Introducing the recipients of the 2023 Community Grants!
At The Miami Foundation, we empower local leadership with flexible resources to drive meaningful change to build a stronger, more equitable Miami for all with our partners. In our commitment to continuous improvement, we implemented significant changes for this grant cycle by investing in mission-building general operating support, transitioning to two-year bi-annual cycles for a more substantial impact, and streamlining the proposal process to a single phase. With the help of our Community Advisors, we carefully selected organizations that represent what our community needs most and were able to award $5,450,000 in grants over two years for general operating support to 95 organizations. We are proud of this year’s grant recipients and celebrate their dedication to our community’s well-being.
We extend our heartfelt appreciation to The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation and Miami-Dade County for their invaluable partnership in making these changes possible.
ACCESS TO HEALTH & WELLNESS
305 Pink Pack, Inc – $40,000
305 Pink Pack (305PP) provides vital direct and support services to women undergoing cancer treatment in South Florida at no cost, allowing our members to focus on healing and spend more time with their families. 305PP offers solutions to the unique challenges faced by this patient population. Our model helps relieve some of the burdens of this condition while providing equity to accessing cancer care. Since our founder is someone with lived experience, 305PP’s mission is rooted in empathy and compassion. We understand how beneficial care services are to cancer patients and their caregivers, especially for underserved populations.
Affirming YOUth Foundation, Inc. – $60,000
Founded in 2011, Affirming YOUth Foundation (AYF) aims to improve social and emotional outcomes for all youth and families by providing wellness support, coordinated services, and trauma-informed care, focusing on system-involved youth. AYF is committed to ensuring the well-being of Liberty City residents through evidence-based approaches and strategic collaborations with other Miami-based organizations.
AQUA Foundation For Women, Inc. – $40,000
AQUA Foundation for Women serves and supports the lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women’s community in South Florida through grants, scholarships, and initiatives.
Buddy System MIA – $50,000
Buddy System MIA is a young nonprofit fighting food insecurity by creating innovative ways to engage our community and empowering neighbors to support neighbors, beginning with access to free, healthy food. Buddy System emphasizes art for social change and community organizing with the ultimate goal of creating lasting change by addressing local issues by the community, for the community. Our programming includes 10 Community Fridges painted by local artists that provide free, healthy food throughout Miami, a food pantry that supports our distributions to homebound individuals, and large-scale community events with entertainment, community partners, free food, and classes.
Chainless Change, Inc. – $50,000
Deeply rooted in the value of lived experience, Chainless Change serves as a community of recovery, advocacy, and support for those impacted by the criminal legal system. We primarily aim to reduce recidivism among justice-involved people with behavioral health conditions. By supporting people to overcome an arrest history and improving outcomes upon reentry, our work positively impacts individuals, families, and communities in South Florida.
Children’s Bereavement Center – $60,000
The mission of the Children’s Bereavement Center (CBC) is to help children, teens, and adults adjust to life after losing a loved one within a supportive community of their peers and to promote healthful grief, healing, and growth. CBC’s model is grounded in research and best practices for addressing grief and bereavement and healthful adaptation to loss.
Dade County Street Response – $40,000
Our organization’s mission is to serve in solidarity with our community and facilitate treatment and care for those who are least likely to obtain it through traditional means. We aim to scale up the services we provide that are most desired by our patients, informed by patient feedback.
EatWell Exchange & Black Girls Cook – $40,000
To educate and embrace the beauty of the Black Diaspora by blending nutrition and cultural food history with flavorful ingredients and simple cooking techniques.
Health Information Project, Inc. (HIP) – $50,000
HIP believes every young person deserves to be physically and emotionally safe and healthy. To achieve this, we use the power of peer education by training high school students to be health teachers.
Mujeres Unidas en Justicia, Educacion y Reforma, Inc. – $60,000
At MUJER, we provide a trusting environment that promotes emotional wellness and stability by empowering individuals through advocacy, a direct response to domestic and sexual abuse, and support services that strengthen families.
NAMI Miami-Dade County, Inc. – $60,000
NAMI Miami-Dade’s (“NAMI”) mission is to educate, support and advocate for those affected or may be affected by a mental health challenge and their families. Our vision is that individuals have information, tools, access to services, and a strong support network to help prevent a crisis and to maximize their recovery outcomes. We assist peers and families in managing the stress, isolation, shame, fear, and confusion of initial symptoms, pre-diagnosis, treatment, wrap-around services, and recovery. Prevention programs, outreach, support groups, education programs, community connectivity, and sustainability are the hallmarks of NAMI Miami-Dade.
Overtown Youth Center, Inc. – $70,000
OYC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire, empower, and enrich the lives of youth, adults, and families by providing a comprehensive and long-term approach to strengthening communities.
PERIOD. Inc. – $60,000
PERIOD. is a youth-powered global nonprofit striving to eradicate period poverty and stigma through service, education, and advocacy. PERIOD. Distributes millions of menstrual products to those in need, provides menstrual health education resources for students and educators, and advocates for systemic change through policy and legislation to make period products affordable and accessible. Our mission to eradicate period poverty and period stigma is fundamentally based on honoring menstruators’ autonomy and trusting them to manage their periods and bodies however they choose.
Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast, Inc. – $70,000
Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida (PPSENFL) is a nonprofit healthcare agency incorporated in 1971 as an affiliate of the national organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Our affiliate’s mission is to provide comprehensive sexual health care through clinical services, education, and advocacy. For over 100 years, Planned Parenthood has promoted a commonsense approach to women’s health and well-being based on respect for each individual’s right to make informed, independent decisions about health, sex, and family planning. Our educational programs reach 18,500 teens and families, encouraging participants to make healthy decisions.
Showering Love – $40,000
Showering Love restores dignity and hope to people experiencing homelessness by providing showers, clothing, food, healthcare, and other critical services, to inspire the desire for self-sufficiency.
Southern Birth Justice Network (SBJN) – $50,000
SBJN seeks to expand Birth Justice by using storytelling, popular education, and community organizing to improve access to midwifery and doula care. Our Miami Birth Justice Initiative (MBJI) seeks to increase the amount of community-based peer-to-peer health professionals in South Florida to transform racial health disparities. We want to improve the lives of birthing people and babies throughout their birthing cycle, pre-conception through prenatal, birth/postpartum care, and addressing the dangerous maternal health outcomes. Holistic, healing, and humanistic culturally competent care should be accessible to all peoples-especially Black, Brown, youth, immigrant, indigenous, LGBTQ+, low- income and other marginalized communities.
TRANSSOCIAL INC. – $40,000
TransSOCIAL’s mission is to expand safe and affirming resources for our TGI (Trans, gender expansive, and Intersex) community through case management, legal services, support groups, social events, and education.
Village (FREE)dge Inc – $40,000
Village FREE(dge) Inc started as a community refrigerator initiative that has evolved into a community pantry providing resources to community members while fighting food insecurity and the lack of fresh food options in our community.
YWCA South Florida Inc. – $70,000
YWCA South Florida aims to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We are one of the world’s oldest and largest women’s organizations, with a rich history of fighting for the rights of women, girls, and marginalized people. Today, we continue that work through our programming and advocacy, which focus on racial justice and civil rights, empowerment and economic advancement of women and girls, high-quality early education, and the health and safety of women and girls as key touchpoints.
INSPIRING ARTS & CULTURE
ArtSouth, A NotforProfit Corporation – $40,000
The mission of ArtSouth is to inspire understanding and appreciation of the arts for historically underrepresented communities by providing inclusive cultural access to exhibitions, performances, and educational programs.
Bookleggers Library Inc – $40,000
Bookleggers is a nonprofit mobile library that expands access to free books to build community. We specialize in creative literary programs, installations, and pop-ups that bring joy to Miami-Dade.
CaFAThird Horizon, Inc. – $50,000
Third Horizon is dedicated to developing, producing, exhibiting, and distributing film and other art forms that give voice to stories of the Caribbean, its diaspora, and other marginalized and underrepresented spaces in the Global South.
Context of a Generation Inc. – $40,000
Our mission is to foster the growth of sustainable development within underrepresented communities by hosting year-round art events and social activities that educate and preserve cultural heritage.
Delou Africa, Inc. – $40,000
It is the mission of Delou Africa, Inc. (Delou) to bridge gaps and preserve culture by facilitating artistic education through traditional West African folklore dance, drum, art, folktale, and musical experiences. Delou Africa, Inc. (Delou) is a Miami-based nonprofit presenting organization founded in 1987 that aims to provide the diverse South Florida community opportunities for expression, growth, and cultural appreciation in a supportive and nurturing environment.
Exchange for Change – $40,000
Exchange for change offers educational and communication skills-building courses to incarcerated students to amplify and bring their voices to the outside. Through advocacy and education, Exchange for Change provides vision and understanding on both sides of the fence.
Guitars Over Guns Organization, Inc. – $60,000
Guitars Over Guns Organization (GOGO) empowers youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with a powerful combination of music education and mentoring relationships with professional musicians to help them overcome hardship, find their voice, and reach their potential as leaders. GOGO creates safe spaces for youth to express themselves through music and empowers them to make positive choices at school, home, and in communities. Since 2008, the organization has fostered academic, social, emotional, and artistic growth for over 8,500 students in chronically divested neighborhoods in Miami and Chicago.
Hued Songs, Inc – $40,000
Hued Songs (HS) produces performances across South Florida that amplify Black joy and Black culture. Through song, spoken word, dance, and heart, our work is rooted across three core principles: 1) To provide a platform through which BIPOC artists can be seen, heard, and paid; 2) The arts are a right and not a privilege. Thus we work to remove cost, geography, and perceived barriers to every performance and gathering; 3) Every performance is an opportunity to build belonging, empathy, and community for all.
