About The Foundation
The Kiita foundation is a privately funded Arizona 501(c)(3) foundation focused on utilizing its financial resources and the skills and desires of family members to improve the lives of others.
The Foundation is focused on providing educational scholarships and hardship relief in Arizona, Colorado, and Montana with the objective of providing equal opportunity to its recipients in their quest to succeed and thrive.
Founder's Statement
The Founders intent for the Kiita Foundation shall invest its assets and make grants in a manner that ensures its ability to survive in perpetuity and to focus on two charitable purposes:
1. Scholarship Support
To fund scholarships for financially independent students lacking meaningful family support in pursuing post-secondary education at accredited public institutions. This includes colleges, universities, and vocational education programs. These scholarships are to support tuition, required materials, study abroad or essential educational and/or living expenses.
2. Direct Human Hardship Relief
To provide support—through qualified nonprofit organizations—to individuals experiencing immediate, essential-needs hardship, defined as crisis situations involving food insecurity, loss of shelter, emergency healthcare needs, domestic violence, financial instability due to sudden adversity, or comparable essential-needs crises.
For more on our donation policies, please click here.
Our Board of Directors
Mr. Armstrong is former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of JDA Software Group, Inc., (now Blue Yonder) which he founded in Canada in 1978. Headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ., JDA provided enterprise software solutions to the worldwide supply chain market, enabling planning, optimization, and execution of merchandising, and supply chain processes.
From 2008 through 2019, Mr. Armstrong served as managing partner of Canal Partners, a successful Scottsdale based early-stage venture capital firm.
Today, Mr. Armstrong serves as director and president of JDA Investments (US), Inc., based in Phoenix, AZ, where he is responsible for all aspects of the company, including identification of potential investments, due diligence, financial analysis, and final investment decision-making. In addition, he has served on a wide range of boards and companies including Omnilink, NetTime Solutions, WebPt, Allbound and the Canadian retailer Mark’s Work Wearhouse.
Mr. Armstrong is involved with a number of charitable endeavors. He is president and chairman of the Kiita Foundation and chairman of the Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation. He has received numerous awards and honors including Arizona Software Association Business Leader of the Year, Ernst and Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Ernst and Young Spirit of Philanthropy Award, Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year Award, National Society of Fundraising Executive Spirit of Philanthropy Award and Arizona Technology Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Armstrong is the author of “Going Down the Road”, a memoir.
Jim Armstrong
President
Jo-Ann Armstrong, in addition to raising four children, was instrumental in the development of JDA Software in its early years. She has served, through the family’s foundation, in a variety of philanthropic endeavors, including board Secretary of a Salvation Army advisory board, a board member of ASU’s ACES program, and has received many awards, such as the Paradise Valley Volunteer of the Year, ASU’s Outstanding Community Partner for her work with the Service Learning Program (ACES), and the 2002 Sally Award from the Salvation Army. She was also a member of ASU’s Women and Philanthropy. She currently serves on the board of the Kiita Foundation.
Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong grew up in the mining town of Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Jo-Ann Armstrong
Vice President
Patrick Armstrong is President at JDA Investments (US), Inc. In this role Mr. Armstrong is responsible for evaluating potential investments, performing industry and financial analysis, due diligence, final investment decision making, and providing additional support for internal operations and portfolio investments.
Mr. Armstrong is formerly a Partner at Canal Partners, a Venture Capital firm based in Scottsdale, AZ that focused on B2B enterprise Software-as-a-Service companies. Prior to his role at JDA Investments, Mr. Armstrong founded and operated Armstrong IT Services which acted as an Information Technology consultant for several small and medium-sized companies with focuses on healthcare, digital media, accounting, education, and IT Services. Prior to that, Mr. Armstrong was a Support Specialist at Sungard Availability Systems. He began his career in the Information Technology Services department at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
In addition to his role as Treasurer of the Kiita Foundation, Mr. Armstrong is a Member of FOCIO, is a member of Social Venture Partners of Arizona (former Board Member/Chair), and serves on the Board of Directors for the Rancho Feliz Charitable Organization. Additionally, he serves on the Board for Bloom365 (current Chair), and is a former Board Member / Chair of SEED SPOT. Along with his wife, Amy Armstrong, he serves on the Grant Committee for Next Generation Philanthropists, which provides programs and experiences that promote lifelong engagement and philanthropy.
Mr. Armstrong earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a Certificate of Business Excellence from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a Microsoft Certified Professional. He has 2 children and resides in Phoenix, AZ.
