Strategic Partnerships
In 2016, Mayor Lenny Curry created the Office of Strategic Partnerships upon the recommendation by the Mayor’s Transition subcommittee on City/Not-for-Profit Interface team. As the first city in Florida and the first city in the Southeast with such an office, Strategic Partnerships leads the mayoral priority of aligning the public, private and philanthropic sectors around common goals to create better outcomes for all Duval County residents.
In December 2022, the City of Jacksonville, in partnership with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, was invited by the Florida Philanthropic Network to highlight the City of Jacksonville's Strategic Partnerships model in a webinar with its members. Click here to view a copy of the presentation.
The Mayor recognizes the importance of the public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors in a vibrant community, and he understands that a strong, civic-minded community values strategically collaborating to create impact. With increasing community needs and stretched resources, it is critical that communities effectively leverage the fiscal, human, social, and political capital of municipalities. By strengthening the connection between the City of Jacksonville and cross-sector partners, our community will be better able to address complex community issues and leverage opportunities for Jacksonville's citizens.
Strategic Partnerships has a Strategic Partnerships Steering Committee that is comprised of members who represent the nonprofit, philanthropic and private sectors. Click here to learn more about the Steering Committee and its members.
To ensure the alignment of public, private and philanthropic investments, the Strategic Partnerships Steering Committee developed the Community Goals Framework to create a common language that all sectors could use to define their investments. Click here to learn more about the Community Goals Framework.
Click on the titles below to learn more about specific strategies and initiatives:
Strategic Partnerships Staff:
Dawn Lockhart, Director of Strategic Partnerships
dlockhart@coj.net
904-255-5007
Sarah Schmidt, Deputy Director of Strategic Partnerships
sarahs@coj.net
904-255-5021