Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration is poised to act on an idea from his transition team, one that could better engage government and nonprofits.
The idea calls for the creation of a director of strategic partnerships — a senior staff level position formerly referred to as a “chief philanthropy officer” in Curry’s transition reports.
The person would be responsible for improving and creating relationships between the city and nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
“Those things have never been well-connected before,” said Rena Coughlin, CEO of the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida and co-chair of Curry’s transition team.
Coughlin uses the example of a recent Jessie Ball duPont Fund daylong data-driven presentation about housing in a “block-by-block” view.
The city director would be in position to take the information and use it with both the nonprofit world and city officials to help craft policy and, hopefully, result in a positive community impact.
Working within the community would be just one part of the job. There also would be a need for a “worldly” perspective and attracting new resources.
“I would hope this person, through communicating the value of the work that’s being done here in Jacksonville, would attract new funding to the community,” said Coughlin.
David Biemsderfer likes the potential, calling it possibly a first for Florida.
He’s head of the Florida Philanthropic Network, a statewide organization that fosters cooperation and relationships among business, government and nonprofit organizations. It’s a similar role as the city director position.
“It can really lead to some good things to the city,” he said. “You’ll be able to align resources better … partnerships can’t happen unless you have someone who makes those connections, someone at the table who understand philanthropy.”
The state of Michigan and city of Newark, N.J., are two leaders in the field in this area, he said. Both have philanthropic liaisons who leverage public and private funds for a range of projects.
The Florida Philanthropic Network’s board chair this year also happens to have local ties — and a strong level of support for the new position.
“We would be one of the leading cities and municipalities to take this important step,” said Susan Towler, vice president of the Florida Blue Foundation, who heads the network.
The city, she said, relies on the nonprofit community for a “great deal” of delivering services to residents.
That’s evidenced through the annual distribution of public service grants, this year with more than $2 million being doled out.
Towler said she sees a director as someone who can better build partnerships with national organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, one of the country’s largest public health philanthropies.
The person could serve “as a bit of a detective” and build those relationships so if opportunities arise that align with Jacksonville, the city could be at the forefront of grants.
Coughlin this week submitted a draft job description to Kerri Stewart, Curry’s chief of staff, to whom the new hire would report. It didn’t include a salary range or hiring timeline, but Coughlin said she could see it possibly happening by the first of the year.
Stewart is in London for the economic development trip that coincides with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ game and could not be reached for comment.
Funding for the position would come from the two areas the director would serve.
The nonprofit community would be responsible for the first year of funding, 60 percent of the second year and 50 percent thereafter. The city would cover the rest.
Coughlin said a group of nonprofits are in the process of raising the money, with the hope of having three to four years of its side of the funding in place before a hire.
And, she doesn’t think the search should be limited or necessarily focus on finding someone local who already has knowledge of the nonprofit landscape.
“You never know where the right person will come from,” she said. “I think it will be an incredibly tough job to sell and needs the right mix of skills, personality traits and knowledge.”
Towler said she saw merits to both an insider and outsider perspective — the age old local experience versus new ideas debate that often comes with such searches.
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