OVERVIEW: The Miami Foundation is a community foundation serving Greater Miami. Its grantmaking spans health and wellness, economic stability, disability inclusion, arts and culture, community safety, environmental resilience, youth and families, racial and LGBTQ+ equity, disaster resilience and local journalism. The foundation also administers donor-advised and field-of-interest funds, collaborative grant programs, fiscal sponsorships and Give Miami Day.
IP TAKE: A major funder in Greater Miami, the Miami Foundation works to build a more “resilient Miami,” having invested over half a billion dollars to strengthen the area through partnerships and contributions from more than 1,000 fundholders and 35,000 donors. Across its grantmaking programs, the foundation prioritizes nonprofits that advance equity of marginalized communities and collaborate with the community.
It is considerably more accessible than a blanket “no unsolicited proposals” description suggests. Its flagship Community Grants program uses an open competitive application process every other year. The 2025–2027 round is closed, and applications will reopen in 2027. Applicants do not need a prior relationship with the foundation, although the program is highly competitive: 894 organizations requested more than $45 million in 2025.
Access varies considerably outside Community Grants. Some special initiatives periodically run open competitions, while other equity funds and collaborative funds do not currently publish an application process. Grantseekers should therefore approach The Miami Foundation as a multi-door community foundation rather than a grantmaker with a single application policy.
For nonprofits that are not in an active grant cycle, visibility within Miami’s philanthropic ecosystem matters. Give Miami Day is an especially useful entry point: The Miami Foundation says the information collected through nonprofit registration is its richest source of data on the local nonprofit sector. Community Grants applications can also lead to introductions and other funding partnerships even when an applicant is not selected. Nonprofits should also participate in the foundation’s capacity-building programs, issue networks and relevant collaborative initiatives.
The strongest prospects are organizations with substantial work in Miami-Dade County, especially those serving communities facing barriers to opportunity and able to demonstrate community relationships, representative leadership and a durable approach to local problems. Community Grants explicitly supports direct service, advocacy and community organizing, so this is not strictly a direct-service funder.
PROFILE: Established in 1967, the Miami Foundation is a public community foundation that mobilizes donors, nonprofits and civic partners around Greater Miami. It seeks to work “with donors to champion their causes and improve local quality of life.” A community foundation with over 1,000 philanthropic funds, the Miami Foundation manages more than $400 million in assets and is a cornerstone of philanthropy for Greater Miami. The Miami Foundation houses the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, a major donor-advised fund that supports the arts and the environment, among other funding interests.
The foundation reports having invested more than $905 million in the community in partnership with more than 1,000 fundholders and 60,000 donors.
Community Grants remain the foundation’s signature work, including permanent funds from over 100 donors and donor groups. Funding interests include Empowering Youth & Families, Generating Prosperity, Inspiring Civic Involvement, Building Climate & Disaster Resilience, and Eliminating Inequities.
Grants for Community Development and Human Services
Community Grants is The Miami Foundation’s signature competitive grant program and the clearest direct entry point for Miami-Dade nonprofits. Since 2023, the foundation has awarded grants on an every-other-year schedule, with recipients receiving two years of mission-building general operating support. The current 2025–2027 cycle is closed; the foundation says applications will reopen in 2027.
- Community Grants currently supports seven areas: Access to Health and Wellness, Economic Stability, Inclusion of People with Disabilities, Inspiring Arts and Culture, Safer Communities, Sustainable Environment and Thriving Youth and Families
- Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) public charities, qualifying religious organizations, government entities and projects working through an established 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Applicants must operate in Miami-Dade County and serve county residents. National and regional organizations may apply, but the foundation gives preference to organizations with active programming physically located in Miami. Organizations of all budget sizes may compete.
- Awards in the 2025 cycle ranged from $40,000 to $70,000 over two years according to annual operating budget: organizations below $500,000 could receive $40,000; those with budgets of $500,000 to $1 million, $50,000; $1 million to $5 million, $60,000; and organizations above $5 million, $70,000. All awards were general operating support.
- The foundation welcomes organizations using direct service, advocacy, organizing, partnerships and other approaches. Community Grants does not fund lobbying, partisan political activity, subgranting or capital campaigns. Although collaboration is encouraged, collaborative applications were not accepted in the 2025 cycle because awards were intended to strengthen individual organizations.
- One important repeat-grantee rule begins with the next cycle: organizations funded in both 2023 and 2025 must sit out the 2027 competition and may return in 2029.
- The 2025 competition attracted 894 applications requesting more than $45 million. The foundation awarded 127 organizations just over $7 million over two years. Recent Community Grants recipients include Agape Faith Center, Care Resource Community Health Centers, Dade County Street Response and EatWell Exchange, among many other organizations across the seven categories.
Grants for Safer Communities
The former Safe Communities Program should is longer an independent grant opportunity. In January 2025, the foundation relaunched it as the Safer Communities funding category within Community Grants. Awards are now two-year, mission-building general operating grants made through the Community Grants process.
