Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanette Gordon.
Hi Jeanette, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story starts at the soup kitchen door — and I was about six years old.
My parents ran a soup kitchen out of our church, and they gave me a job. I was the greeter. I handed out utensils and napkins. My mother — who to this day can make a meal out of anything — would draw our unhoused neighbors in by the smell alone. And before they ever sat down, they had to come through me. My mom was very clear: everyone gets a Mr. or a Mrs. Everyone gets respect, regardless of where they are in life.
I didn’t know it then, but that was the beginning of my social work career.
That seed grew into a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Florida A&M University, an MBA, and over two decades in human services and public systems — HIV/AIDS housing, reentry, health initiatives. I’ve worked across 400+ nonprofits in Palm Beach County. I’ve seen the work from every angle: as a frontline worker, as a program leader, as a funder partner.
But the moment that became McArthur’s Own came at the close of a seven-year grant project. My funder asked me a question that nobody had asked in a long time: “What do you, Jeanette, want to do?” And I told her the truth. I wanted to build a firm that would walk alongside nonprofits and help them become so funding-ready, so well-positioned, that funders couldn’t help but say yes. Because during the pandemic, I watched something shift in real time — funders and providers were coming directly to grassroots organizations to get essential items into the hands of community, because the grassroots had the trust, the relationships, and the reach that nobody else had. What we always knew was finally being seen. And I wanted to make sure that recognition didn’t end when the pandemic did. I wanted to build the infrastructure that would help those organizations stay at the table — funded, resourced, and respected — long after the crisis passed.
That funder became my first client. And McArthur’s Own was born.
The name is my grandfather’s. Growing up, I was jealous of the cousins who carried it. I wanted that last name so badly. When I built this firm, I gave it his name — because it would always live with me. And here’s what I learned in doing that: just because you’re not named doesn’t mean you’re not a part. That’s a lesson I carry into every room I walk into.
Now, was the journey clean? Absolutely not. I’ll never forget telling a family member what I wanted to build, and they said, “So you think people are gonna pay you money to do that?” Listen — that one sentence held me back for years. But yes. Yes, they do. And yes, they will.
What I’ve come to understand about my work — and this came from someone I greatly admire, Dr. Deborah Robinson, who once asked me, “Are you aware of the gift you have to translate in various rooms?” — is that I am a translator. From the boardroom to the neighborhood. From the funder’s language to the grassroots reality. From the policy table to the church basement. We may all be speaking English, but so much gets lost in translation — and that lost translation is where good work goes to die. My job is to make sure it doesn’t.
McArthur’s Own exists because I believe the people doing the hardest work in our communities deserve the money, the visibility, and the strategic infrastructure to keep going. We are a hyperlocal intermediary between funders and the organizations they want to fund — and we are unapologetic about whose side we’re on. We’re on the side of the work.
That little girl at the soup kitchen door is still doing the same job, really. Just with bigger tables, bigger budgets, and a much wider doorway
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I wish I could say it was a smooth ride.
I hear so many founders talk about the lean first years, scraping for clients, wondering if the phone will ring. That wasn’t my story. By God’s grace, the work found me early. What I had to learn the hard way wasn’t how to get clients — it was how to receive help.
I came into this thinking I was going to do it all on my own. I thought entrepreneurship was a solo sport. That’s the myth, right? Pull yourself up. Figure it out. Don’t bother anybody. Y’all — that is the opposite of the truth.
What I’ve learned is that the entrepreneur next to you is not your competition — she’s your community. I lean on a circle of business owners, Primarily Black Women, who refer me, guide me, advise me, correct me when I’m about to make a mistake, and celebrate me when I get it right. I would not be where I am without them. Period.
The other lesson? Nobody warned me about the brain game of running a firm. I had to learn how to review past performance, execute on current projects, and forecast what’s coming — all at the same time, on the same day, sometimes in the same hour. It’s like reading three books at once. (Laughs.) I’ve gotten better at it. But it stretched me in ways I didn’t know I needed to be stretched.
So no, the road hasn’t been smooth. But I’ve come to believe that smooth roads don’t build strong drivers. The bumps taught me to ask for help. The bumps taught me to plan three moves ahead. The bumps taught me that community is the strategy.
And I’m grateful for every one of them. They definitely know who they are.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about McArthur’s Own Inc?
McArthur’s Own is a grant development and funding strategy firm — but if you stop there, you’ve missed us.
