OVERVIEW: The Ocean Reef Community Foundation (ORCF) supports nonprofit organizations in and around the private Ocean Reef community in Key Largo, Florida, while also helping Ocean Reef members pursue their individual charitable interests.
IP TAKE: This is a strong prospect for established nonprofits that can demonstrate a concrete benefit to residents of Key Largo and the Upper Keys, Homestead or Florida City. Its Community Grants Program accepts applications through a public annual process. Applicants may also submit an optional pre-application and contact foundation staff to discuss a potential project before applying. The strongest requests will be highly local, project-specific and able to demonstrate both community impact and financial leverage. ORCF explicitly prefers projects that bring other funders to the table and prioritizes matching grants. Projects connected directly or indirectly to Ocean Reef’s employee base also receive preference.
Grantseekers should not confuse the foundation’s competitive grants with the much broader giving visible in its Form 990. ORCF administers donor-advised funds whose donors can recommend grants anywhere in the United States. For nonprofits in ORCF’s target communities, however, Community Grants provide a genuine point of entry. Once an organization has been vetted, there may also be opportunities for additional donor co-investment or, in exceptional cases, larger Impact Fund support.
Unlike an invitation-only funder, ORCF gives prospective applicants several ways to establish fit before applying. The optional pre-application is a particularly useful first step, and the foundation expressly invites nonprofits to contact staff to discuss potential projects.
PROFILE: The Ocean Reef Community Foundation (ORCF) is based in Key Largo, Florida, and was established in 1994 to support the local community of Ocean Reef and the surrounding area. It seeks to “encourage and administer effective philanthropy by the Ocean Reef Community, supporting charitable efforts throughout Ocean Reef and the surrounding areas and helping Members to meet their individual charitable goals.”
Today, its grantmaking encompasses local competitive grants, support for charitable institutions within Ocean Reef, larger special projects and donor-advised giving.
ORCF’s main competitive opportunity for outside nonprofits is its Community Grants Program, which supports organizations serving Key Largo and the Upper Keys, Homestead and Florida City. Current funding interests are education, youth, health and family services, and community needs. The foundation also operates an Impact Fund/Special Projects mechanism for larger-scale projects, administers donor-advised funds and facilitates co-investment in selected projects that have already undergone ORCF’s grant review.
Grants for Education and Workforce
Education is one of the Community Grants Program’s current funding areas. ORCF considers support for preschool through postsecondary education as well as job training, professional certification, continuing education and special-needs education. The foundation also prioritizes projects that create or expand services, improve organizational capacity and help people become more self-sufficient.
- Education grants frequently support academic enrichment, college access, career preparation, technology and specialized educational services. Recent recipients include Take Stock in Children, Breakthrough Miami, City Year, the Cox Science Center & Aquarium, Coral Shores High School and En FAMILIA. Take Stock in Children received $100,000 in 2026 for college scholarships connected to its Upper Keys youth mentoring program, while Breakthrough Miami received $15,000 for academic enrichment and leadership development serving students in Homestead and Florida City.
- The foundation also makes grants for workforce development when programs serve its target geography. Recent funding has supported employment and training programs for people with disabilities as well as college and career readiness initiatives.
Grants for Youth
Youth is another core Community Grants interest. ORCF supports child and youth development, youth programming and leadership development, with grants spanning mentoring, recreation, academic support, after-school programming and services for young people with disabilities or other specialized needs.
- Recent grantees include Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami, which received $25,000 to expand mentoring for young people in the Upper Keys, Homestead and Florida City; Branches, which received support for teen leadership and employment mentoring; and several organizations providing STEM, arts, music and enrichment opportunities.
- Arts and culture should not be understood as a separate current Community Grants category. ORCF nevertheless funds arts-related work when it advances one of its stated priorities, particularly education and youth development. Recent recipients include the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and other organizations providing music and arts programming to young people in the foundation’s target communities.
Grants for Health and Family Services
ORCF’s health and family services funding supports healthcare and human services that contribute to safe and healthy families. Recent grantmaking shows strong interest in healthcare access, mental health, disability services, food insecurity, child welfare, domestic and family needs, and services for economically vulnerable residents.
- Recent grantees include Feeding South Florida, Florida Keys AHEC, Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, Good Health Clinic, Kristi House, Miami Diaper Bank, Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition and the University of Miami’s pediatric healthcare programs. Feeding South Florida received $88,800 in 2026 for food distribution throughout the Upper Keys, Homestead and Florida City, while Florida Keys AHEC received $75,000.
- Other grants address specific populations or barriers to care. For example, ACT4Me received $42,000 for therapy programs serving children with neurological and genetic disorders, and 305 Pink Pack received $12,500 for transportation and childcare for women undergoing cancer treatment.