- The category supports crime prevention and deterrence, substance-dependence services, efforts addressing human trafficking, survivor assistance and youth development related to community safety. The work continues in partnership with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and is supported in part by the Denise Moon Memorial Fund and Safer and Healthier Communities Fund.
- Grantseekers interested in this work should apply through Community Grants when the next cycle opens in 2027 rather than waiting for a separate Safe Communities competition.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts Access Miami is the successor to Music Access Miami. The initiative began in 2018 around expanding music education, but in 2024 the foundation broadened and renamed it Arts Access Miami under the leadership of Young Musicians Unite.
- One grantmaking component is the Arts Access Catalyst Grant, which supports arts education organizations and programs developing stronger partnerships with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Catalyst awards can provide up to $20,000 over two years and also include capacity building, network development and peer learning. Current priorities have included artist residencies and teacher professional development, dance and theater, and gaps identified through the artlook Miami data system.
- The foundation distributed $240,000 to 12 arts education organizations in the program’s fourth grant cycle in 2024. Current online materials do not clearly identify a new 2026 application deadline, so prospective applicants should verify that a cycle is active before preparing a proposal.
- The foundation also administers Pérez CreARTE in partnership with the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation. CreARTE supports Miami-Dade arts organizations working in arts access, arts education, artist fellowships and residencies. The fourth cycle invested $5.05 million in 43 arts organizations in 2025. This should be understood as a fundholder/partner grant program administered through The Miami Foundation rather than ordinary unrestricted Miami Foundation grantmaking.
Grants for LGBTQ+
The Miami Foundation’s LGBTQ+ Equity Fund is a philanthropic collaboration led by the Miami Foundation, Our Fund Foundation, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. It supports efforts intended to improve quality of life for LGBTQ+ communities in South Florida, including health equity, advocacy, systems change and support for vulnerable LGBTQ+ residents.
- In 2025, the foundation distributed $300,000 in unrestricted grants to nine organizations working on health equity and systems change. Grant partners have included Alliance for LGBTQ Youth, Care Resource, Equality Florida, Latinos Salud, SAVE, The McKenzie Project, TransSOCIAL and Urban Health Partnerships.
- No current public RFP, LOI process or application deadline was located. Grantseekers should therefore monitor the fund and its partner organizations rather than assume that the fund accepts rolling requests.
Grants for Racial Equity
The Racial Equity Fund was created in 2020 and supports organizations and leaders working to address systemic racial inequities in Greater Miami. Its current strategy emphasizes community power-building, organizing, mobilization and activism, including work involving criminal justice, housing, economic inequity and other systems affecting marginalized communities.
- Past grant partners have included Community Justice Project, Dream Defenders, Miami Workers Center, Power U Center for Social Change, WeCount!, Chainless Change and Fanm Saj. The foundation does not currently publish a standing application deadline or open application process for the Racial Equity Fund, so access should be described as unclear rather than definitively invitation-only.
- The Fund has also supported the Saltwater Fellowship, which paired leadership development with unrestricted financial support for Greater Miami leaders working on racial equity. The foundation has described its initial group as the “inaugural” cohort; current materials do not establish a new open fellowship cycle, so IP should not describe Saltwater as a presently recurring annual opportunity without additional confirmation.
Grants for Disaster Preparedness and Resilience
The Miami Disaster Resilience Fund and Miami Strong Disaster Resilience Network support Miami-Dade organizations involved in disaster preparedness, immediate relief and recovery, and long-term resilience. Unlike a temporary emergency fund, the Disaster Resilience Fund is structured as a permanent revolving fund that can place resources with nonprofits before and after disasters.
- In 2026, the Fund is investing $135,000 in resilience hubs and community-based preparedness organizations. Current partners include The Smile Trust, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, The McKenzie Project, Ten North Group, Center for Independent Living of South Florida, Basic Needs Miami and Bridge to Hope, among others.
- The foundation openly invites Miami-Dade nonprofits engaged in preparedness, relief, recovery or resilience work to join the Miami Strong Disaster Resilience Network. It also invites referrals of organizations that could advance the strategy. The site does not currently advertise a standing competitive grant application comparable to Community Grants, but joining the network is a concrete way for relevant nonprofits to become visible to the foundation and its disaster-funding partners.
Grants for Civic Engagement and Economic Development
The Miami Foundation invests in civic leadership and economic opportunity through a variety of opportunities and initiatives that work to use Miami as a learn laboratory to propel citizens in their civic careers. These programs and fellowships include:
- Miami Fellows, which is a 15-month leadership program experience that uses Greater Miami as a learning laboratory, inspiring Fellows to engage and give back who are “5 to 15 years into their professional career who have made an impact” on Miami. Register separately for more information about Miami Fellows.
