Jessica Ford has spent more than two decades learning how to bring people, ideas and organizations together. As president and CEO of Arkansas Community Foundation, she is putting those skills to work on an expanded scale, helping Arkansans leverage philanthropy to strengthen local communities.
Ford leads the foundation’s statewide strategy, collaborating with its board, staff, donors and community partners to build charitable resources across the state. She summarized her role with clear enthusiasm: “I believe I have the best job in the state of Arkansas.”
Raised in the small town of Redfield, Ford spent a significant portion of her career at Heifer International, where she held leadership positions across marketing, the executive office and board relations. Her earlier career spanned global communications, community development in Peru and victim advocacy.
A major career shift occurred when she volunteered for an international deployment with Heifer, relocating to Peru for a year with her then-9-year-old son.
“That was a pivotal moment for me and my family,” she said. “It shaped my worldview and my perspective of the world. It shaped my parenting and changed the trajectory of my life.”
The move exposed Ford and her son to different cultures and the stark realities of poverty in a developing nation. Today, her 22-year-old son is fluent in Spanish.
Another key milestone arrived when Ford pursued the top leadership position at Arkansas Community Foundation. The move was a bold step for a communications specialist, yet it aligned directly with her career evolution.
“Not a lot of communications professionals end up in the C-suite,” she said. “I’m one of the first in the community foundation sector that came through communications.”
Prior to taking the helm as CEO, Ford served as the foundation’s chief communications officer, for which she directed crisis and disaster management strategies while unifying messaging across the organization’s statewide network.
The foundation, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, recently surpassed $1 billion in assets, a milestone Ford sees as an opportunity to deepen ACF’s impact. With 29 affiliate offices across the state, the foundation works to connect donors with communities and nonprofits that put charitable dollars to work locally.
“In a nutshell, we can be described as a bridge, connector or matchmaker between those who want to give and those who need it,” she said.
Since its founding in 1976, the organization has distributed $650 million across Arkansas. Ford noted that five decades of operational experience combined with the innate generosity of state residents positions the foundation to tackle some of the state’s most persistent problems.
“Arkansas has many challenges,” Ford said. “We are in the top five worst in a lot of lists, but generosity is not one of our challenges. Arkansans give generously even when they don’t have a lot.”
Ford said she finds the most rewarding moments in the human stories behind the numbers. At an event in Phillips County, a first-time recipient broke down in tears while holding her check. The woman, a retired law enforcement officer, had recognized a local need for a domestic violence victim advocacy center.
“She was crying and holding up her check and said, ‘I made it!’” Ford said. “It was a beautiful moment for her and a great reminder for me that there is still entrepreneurship out there, needs out there and people trying to make a difference.”
As she guides the next generation of leaders, Ford looks back on the hard-earned lessons of her own professional path. She said she wishes she had sought out female mentorship earlier in her journey and learned to trust her instincts sooner.
“I feel like women empowering each other is this magical secret sauce,” she said. “We need to be better at it.”
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