Grants for Community Development
The foundation’s broad Community category supports projects that address community needs or improve a nonprofit’s ability to serve the community. Eligible requests may involve buildings, equipment, improvements, organizational efficiency, program growth, services, collaboration and innovation.
- This category can encompass direct services, equipment and vehicles, organizational capacity, workforce initiatives and other tangible projects. ORCF generally favors project support over unrestricted operating funding. It specifically states that general operating, overhead and administrative expenses are normally ineligible, although one-time expenses associated with an organization’s early growth or the launch of a new program may be considered when the applicant explains how those costs will be sustained in the future.
- ORCF also gives greater priority to requests in which the foundation is providing only part of the required support. Applicants that document other requested or committed funding sources may therefore have an advantage, and the Grants Committee explicitly prioritizes matching grants that can attract additional resources.
Grants for the Environment
Environmental conservation is not currently a standalone Community Grants funding area. ORCF’s guidelines state that requests primarily related to the environment should generally be submitted to the Ocean Reef Conservation Association and will not be considered through Community Grants unless the proposed project also has a component that satisfies ORCF’s stated criteria.
Environmental education and related projects may therefore receive ORCF funding when they fit an education, youth or community purpose. Grantseekers working primarily on marine conservation, habitat, wildlife or related environmental issues should investigate the Ocean Reef Conservation Association separately rather than assuming ORCF’s Community Grants program is the appropriate entry point.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
All Charities
Ocean Reef All Charities is the foundation’s fundraising arm rather than a separate open competitive grant program. Money raised through All Charities supports charitable institutions within Ocean Reef and also provides funding for ORCF’s work in surrounding communities. The foundation reports that more than $85.8 million has been distributed to All Charities recipient partners since 2008.
For an outside nonprofit, the practical distinction is important: organizations generally pursue funding through the Community Grants process rather than treating All Charities Weekend as a separate application opportunity.
Impact Fund and Special Projects
ORCF also undertakes Special Projects outside its normal grants application process when it identifies larger community needs with the potential for significant long-term impact. Previous projects have included the Upper Keys campus of the College of the Florida Keys and major healthcare and community infrastructure projects.
The related Impact Fund is active and provides grants larger than the foundation’s usual Community Grants awards. In 2025, an application from the ARC of South Florida was elevated from the regular grants process for Impact Fund consideration because of the project’s size; ORCF ultimately reported an $118,800 grant for a renovation of the organization’s Florida City school. In 2026, the foundation approved a $1 million Impact Fund grant toward an expansion of Baptist Health Homestead Hospital.
Co-Investment Opportunities
ORCF also uses co-investment opportunities to bring additional donor resources to projects that its Grants Committee has already vetted. In 2026, the foundation invited donors to supplement partial or matching grants and to support larger Impact projects. This is significant for grantseekers because an ORCF grant can create exposure beyond the foundation’s initial award.
Donor-Advised Funds
ORCF administers donor-advised funds, and fund holders may recommend grants to qualified charities anywhere in the United States. The foundation also provides its donors with information and expertise concerning nonprofit organizations and needs in the surrounding area.
Important Grant Details:
ORCF is a sizable community foundation. Its fiscal 2024 Form 990 reported about $109.7 million in assets and $83.5 million in net assets. Tax filings show about $12.3 million in grants in that filing year, but these figures include multiple types of grantmaking, including large distributions to Ocean Reef institutions and donor-directed grants, and should not be read as representative of the foundation’s competitive Community Grants program.
- Eligible surrounding communities are Key Largo/the Upper Keys, Homestead and Florida City. Organizations located elsewhere must propose a specific project whose funds will directly benefit residents of these areas.
- ORCF gives preference to projects that relate directly or indirectly to the Ocean Reef employee base.
- The foundation prioritizes projects addressing root causes, promoting self-sufficiency, initiating or expanding services, leveraging other funding and partnerships, and strengthening an organization’s ability to serve the community.
- General operating and administrative costs are generally not supported except for certain one-time startup or expansion expenses. ORCF also excludes individuals, fundraising events, endowment and memorial funds, projects outside its geographic parameters, activities normally fully funded by government, political organizations and campaigns, and religious activities predominantly serving one denomination.
- The foundation favors leveraged and matching requests over proposals seeking ORCF as the sole funding source.
- Staff and Grants Committee members vet applicants and may conduct site visits. Grant reports are required for recipients seeking future funding.
- The Ocean Reef Community Foundation is located at 35 Ocean Reef Drive, Suite 148, Key Largo, Florida 33037. Its current executive director is Yurianna Mikolay. Grantseekers may contact the foundation at foundation@oceanreef.com or 305-367-4707.
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