- Miami Leaders, established in 2011, works to “develop the leadership skills and management competencies of emerging nonprofit leaders in Greater Miami, enabling them to attend “premier executive education programs in Greater Miami and around the country.”
- The Ruth Shack Leadership Award honors an “individual age 40 or under who reflects the qualities embodied by the Foundation’s President Emeritus, Ruth Shack: a passionate champion for Greater Miami, steadfast ethics, unselfish service and a connector of our diverse community.” This opportunity is by nomination only.
- Grant initiatives for economic development and work opportunities includes Miami Open for Business. The Miami Foundation’s initiatives change frequently, so check back annually.
- The Foundation also likes to invest in organizations that support local entrepreneurship, employment, opportunity, skills development and economic development, among others.
- Past grantees include Endeavor Miami, The Allapattah Collaborative CDC, Make the Homeless Smile Miami, Refresh Miami, and Dmf Employment Opportunities.
Grants for Journalism, Media and Democracy
Press Forward South Florida is an important newer grantmaking collaborative involving The Miami Foundation and community foundation partners across Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. The initiative launched with $3 million in seed support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and seeks to strengthen the region’s local news and information ecosystem.
- Its first public grant competition opened in June 2026. Newsroom Strength awards paired a newsroom sustainability assessment and coaching with a $20,000 stipend, while Collaboration Grants offered $20,000 to $100,000 over two years for newsrooms working together on infrastructure, audiences and other shared resources. Applications for that round closed July 24, 2026.
- Local journalism organizations should monitor Press Forward South Florida for subsequent rounds rather than treating the closed 2026 competition as a continuously available opportunity.
Other Grantmaking and Nonprofit Support
- The foundation currently lists the Sankofa Sistas Giving Circle as an annual grant program supporting Black women and girls, but the site labels the next opportunity only as “Coming Soon.” Current eligibility rules, award amounts and a deadline could not be verified. Prospective applicants should monitor the foundation rather than rely on criteria from older funding rounds.
- The Miami Foundation also provides capacity-building resources to Greater Miami nonprofits regardless of whether they are current grantees. These include training, technical assistance, peer learning and other support. These activities are useful relationship-building opportunities but should not be presented as grant programs.
- The foundation separately offers fiscal sponsorship. Projects using The Miami Foundation itself as fiscal sponsor must establish a fund with a minimum initial contribution of $100,000 and maintain an average balance of the same amount. This should not be confused with Community Grants eligibility: Community Grants applicants may use an established outside 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor and do not have to be fiscally sponsored by The Miami Foundation.
- The foundation also operates donor-advised funds, designated funds, field-of-interest funds and other philanthropic vehicles. Donor-advised funds should not be described as a general application program for nonprofits: fundholders recommend grants from their individual funds rather than participating in a common public RFP.
Give Miami Day
Although Give Miami Day is a fundraising campaign rather than a foundation grant program, it is one of the most important ways for Miami nonprofits to get onto the foundation’s radar. Nonprofit registration for the November 19, 2026 event is currently open. Participating organizations receive visibility, a no-cost fundraising platform, flexible funds, training and support. In 2025, more than 60,000 donors contributed $43.8 million to more than 1,400 nonprofits.
- More importantly for prospect research, The Miami Foundation says the information nonprofits submit during Give Miami Day registration constitutes its richest source of data about Miami’s nonprofit sector. The foundation uses this information to understand organizations’ leadership, geography, issue focus and financial condition. Participation can therefore help an organization become more visible to foundation staff and the broader donor community even though Give Miami Day itself is not a grant award.
Important Grant Details:
The latest available Form 990, for 2024, reported approximately $138.6 million in revenue, $565.2 million in assets and $494.2 million in net assets. The filing confirms the foundation operated donor-advised funds.
The Miami Foundation is a community foundation, so its Form 990 grant list should be interpreted differently from the Schedule I of a conventional private foundation. Its tax filing combines grants made through donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, special initiatives, partner programs and other vehicles. A large grant appearing on Schedule I therefore does not necessarily indicate that an unrelated nonprofit could obtain a similar award through an open proposal.
- This funder prioritizes giving to organizations located in the Greater Miami area; however, it gives all across the United States, particularly in New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California, among other states.
- Grantmaking is decentralized, with separate programs and funds running independent grant programs, including many donor-advised funds. Grant guidelines and dates vary significantly by program and initiative and change frequently. Keep up with individual program pages for accurate information and new opportunities.
- Organizations without meaningful Miami-Dade programming are generally weaker prospects for the foundation’s primary competitive programs. Community Grants also excludes capital campaigns, subgranting, partisan political activity and use of grant dollars for lobbying.
- Direct general questions to the staff at info@miamifoundation.org.
- The foundation is located at 40 NW 3rd Street, Suite 305, Miami, Florida 33128. Keep up with their news section and blog. Join the mailing list to stay informed about new opportunities.
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