Who We Are
The Verite Foundation exists to break cycles of economic exclusion by expanding access to opportunity. We believe every community contains the talent, creativity, and potential to build thriving local economies, but systemic barriers—lack of access to capital, business education, real estate, and technical assistance—prevent far too many people from turning potential into sustainable economic outcomes. Our purpose is to remove those barriers, revitalize communities, and create pathways to wealth and long-term economic stability by building and deploying replicable, revenue-sustained program models.
Our Purpose
In communities across America, the Verite Foundation noticed something important. Neighborhoods were filled with abandoned and empty commercial real estate—ripe for redevelopment—while homes were filled with individuals and families whose grit and drive kept them striving for better economic futures. From home bookkeepers and barbers to construction trades, candle makers, and caterers, these communities already had all the elements needed for revitalization and wealth creation.
Except one: access.
Over and over, we found the same barriers blocking people from achieving economic stability and building wealth: access to education, access to capital, access to real estate, and access to ongoing technical assistance. Using a proven four-pillar model pioneered by the Neighborhood Development Center, the Verite Foundation is committed to providing that access and building pathways to opportunity and prosperity.
To address these barriers, the Verite Foundation develops and implements replicable program models that integrate business training, real estate, and community-centered infrastructure. With our inaugural program model, Business Elevator —combining an Accelerator, an Incubator, and a Third Space City Market—we support entrepreneurs and communities in transforming potential into sustainable businesses, revitalized neighborhoods, and long-term economic stability.
Our Brand Story
Our VISION
We seek to create a world where everyone has equal access to opportunities to create wealth. Our work is grounded in principles of equity, inclusion, and community-centered investment, consistent with the aspirations of our founders, Donald C. Jones and Kathleen E. Carter. We envision communities where opportunity is accessible, where wealth creation is possible, and where prosperity is within reach – for all.
The Verite Foundation provides resources and funding to organizations and entrepreneurs that lift underserved and underrepresented people toward economic stability and prosperity. Through strategic community investment and comprehensive, revenue-sustaining program models, we expand access to opportunity by integrating education, real estate development, and community-centered infrastructure. Our work focuses on entrepreneurship, community revitalization, home ownership, and access to opportunity as core drivers of community wealth.
Our MISSION
Guiding Principles
Community-Centered Action – Communities contain the solutions to their own revitalization.
Sustainability – We build models that last—financially, socially, and structurally.
Ownership – Ownership of homes and businesses drives community wealth and individual agency.
Our HISTORY
2001
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2005
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2012
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Meet The Team
DON JONES
Co-Founder & Chairman
Donald C. Jones is the Founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of Verite Capital Partners, a minority-owned, fundless sponsor and multi-faceted financial services company devoted to uplifting underserved communities by expanding access to capital, information, and other essential business resources. A veteran retail and consumer-products executive who rose from janitor to senior roles with brands such as Macy’s, IKEA, and Target, he now applies nearly five decades of experience to support entrepreneurs overcoming systemic barriers to business education, real estate, capital, and technical assistance, turning local talent into sustainable economic opportunity as the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Verite Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Felician University and as a Director of Nuvance Health, among other organizations.
KAT CARTER
Co-Founder, CEO & President
Kat Carter is the Co-Founder, CEO, and President of Verite Foundation. A Cornell University School of Hotel Administration graduate, Kat combines decades in the restaurant business with a track record in scaling SaaS startups like G5 Search Marketing and Squire Technologies, bringing deep operational expertise and strategic vision to Verite Foundation. Since 2018, Kat has played a key role in shaping Buffalo’s startup ecosystem, combining entrepreneurial leadership with a sharp focus on sustainable growth and impact.
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We’re not just a nonprofit; we’re an economic development engine for disinvested communities.