2025 State of the Sector Report

State of the Sector

The State of the Sector addresses the health of the nonprofit sector, not only in terms of finances but in the mix of organizations, both old and new with a variety of missions that reflect the community’s culture. The 2025 version of the State of the Sector Report is the most comprehensive yet, finding through analysis of IRS 990 data, four years after the COVID-19 Pandemic upended community institutions in Florida and across the country, the nonprofit sector in Northeast Florida is surprisingly strong.

For the first time, the 2025 State of the Sector contains information about the human side of our First Coast nonprofit organizations. This report contains analysis from Demographics via Candid data. Demographics via Candid allows nonprofits to share vital demographic information about their organizations on their Candid profile. We analyzed that data and provided information on the diversity of nonprofit Board of Directors and employees on the First Coast.

If you have follow-up questions about the report or would like to schedule a presentation for your organization’s staff team or Board of Directors, please contact Allison Ownby at aownby@nonprofitcrt.org or 904-425-8758.

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Some of the report’s key findings include:

  • In September 2024, there were 1,445 charitable organizations of size in the five-county region known as Florida’s First Coast (Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties). This is about 7% more than in 2016-17, the period of the previous State of the Sector study.
  • The 1,445 organizations reported annual revenues of $12.9 billion, an increase of 8.5% after adjusting for inflation and the increase in the number of organizations.
  • The organizations reported contributions of $3 billion – an increase of 12% after adjusting for inflation and the increase in the number of organizations.
  • Government grant support for these organizations increased 86%, adjusting for both inflation and the increase in number of organizations. This jump reflects the impact of Covid-related initiatives, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, that helped to sustain nonprofits providing front-line services during the pandemic.
  • Employment at non-health-institution nonprofits was up 29% from the earlier report.
  • Most of these First Coast nonprofits are small. Almost two-thirds reported annual revenues of less than $500,000. The large aggregate revenues for the sector are driven by those of large institutional nonprofits, particularly health institutions.
  • There is a healthy mix of old and new organizations. Roughly one third of the charitable organizations are more than 25 years old. Yet 15% have received their tax exemption since 2020.
  • This cohort of charitable organizations is as financially stable as the 2016-17 cohort (no more nor fewer operating in the red). Multiple performance measures show the vast majority of organizations operating at or above recommended levels.

The State of the Sector report was prepared by KBT & Associates, Jacksonville, Florida. The report is funded by the Nonprofit Center’s Rena Coughlin Research Fund, a tribute to the long-time CEO and established to honor her pioneering work using research to drive programming, community engagement and action.

Since 2004, the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida and local funders have worked together to create quantitative analyses of Northeast Florida’s nonprofit sector. These State of the Sector reports are intended to give the public, donors and funders, policy makers and nonprofits a richer understanding of this unique universe of organizations so important to the region’s quality of life.