About the Jacksonville Kids Coalition

The Jacksonville Kids’ Coalition was formed spontaneously in November, 2001 as a result of the severe budget cuts in children’s services.  Dedicated to improving the lives of kids through programming and public advocacy, the Coalition represents over 75 area nonprofits along with other interested individuals committed to the sole purpose of working on behalf of children.

The most staggering success has been the shared determination of these nonprofit agencies to come together and put their own issues aside to create a united message for the sake of children in Northeast Florida. In a climate of decreasing philanthropy, increasing competition and shrinking Local, State and Federal funding for children, these nonprofit organizations responded to the ever-increasing needs of children, by joining hands and speaking out on behalf of children.

Since its inception, the Jacksonville Kids Coalition has made significant progress in two other areas. The Coalition has begun to strategically position itself as an information source on children’s issues for community leaders, voters and political candidates in Northeast Florida. Secondly, the Coalition has provided a platform to make children’s issues a top political priority.

Our Mission

Our mission is to improve the lives of children in Jacksonville and surrounding counties by advocating for public policies that encourage and support effective programming for children.

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Human and Economic Impact

The Coalition represents  over 500,000 children every year. A survey found that area child serving agencies have combined operating budgets of more than $290 million, employ a total of 3,816 full time employees, and utilize more than 50,000 volunteers.

The Coalition’s primary goals

• Make children’s issues a top priority in Northeast Florida.
• Educate candidates, voters, and the community on the status of children in the region.

Coalition activities include

• Annual Lobbying trip to Tallahassee to meet with state legislators
• Advocating on a city and state level, meeting with the Mayor, City Council and state legislators throughout the year, as necessary. Typically responding to budget cuts and diminishing funds allocated to nonprofits that work with children, the Coalition identifies gaps in services and waiting lists of youth for those services, highlighting how devastating cuts to those programs would be for Jacksonville’s children
• During election years, conduct forums to educate candidates on available services and programs, community strategies proven to be the most successful and challenges in our neighborhoods today
• Advocacy Trainings/Forums
• Annual Celebration of Children’s Week
• Providing background papers for elected officials and candidate on issues affecting Jacksonville’s children
• Annual Membership Meetings