Our Sector

Across Northeast Florida, more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations provide the resources and services that make our region strong.

They educate us, keep us healthy and give us places to play, exercise and enjoy nature. They provide inspiration through the arts. They nurture our spirits through communities of faith. And they sustain us by gathering together people of common cause.

Nonprofits fill the gap between the profit-driven world and the world of government, bringing together public and private resources for the common good.

The latest research on Northeast Florida’s nonprofit sector shows:

• The sector boasts aggregate revenues of $8.56 billion and employs 72,188 individuals, almost 13 percent of the region’s total paid, private workforce.
• The number of nonprofits reporting on the First Coast has grown incrementally in the last five years. In 2016, 1,320 nonprofits filed with the IRS. While 2017 filings are still incomplete, it is estimated that 1,350 or more nonprofits will file with the IRS for 2017.
• Slightly more than one-third of area nonprofits operated in the red in recent years, spending more than they took in – an improvement since 2009. Recovery from the Great Recession is real, though some organizations with critical missions, such as those providing housing or services to seniors or youth, have not rebounded as well.
• Charitable contributions are an important revenue stream for nonprofits, but the number of individual donors on the First Coast has declined significantly in the last decade: 29,000 fewer donors reported making charitable gifts in 2016 compared with 2007, a drop of 17 percent.

These organizations, while important, can be financially fragile. Since the Recession, more than 40% have operated in the red for at least one year.

The business model of the Jessie Ball duPont Center allows its nonprofit tenants to pay significantly lower costs for office space and related expenses, allowing more dollars to go toward community service. This enhances the sustainability of these important organizations.

To learn more about the nonprofit sector in this community, visit http://www.nonprofitctr.org/ or read the latest State of the Sector report, found here.