Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida CEO retiring after years of championing causes

Shortly after her 1981 graduation from the University of Florida, Rena Coughlin headed for Liberia, West Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer.

She helped introduce fish farming as a source of protein and revenue for local families. She raised funds to construct a rural medical clinic. And she developed a long-term strategy on behalf of the World Bank for Liberian freshwater aquaculture.

"It really was the toughest job I ever loved," Coughlin, now 64, said. "I discovered how to live and thrive somewhere as a guest of the people and culture, how to accept responsibility way beyond my years and how much extraordinary joy and value I received from doing work that people thought of as 'charitable.' I was definitely the one gaining the most from the experience."

That joy in charitable work ultimately led her to the Jacksonville-based Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida, which strengthens and advocates for the area's 1,300-plus nonprofits. When she took over as CEO in 2005, the center had a $150,000 budget and 1½ employees. After 18 years at the helm, she now presides over a $1 million budget, eight full-time employees and two part-time consultants.

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But a variety of "signals" have been telling her it's time to go, Coughlin said. So she announced that she would retire at year's end.

"A lot of boxes have been checked. It feels like a pivotal point in our workplace culture and leadership opportunities," she said.

Having survived the COVID-19 pandemic and helped other nonprofits do the same, the center is on solid financial footing with a "super strong" staff, a record 350-plus members and a newly completed four-year strategic plan, she said. Under Coughlin's leadership, it has helped birth other nonprofit-related organizations, such as the Florida Nonprofit Alliance and the Florida Data Science for Social Good program at the University of North Florida, and built a reputation as a prominent resource in the community, she said.

The pandemic, she said, had provided a frightening but "fascinating disruption that allowed me, on a personal and professional level, to look at the world and nonprofits with fresh eyes.

"I didn't want to ignore any of those signals," she said.

'Healthy' nonprofits help build healthy society

As a child, Coughlin wanted to be an architect.

Born in Rhode Island, she and her three siblings were part of a Navy family: Her younger sister is women's rights advocate and former Navy pilot Paula Coughlin, but she is not related to former Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin. The family "moved frequently coast to coast, with some wonderful ports of call," including Key West, Carmel Valley, Calif., and Virginia Beach, Va., she said.

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At some point, her interests shifted from architecture to political science and government, which was her major at the University of Florida. After her two-year Peace Corps stint, she spent eight years as a legislative assistant for then-U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, "working on legislation across a broad spectrum of issues important to Florida constituents," according to the center.

Later she was special projects manager for Leadership Florida, a nonprofit that provides a wide range of leadership training, and managed programs such as gubernatorial debates. Her first CEO position was at Girls Inc. of Jacksonville, which provides at-risk girls with after-school, literacy, summer and outreach programs.

In 2005 Coughlin succeeded the center's first CEO, Jonathan Lever, who departed after three years. Her work at Girls Inc. made her want to showcase the nonprofit community as a whole.

"Coming from a small, very hands-on nonprofit, I was sure that the policy work and research that connected the hard work of nonprofits to the progress being made in our community needed to be amplified," she said.

Northeast Florida — Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, and St. Johns counties — now has about 1,300 nonprofits. They have an economic impact of about $8.6 billion and assets of $7.3 billion, including health care institutions, according to the center.

"The founders of the Nonprofit Center explicitly drew a connection between a healthy independent sector and a healthy civic society," Coughlin said, adding that the center "has never wavered on our mission to work solely to strengthen the local sector."

Board chairwoman Lisa Johnson said Coughlin has accomplished that mission.

"Rena’s leadership has cemented the nonprofit sector as an indispensable part of a healthy, diverse and thriving community," Johnson said. "We intend to strengthen and further her work in our next generation of leadership."

The center annually provides the region’s nonprofits with about 150 professional development opportunities, events and programs, including 6,000 hours of community coaching. It provides a LGBTQI+ Organizational Inventory and Resource Guide for area nonprofits, as well as resources for disaster and emergency planning, among other things.

