Bridging the Sector – Jacksonville Budget Updates
Budget season at City Hall shapes more than just line items—it influences the resources that many local nonprofits rely on to deliver essential services to our communities. Last week the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee began the process of reviewing the proposed budget and making recommendations that could have significant consequences. These include program reductions and eliminations that impact health services, housing initiatives, arts and culture, and youth support.
As we see the funding landscape continue to shift at the federal and state levels, staying informed on the changes to local funding is becoming increasingly important. Developing a deeper understanding on what’s being proposed enables nonprofits to anticipate changes, adjust strategies, and better support the people who count on them.
Below you will find a breakdown of the proposed changes to the budget as they are made by the finance committee. This is a living document and will be updated and refined as additional information is made available. Data from Catalyst has been added to provide important context on the current state of local needs for each of these critical community focus areas.
The Nonprofit Center is committed to keeping you connected to reliable information and sound guidance so please reach out to Issis Alvarez at IAlvarez@Nonprofitctr.org with any corrections, feedback, or additions you have.
Corrections:
- The Jacksonville Symphony $500,000 line item was not cut but instead redirected from the operating budget to the Capital Improvement Plan budget.
Health and Wellbeing
| Program | Proposed Cuts |
| Dental Care Access | -$230,000 |
| Healthlink Jax Telehealth | -$2.18 million |
| Infant Mortality & Syphilis Prevention | -$110,000 |
| Jax Care Connect | -$1.25 million |
| Project Save Lives | -$500,000 |
Catalyst Data Lens:
- Investing in health programs is critical for our community’s quality of life. In Duval County, pockets of the city have uninsurance rates of 18.1% (Census, 2023). Our drug overdose death rate is 52/100,000, one of the highest in the state (CDC, 2021). Only 55% of adults in the county have been to the dentist in the past year (CDC BRFDD PLACES, 2022)
- Duval County’s infant mortality rate is higher than both the state and national averages. In 2023, Duval County’s infant mortality rate was 7.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, while Florida’s rate was 6.0. This means that in Duval County, more babies die before their first birthday compared to the rest of Florida. (Fl Health Charts, 2023)
Housing & Community Stability
| GAP Financing | -$2 million |
| Downpayment Assistance | -$2 million |
| Utility Tap In Program | -$750,000 |
| Eviction Diversion | -$500,000 |
Catalyst Data Lens:
- In Duval County, over 140,000 households are cost-burdened (51% of renters and 23% of homeowners), spending more than 30% of their income on owning or renting their home. (ACS Survey, 2023)
- In Duval County, 36.4 evictions are filed per day, 70,005 have been filed year to date, and our county has an 8.1% filing rate, greater than the national average of 6%. (Eviction Lab, 2025)
Cultural, Civic & Social Vitality
Catalyst Data Lens:
- In the Greater Jacksonville Region, the Arts sector and organizations like the Symphony generated $319.9 million in economic activity during 2022—$131.5 million in spending by arts and culture organizations and an additional $188.4 million in event-related expenditures by their audiences. That economic activity supported 5,481 jobs, provided $219.8 million in personal income to residents, and generated $74.2 million in tax revenue to local, state, and federal governments. (America for the Arts, 2022)
Youth & Education
| Jacksonville Journey | $1.9 million (moved below the line) |
Catalyst Data Lens:
- In Duval County, 60% of students experienced bullying behaviors including taunting, teasing, name-calling, exclusion, or being deliberately ignored in a mean-spirited way (Florida Health Charts, 2024).
- In Duval County, 27.7% of middle and high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless for two or more consecutive weeks, to the extent that they stopped participating in their usual activities. 7.9% of students attempted suicide within the past year. (Florida Department of Health, Division of Community Health Promotion, Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, 2024).
- In Duval County, the youth arrest rate is 18.8 per 1,000 residents aged 10-17, and 1,875 students aged 10-17 were arrested (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 2023).
- Industry certification pass rate: 61% (8,762 out of 14,286 students who attempted K-12 industry certifications successfully earned their credential) (Academic Achievement, Department of Education 2023-2024)
Nonprofit services don’t operate in isolation — it’s an interconnected network where each program strengthens the next. When funding is cut in one area, the ripple effects can quickly destabilize families and entire neighborhoods.
Imagine a Jacksonville family already struggling to stay afloat. The mother relies on telehealth to manage her chronic illness without costly ER visits. Her housing stability is supported through emergency rental assistance, and she’s able to access important dental care and health screenings for her children. Under the proposed budget changes, multiple lifelines could disappear — leaving them facing a health crisis, eviction, and fewer resources for their kids.
And these city-level cuts aren’t happening in a vacuum. Federal and state funding for many of these same services is also shrinking, meaning nonprofits can’t simply “make up the difference” elsewhere. When support disappears at all levels, the safety net frays beyond repair, and families have fewer and fewer places to turn.
Watch this space and stay connected to the Nonprofit Center as we share more from this year’s budget process.
Upcoming Budget Hearings
(All meetings take place at City Hall in the Council Chambers from 9am-5pm)
- Thursday, August 14
- Friday, August 15
- Thursday, August 21
- Friday, August 22