Community Foundation's Nina Waters, other civic leaders to receive OneJax honors

Beth Reese Cravey, Florida Times-Union
·4 min read
Nina Waters, photographed as an EVE Award nominee in 2013, has announced she is retiring as president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
Nina Waters, photographed as an EVE Award nominee in 2013, has announced she is retiring as president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.

Nina Waters plans to retire in September 2023 after almost 20 years as president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, a prominent philanthropic organization. A few months before, she will receive a lifetime achievement award from the OneJax Institute.

Waters will be one of five people honored at the nonprofit interfaith organization's 2023 Humanitarian Awards on May 4.

The other honorees, all Jacksonville-based, are Lad Daniels, former president of the First Coast Manufacturers Association and former City Council member; Cindy Funkhouser, president and CEO of Sulzbacher, which provides comprehensive services for the homeless; writer and filmmaker Stacey Goldring, founder of Searching for Identity Foundation Inc., which uses and arts and the written word to unite diverse communities; and Kimberly Allen, CEO of 904WARD, a nonprofit working to build a more inclusive community.

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"We are honoring a group of deserving people who have made an indelible mark on our community and are passionate about making Jacksonville the best place it can possibly be," said Kyle Reese, OneJax executive director. "These honorees represent a growing list of people laying the foundation to help take Northeast Florida into the future. Their impact is immeasurable."

Waters joined the Community Foundation, the largest of its kind in Florida and a prominent philanthropic organization, in 2001 and became president in 2005. She turns 65 next August, has been on the foundation's staff since 2001 and president since 2005.

Daniels
Daniels

"To receive the Gold Medallion Award from OneJax Institute is incredibly meaningful to me," she said. "I am honored to join a list of extraordinary former honorees, many of whom have long been my heroes and sheroes — people whose work I’ve admired and tried to emulate over the years."

But the honor is particularly meaningful, she said, "because I feel so strongly that the work of OneJax is vitally important, now more than ever."

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OneJax, a nonprofit that is part of University of North Florida, promotes racial, religious and cultural tolerance through interfaith events, community building and education programs, among other things. The organization held a vigil following antisemitic messages posted at TIAA Bank Field and elsewhere and, with support from a new $1 million fund to be administered by the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida, will help combat antisemitism and search for solutions.

Funkhouser
Funkhouser

"OneJax focuses on the dignity of each human being and brings people together to create stronger bonds for our community," Waters said. "I don’t think there is a higher purpose in our communal life right now and I applaud the OneJax Institute for keeping that message alive."

Goldring
Goldring

This year she was one of a group of philanthropists that established a collective-giving fund to boost investment in Jacksonville's Black community as a vehicle for equity, justice and "transformational change." Based at the Community Foundation, the A.L. Lewis Black Impact & Opportunity Fund will focus on health care, education and economic development.

Waters will receive the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award that "recognizes those who have had an extraordinary impact on and have given back generously to their communities over their lifetime," according to OneJax. This award is given to someone who has shown "outstanding dedication and community service but also …exceptional commitment to the OneJax mission of promoting the dignity and respect of all people."

Allen
Allen

Daniels, Funkhouser and Goldring will receive silver medallions, given for "outstanding dedication and community service" through civic, charitable, volunteer and professional organizations, among other things. Allen will get the the Acosta-Rua Young Professionals Award, which recognizes people age 40 and under who are "already making a significant impact in their community through their time, talent and treasure," according to OneJax.

The lifetime achievement and Acosta-Rua awards are not necessarily given each year.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

ONEJAX INSTITUTE

To donate, volunteer or get more information, contact OneJax Institute at 112 W. Adams St., 4th Floor, Jacksonville 32202; (904) 620-1529 or onejax@unf.edu or go to unf.edu/onejax.

The Humanitarian Awards will be May 4 at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Water St. downtown. More information will be posted on the OneJax website at a later date.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's OneJax interfaith nonprofit to honor five civic leaders