Philanthropy Essential to the Business Model

JKaiser Workspaces Impacts More than Clients

By Loni Nannini

Jessica Kaiser is on a mission to elevate and inspire people, workplaces and the community.

For the founder and CEO of JKaiser Workspaces, philanthropy is both personal and professional.

“I believe a good business model is also a means for investment in the community. I want to focus on efficiency and profits because then I am able to have a bigger impact on the community,” Kaiser said. “Philanthropy is part of that focus.”

That philosophy is woven into the very fabric of her company. Kaiser surrounds herself with like-minded colleagues and stakeholders in the furnishings, design and construction industries, and prides herself on lifting others up as a woman-owned business.

“I approach my role as an employer with the memory of how difficult it had been to be an employee in many different roles,” Kaiser said. “I like to train people and provide the support that I often didn’t receive as an employee.”

That support extends to internships and shadowing opportunities to provide local students with exposure to a multitude of roles within a design firm. 

“I got great hands-on insight into the everyday life of a project manager and interior designer,” said Olivia Del Castillo, who completed an internship for JKaiser in June 2024. “Jessica fully trusted my capabilities. She included me in meetings and phone calls. We spent one-on-one time working with software and discussing attributes and characteristics of her design projects.”

The Northern Arizona University student said the internship spurred her motivation and reaffirmed her pursuit of a major in interior design and a minor in construction management. 

“Jessica is very inspiring,” Del Castillo said. “During my internship she was more than my boss. She is open to ideas and is determined and diligent in her work, but has a soft kindness that makes her very personable and easy to talk to.”

Kaiser’s entrepreneurship is also the means to elevate women and children in the community. 

“Having grown up in a family where I wasn’t necessarily protected and cared for in the way I should have been, I have empathy for children in the foster care system and otherwise marginalized kids on the cusp of society. I know what it is like to be there,” said Kaiser, who became a mom at age 19. Ten years later, she was a divorced mother of three with no family nearby. She credits a fierce innate strength with enabling her to survive and thrive and driving her to help others.

“There is just a fire in me that says, ‘We will move on and heal and be better than we were.’ I use that to help as many people as possible,” Kaiser said. “It is so powerful to redirect a child’s life and women become so powerful when they are supported.”

Kaiser translates words into action through charitable giving to organizations including The Salvation Army Hospitality House, Beauty From Ashes Ranch, Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, 

Tu Nidito Children & Family Services, Lapan Sunshine Foundation, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Planned Parenthood, Global Children’s Fund and many more. 

She has also been an avid volunteer with I Am You 360, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting youth and young adults who are in the foster care system or experiencing homelessness. Last year, Kaiser spearheaded the first-ever fundraiser to benefit the I Am You 360 Small Home Experience, Tucson’s first green, energy-efficient tiny home community for adults ages 18 to 22. 

Havana Nights Prom 2023 came together on an eight-week timeline and was a revelation for the grassroots organization, said Desiree Cook, I Am You 360 founder and CEO.

“We had never done a fundraiser like this before,” said Cook. “Because of who she is as a confident woman in her field and in the community, Jessica Kaiser took us to another space and place, helping I Am You 360 raise over $110,000 for our tiny home roofs.”

For her part, Kaiser is grateful for the chance to directly impact displaced youth through the I Am You 360 Tiny Home Community slated to open this fall. In addition to safe, affordable housing, the project will provide residents with opportunities for secondary education, assistance with saving for home ownership, and a holistic curriculum featuring training in financial literacy, cooking and other life skills. The goal is for unhoused youth to become “wholly healed and productive” and to end generational homelessness.

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