Patrick Armstrong
Treasurer
Amy Armstrong
Secretary
Amy is the Vice President of Programs for the Kiita Foundation, overseeing all scholarships and grantmaking details. She is also the Managing Director of Social Venture Partners Arizona, a Venture Philanthropy firm, where she has been a partner for 18 years. Formerly, Amy founded and ran Support My Club, an Arizona-based nonprofit organization.
She and her husband also engage in philanthropy through their foundation, Next Generation Philanthropists. As active philanthropists in their community, they both serve on several boards and governance committees including as the former co-chairs of the ASU President’s Club and the incoming chairs of the CU-Boulder Parent's Leadership Society.
Amy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder, a B.A. in Interior Design from The Art Institute of Colorado, an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from Harvard, and a Certificate in Effective Philanthropy from Stanford. Along with her husband Patrick, she is the parent to Emily and Taylor and enjoys traveling the world as a family.
Alison has been on the foundation board since it was first established. She was a Service Learning Tutor, and Leadership Intern at the South Mountain Salvation Army while studying at ASU. This lead to the family involvement throughout the years. Alison has a B.A. in Elementary Education and a M.A.E in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. Alison has always had a passion for education. Her twins were born prematurely, which has opened her to the importance of early childhood intervention. She received an accreditation from the American Montessori Society as a lower elementary teacher.
Alison Silver
David Paul is the CEO and a founding member of DWP Capital.
For more than a decade, Mr. Paul has been actively engaged in growth equity and venture capital investing, primarily in software and tech-enabled services.
In 2016, he joined Canal Partners (2016-2020), a multi-family office specializing in growth capital opportunities, after working at seed-stage venture fund Tallwave Capital as an Associate (2015-2016). During his five-year tenure at Canal Partners, he was jointly responsible for software investing. In addition, he was one of two lead partners for seven investments, serving on the board of directors of 6 companies. Mr. Paul left Canal Partners in 2020 to focus his time on his other investment interests, including DWP Capital.
David started DWP Capital in January of 2021. This investment vehicle focuses on investing in Seed and early Series A stage companies technology companies.
David received his B.A. from Springfield College in 2009 (Cum Laude) and his MBA from Northeastern University in 2013.
He is a Board Member of the Kiita Foundation as well as Rancho Feliz. He lives in Carlsbad, California with his wife, Stacy and his three daughters.
david paul
Foundation Advisors
Joan Lowell has served in leadership positions in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years. She was executive director for Hospice of the Valley (1983-1994), and serves as a board member for several nonprofit organizations and family foundations in Arizona.
Joan was Senior Advancement Officer for Donor Services for the Arizona Community Foundation and later an Academic Associate at ASU, as mentor for new business and nonprofit leaders.
In addition, Joan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, helping new entrepreneurs start businesses and nonprofits. She later provided these services in Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Joan’s writing has been published in Newsweek, the Phoenix Business Journal and the Prescott Courier. She holds a BA (cum laude) from Queens College, N.Y., and MS from Adelphi University, N.Y and MPA from Arizona State University.
Joan Lowell
Emily is a student at the University of Colorado - Boulder where she is majoring in astronomy (physics track) and minoring in dance. As she nears the end of her undergraduate career, Emily plans to get a masters in astrophysics in order to pursue a career in space research.
Emily spent much of her childhood attending events and participating in programs relating to philanthropy. She was a member of Next Generation Philanthropist and has also traveled on service trips with foundation scholars and over 20 times. In February 2026, she was the first recipient of the Rancho Feliz Light Your Life Award honoring her commitment to service to others.
Emily Armstrong
Emily is a student at the University of Colorado - Boulder where she is majoring in astronomy (physics track) and minoring in dance. As she nears the end of her undergraduate career, Emily plans to get a masters in astrophysics in order to pursue a career in space research.
Emily spent much of her childhood attending events and participating in programs relating to philanthropy. She was a member of Next Generation Philanthropist and has also traveled on service trips with foundation scholars and over 20 times. In February 2026, she was the first recipient of the Rancho Feliz Light Your Life Award honoring her commitment to service to others.
Emily Armstrong
Donation Policies
The Kiita Foundation's Board of Directors has established the following to guide in the allocation of grant resources:
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Applications are by invitation only, the foundation does not accept unsolicited requests.
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Are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization or accredited educational institution
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Demonstrate a convincing need for funding and that our donation makes a significant difference in the organization
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Organizations must provide a brief update or provide a report to the board annually
It is important to note that The Kiita Foundation DOES NOT support the following:
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Religious Organizations (for sectarian purposes)
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Compensation through fundraising
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Endowments
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Arts or Sports programs unrelated to K-12 education
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Non-educational organizations receiving significant government funding
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Organizations that do not align with our two charitable purposes.