Celebrating Catalyst 2.0: A New Era of Community Data

On October 16, 2025, the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida officially shared Catalyst, a regional data initiative designed to support informed decision-making across the nonprofit, public, and philanthropic sectors. The new and improved Catalyst dashboard now features over 199 community indicators, developed through a yearlong process involving 25 convenings and contributions from more than 400 individuals representing 201 organizations.

The launch presentation, shared as the closing keynote at the Nonprofit Works conference, included remarks from Nonprofit Center CEO Dawn Lockhart and Director of Research and Evaluation Allison Ownby, who provided an overview of the history and development of Catalyst. The initiative builds on Northeast Florida’s legacy of community-informed data work, including the JCCI, and NEFL Indicators Project and expands it with a modern, interactive dashboards covering seven counties and six issue areas.

Three Catalyst Chairs, Nicole Hamm (Executive Director, Blue Zones), Rachael Tutwiler Fortune (President, Jacksonville Public Education Fund), and David Garfunkel (Chief of Public Affairs, Jacksonville Civic Council), shared insights from their work leading community conversations. Nicole presented data on infant mortality and the correlation between income and life expectancy. Rachael discussed youth indicators, including school attendance and child poverty rates. David highlighted affordability metrics and the growing number of ALICE households in Duval County.

Explore the dashboard and learn more at CatalystNEFL.org. In 2026, Catalyst will continue to grow through workshops, consulting services, and a signature event, Data Day, on May 4, 2026. We invite you to join us in this exciting journey as we connect, collaborate, and catalyze change across Northeast Florida.