We’re a capacity-building partner. We don’t just write grants and disappear. We walk alongside nonprofits, small businesses, and government partners to build the infrastructure, the systems, and the readiness that turn a one-time award into a long-term funding pipeline. Anybody can write a grant. We build organizations that funders return to.
Across my career and the work of this firm, I’ve secured and managed over $10 million in grant dollars for the organizations I’ve served. Ten million dollars is not a number I take lightly. Behind every line of that figure is a program that launched, a family that got served, a community that got stronger. That is the math that matters.
We specialize in funding readiness — and we’ve built our own proprietary framework around it. The truth is, most organizations don’t lose grants because the work isn’t worthy. They lose grants because they aren’t ready to be funded at the level they deserve. My job is to close that gap.
Who we serve. Our clients span the full ecosystem: small to mid-sized nonprofits, grassroots organizations, government partners, and small businesses. From health and wellness, to community safety, to youth development, to media, to economic empowerment — if the mission is rooted in community, we’re at the table. And when those tables require bringing the community itself into the conversation, we facilitate that too — because the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution.
A few things I’m proud of, brand-wise.
McArthur’s Own was the local hire on the Palm Beach County Disparity Study. We also developed the Palm Beach County Youth Master Plan. Those are the kinds of tables where decisions get made for decades, and we earned our seat at both.
What about the readers who aren’t ready for full consulting? That’s why we built the McArthur’s Own Funding Hub — a subscription service at $27 a month or $270 a year that gives organizations access to grant opportunities, templates, and the kind of strategic guidance that used to live behind a $200/hour consulting wall. Funding readiness shouldn’t only be for the well-resourced.
Our 2026 theme is “Tightrope.” Because that’s the truth of growth: you are balancing stability and ambition every single day. You are walking a line that requires focus, breath, and faith. And what elevated me into this year was not luck — it was intentionality. At the close of 2025, I sat down with my girlfriends and business partners for a MastHERmind session. We mapped vision, we challenged each other, we set the table for 2026. And let me tell you — that intentionality has hit different all year long. Different revenue. Different rooms. Different opportunities. Different clarity.
And here’s the thing nobody asks me about often enough: McArthur’s Own is a mother-daughter effort. My bonus daughter Keiondra Marshall — a fellow Florida A&M University Rattler (we don’t play about FAMU around here) — serves as our Project Manager. She is absolutely brilliant, the architect behind our backend systems, and the reason our operations actually run. Building something with her is one of the great honors of my life.
What I want your readers to know: McArthur’s Own is unapologetic about whose side we’re on. We’re on the side of the work. The people. The mission. The community.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Listen — for somebody who spends so much time at the front of rooms, I am a full, card-carrying introvert. People are always shocked. The mic, the moderating, the convening — that’s the work. But left to my own devices? Give me silence. I do my best thinking in the quiet.
Speaking of being tall — yes, I am. No, I cannot play basketball. Please do not draft me. I will let your whole team down. (laughs) But. I will absolutely cook the post-game dinner from scratch and have everybody full, happy, and asking for seconds.
Which brings me to my dream retirement plan. One day, you will find me at a farmer’s market with a table full of homemade seasonings I blended myself, telling folks exactly how to use them and what to put them on.
Other things people may not know: I love live music and a real band — there’s nothing like it. Slow Saturdays are sacred. And if you can sneak a beach day or a spa day into a random Tuesday, I’m there with my bag packed.
Pricing:
- McArthur’s Own Funding Hub Subscription — $27/month or $270/year. A self-serve membership offering curated grant opportunities, templates, and strategic guidance for organizations building their funding muscle.
- Hourly Consulting — $200/hour for strategy sessions, grant review, and one-time advisory work.
- Tiered Retainer Packages — Custom monthly retainers for organizations ready for ongoing partnership in grant development, funding strategy, and capacity building. Pricing scales based on scope and organizational stage.
- Project-Based Engagements — Custom pricing for grant proposal development, strategic planning, facilitation, and special initiatives.
- Get Grant Ready Workshops & Trainings — Grant writing and funding strategy instruction for groups, organizations, and convenings. Pricing scales based on audience size, format, and depth of content.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mcarthursown.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcarthursown/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010097384434
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanette-gordon-mba-34a20665/
- Other: https://blinq.me/BDYSeqrf7Dfr?bs=db
