassau Counties, supported successful voter-led initiatives, and championed statewide funding efforts that resulted in $400 million dedicated to land conservation. A seventh-generation Floridian who has worked across the state throughout his career, Rev. DeFoor moved to Jacksonville 10 years ago and has since made a lasting impact on many local and regional organizations, including our own.

Jacksonville was selected as one of only 32 cities from across the world to participate in the EU Cities Gateway Program, and our Director of Impact Investing @ChrisECrothers has the honor of representing our city alongside @cityofjax and DIA. The program kicked off this week in Toronto and will bring cities together to address shared urban challenges and co-develop innovative solutions through study visits, workshops, and webinars over the next three years. Jacksonville is part of a cluster of cities across the U.S., Canada, Spain, Italy, and Finland focused on affordable housing, and we look forward to learning from cities at different points in their journey and bringing back ideas to strengthen the solutions already taking shape in our city.

A momentous day for Jacksonville! This morning at the opening of Riverfront Plaza, we got to witness the kind of transformation many of us began envisioning back in 2021 when we convened the riverfront activation planning effort. It’s incredible to see that shared vision brought to life through the efforts of @cityofjax, @jaxparks, DIA, our own @DowntownSondra and so many partners, and we’re grateful to have contributed to the early foundation of a riverfront for all.

This #GivingTuesday, we’re entering our sixth year in a row of matching dollars to our participating nonprofit grantees. Check the list here and double your impact today: dupontfund.org/givingtuesday