Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation supports disease research, health and humanitarian relief. A significant portion of its funding works locally in South Florida to support efforts for housing, education, arts and culture and other local interests.
IP TAKE: The Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation maintains a low profile, but its giving in Miami-Dade County appears to be responsive to a variety of community needs. Grants for disease research, its largest giving area, tend to go to large national associations and institutes. On the other hand, local giving in South Florida includes many grants to smaller organizations. This funder has also given millions to global organizations providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine. A connection to the family or a past grantee might help get your organization on this funder’s radar.
PROFILE: Based in Coral Gables, Florida, the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Micky Arison, chair of the Carnival Corporation, and his wife, Madeleine. Micky Arison was born in Israel and studied business at the University of Miami. He left school before graduating, however, to work for Carnival, the cruise ship company that was co-founded by his father, the late Ted Arison. In addition to his role at the Carnival Corporation, Micky Arison is the owner of the Miami Heat NBA team that was established by his father.
The Micky and Madeleine Arison Foundation maintains a low profile and does not name giving areas or articulate goals. Tax filings indicate strong interest in health and medical research. Other areas of giving include global development, housing, hunger, disabilities and the environment. The foundation has also given millions to relief and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Grantmaking prioritizes South Florida, but international, national and regional U.S. organizations have also received Arison funding.
Grants for Public Health and Diseases
Disease research and health are major areas of giving for the Arison Foundation, although the foundation does not name specific goals for this giving. The foundation’s disease research grants tend to be national in scope, supporting large associations and institutes, while its public health giving tends to focus on South Florda hospitals and care providers.
Disease grants have gone to the American Heart Association, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, the American Cancer Society and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, among others.
In South Florida, the foundation has made grants to Baptist Health South Florida and Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. The foundation also provides ongoing support to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee.
Grants for Global Health and Humanitarian Relief
Global health and emergency health care in response to disasters and conflicts are clear priorities for the Arison Foundation. According to a news release on the Carnival website, the Arison Foundation responded to the war in Ukraine by making $1 million grants to World Central Kitchen, UNICEF and Direct Relief, an organization that provides “medical aid, medicines and supplies to people displaced within Ukraine and those who have fled to neighboring countries.”
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Food Systems
The Arison Foundation focuses its grantmaking for housing and hunger on South Florida, mainly giving to organizations in the greater Miami area. Grantees include the United Way of South Florida, Feeding South Florida and the Chapman Partnership, which runs two shelters in Miami-Dade County that offer health, mental health, career and other services to homeless and vulnerable residents.
Grants for K-12 Education and Youth
Tax filings indicate that this funder maintains a strong interest in academic opportunities for underserved students, especially in South Florida. The foundation does not name priorities but appears to favor organizations that provide mentoring, out-of-school learning opportunities, college access and academic support to high school students.
Grantees include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, the Overtown Youth Center, Junior Achievement of Miami and Breakthrough Miami, which supports under-resourced middle and high school students with academic enrichments and college advisement services.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arison’s giving for arts and culture stays in Miami-Dade County and mainly consists of ongoing support to three grantees: the New World Symphony, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami and the Miami Children’s Museum.
Grants for Environment, Animals and Wildlife
Giving for the environment, animals and wildlife represents a smaller portion of this funder’s overall grantmaking. Grants have gone to the Everglades Foundation and the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
Grants for Disabilities
Only a few of the Arison Foundation’s grants support organizations working with disabled populations. Recipients include the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Best Buddies International, which is “dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
Important Grant Details:
The Arison Foundation’s grants range from $1,000 to $500,000.
While this funder does not name geographic priorities, about half of its grantmaking stays in South Florida. It also supports organizations working nationally and globally.
This funder has supported organizations of all sizes, although most of its smaller grantees are local to South Florida and, specifically, Miami-Dade County.
The Arison Foundation tends to provide multi-year support to its grantees.
This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals.
For additional information about past giving, see the foundation’s past tax filings.
This funder does not provide a direct way of getting in touch, but its phone number is listed as 786-270-3710. An address is provided below.
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CONTACT:
Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation
2 Alhambra Plaza, Ste. 1040
Coral Gables, FL 33134-5249
786-270-3710