Coughlin championed the center's online community platform, The Link, and online fundraising through WeGive.org, which, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars Give and Go! partnership, produced $1.7 million in funding for nonprofits, according to the center.

What others have to say about Rena Coughlin

She has made "significant progress as the leading nonprofit sector advocate helping governments, philanthropic organizations and citizens understand the importance and positive impact of local nonprofits, both in quality of life and financially within the region," according to the center. An early supporter of outgoing Mayor Lenny Curry, she encouraged his establishment of a cabinet-level Office of Strategic Partnerships, which aligns the public, private and philanthropic sectors. She was a founding member of the office's steering committee.

"Rena spearheaded Jacksonville’s public, private and philanthropic partnerships," Curry said. "Because of her leadership, the Nonprofit Center has risen to the challenges facing our city and secured the funding, resources and awareness to help build a better Jacksonville. I applaud her decades-long commitment to serving Jacksonville’s philanthropic sector and wish her success in all her future endeavors.”

Two leading colleagues in the area nonprofit sector also rave about her work.

“Nonprofits are doing good work every day to improve the quality of life for all in Northeast Florida. Rena Coughlin has been their champion over the last 18 years," said Nina Waters, president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, who also is retiring this year. "I’m grateful to her for her leadership growing the Nonprofit Center into what it is today."

Mari Kuraishi, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, a Jacksonville-based philanthropy, said Coughlin's "dedication and hard work" has been an inspiration.

"Under her leadership, the nonprofit center has grown and flourished, providing vital support and resources to those in need," she said. "She has built strong relationships with community partners, expanded services to underserved populations and championed important causes that have made a real difference in the lives of so many."

The center's work with young people "empowered hundreds of new leaders in our community to become advocates and change-makers and is a testament to Rena’s commitment to providing opportunities for young people to reach their full potential," Kuraishi said.

She said her contributions will continue to impact the community for years to come.

'We keep telling that story'

Asked to list her own accomplishments, Coughlin first noted the center's growth, stability and prominence in the community.

"We need the Nonprofit Center. It is essential," she said, citing its "connect/strengthen/advocate" motto. "I think of that as our job. The community needed to understand … and value the nonprofit sector." And the center has helped the sector give the community "something to value," she said.

"We have helped nonprofits become as strong as they were willing to become," she said.

Coughlin also said she is proud that the center has helped boost public perception of area nonprofits. The nonprofit sector is the third-most trusted institution in the Jacksonville area, just behind individual volunteers and the military, according to a 2022 poll commissioned for the center's 20th anniversary.

About 67% of the 1,023 people surveyed in seven counties trusted nonprofits "a fair amount" or "a great deal," compared to 72% for volunteers and 69% for the military, according to the Believe in the Good Public Perceptions Poll conducted by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab.

"The key indicators have gone up," Coughlin said. "I can't take credit for that but I can take partial credit because we keep telling that [nonprofit] story."

She is heartened that both candidates to succeed Curry — Daniel Davis and Donna Deegan — are familiar with the nonprofit sector, Davis through his work with JAX Chamber and on nonprofit boards and Deegan through the Donna Foundation, which supports breast cancer survivors.

Their awareness provides "a real opportunity" for the nonprofit sector, she said.

Coughlin does not envision pursuing another job or career opportunity herself.

"I have worked so long … Down time has value because you work," she said. "I need to spend time exploring what it means to not work."

Coughlin and her husband, Hank Osborn, who married in 1985, raised two children together. Their daughter works for a nonprofit in Jacksonville, their son is an engineer in the Panhandle.

There are no grandchildren yet to spoil. But Osborn sold his business last year and has "the travel bug," so trips are will likely in Coughlin's future.

"We're still talking about that," she said.

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

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville-area nonprofit CEO Rena Coughlin announces retirement