Miami New Drama Inc – $60,000
Miami New Drama (MiND) is a theater company committed to artistic excellence and groundbreaking work with a vision of theater as a powerful vehicle for social change and transformative educational experiences for youth.
Miami Sound Space LLC – $40,000
Miami Sound Space combats community deterioration through music-making opportunities throughout the Greater Miami Community. We seek to eliminate prejudice and discrimination by building community music groups and sharing our music with the Miami community. We rehearse and perform carefully curated culturally-responsive repertoire that delves into our historical, environmental, and societal context through a social justice lens.
New Canon Chamber Collective – $40,000
The classical music industry has a documented history of excluding musicians and composers of color from being heard, seen, and performed. The mission of the New Canon Chamber Collective is to amplify the voices of Black and Brown composers and artists in South Florida while helping to evolve the classical music canon.
O, Miami, Inc. – $60,000
O, Miami builds community around the Power of poetry to forge connections and bear witness. Through collaboration, we create a platform for amplifying Miami’s voices, investing in a shared narrative of Miami and a more equitable picture of its future. We believe that uncovering and rebroadcasting poetry is also the process of attacking inequality in Miami—whereby we celebrate and document our city, inspire residents to read, write, express themselves, and connect with their neighbors.
ECONOMIC STABILITY
Bridge to Hope W.O.C. Inc. – $60,000
Bridge to Hope offers comprehensive wrap-around supports designed to create food security, and improve health, nutritional and economic outcomes that bridge the gap to self-sufficiency for economically disadvantaged and in-crisis households, raise the quality of life, and restore dignity and hope to those in need. Bridge to Hope is an equal opportunity provider.
Florida Immigrant Coalition Inc. – $60,000
Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) grows communities’ connection, capacity, and consciousness to strengthen pro-immigrant Power in Florida. FLIC is a Miami-based movement-building organization that seeks the fair treatment of all, including immigrants. We are a diverse coalition of 50+ organizations (working with labor, women, youth, faith, LGBTQ, and academics) connected through a deep commitment to advancing immigrant rights. Co-founded by Miami advocates, our work remains deeply rooted in the local social justice ecology, where we have a vast network of partners and allies, including mission-driven volunteers, who help to make our work possible in Miami-Dade and beyond.
Florida Justice Center, Inc. – $40,000
To empower individuals by providing legal support, community education, and removing barriers to success caused by the criminal justice system.
Florida Justice for Our Neighbors – $40,000
Florida Justice For Our Neighbors (FLJFON) welcomes immigrants by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services to low-income individuals and families, engaging in advocacy for immigrant rights, offering education to communities of faith and the public, and bringing together long-time US residents with those who have recently arrived. We represent clients with humanitarian-based immigration cases such as Asylum, U-Visa (for victims of violence), VAWA (for victims of domestic violence), Special Immigrant Juveniles (minors who entered the US unaccompanied), DACA (childhood arrivals), etc. Most clients come to us seeking asylum or Naturalization. We also assist clients in obtaining permanent residence, work authorization, etc.
Ladies Empowerment and Action Program – $60,000
LEAP empowers women who have experienced incarceration through transformational opportunities and advocacy. Our vision is for every woman who has experienced incarceration and is committed to change to have the opportunity and tools to achieve her full potential.
Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. – $70,000
Legal Services of Greater Miami’s mission is to promote economic opportunity and social justice for our community through effective legal advocacy.
Miami Homes for All, Inc – $60,000
Founded in 1985, Miami Homes For All’s mission is to end and prevent homelessness in Miami-Dade through community collaboration. Our vision is that everyone has a safe, stable place to call home. We aim to improve how the housing ecosystem functions to produce more affordable housing, preserve that which we have, and improve marginalized residents’ access to that housing. Our strategies include policy and best practices research, demonstration programs to prove innovative concepts, coalition-building and policy advocacy.
Miami Workers Center, Inc. – $60,000
The Miami Workers Center (MWC) organizes towards dignity, power, and self-determination with workers, tenants, women, and families across Miami. MWC advances mutually interconnected and strategic campaigns on tenant and care workers’ rights through multi-racial and multi-lingual community organizing, leadership development, political education, policy reform, and advocacy campaigns. Our work seeks to shift power into the hands of communities impacted by systems of oppression and build movements to confront structural inequities and promote economic opportunity for our members and communities.
Refugee Assistance Alliance – $50,000
Refugee Assistance Alliance trains ordinary people to help the most vulnerable refugees in South Florida with vital support services to survive and thrive in their new communities. Newcomers, given human connections, emerge from crisis and achieve self-sufficiency faster. RAA’s volunteers, employees, and donors assist refugees with language, education, employment, and community navigation to help them feel at home among us. Refugees have shown extraordinary strength and resilience to join our community; RAA’s vision is to join together to help refugees understand our ways and access opportunities for betterment. RAA empowers refugees and unites neighbors, strengthening communities.
SEEK Foundation, Inc – $60,000
The mission of SEEK is to empower youth, parents, teachers, and the community to help increase access to opportunities for children to build products and learn specific skills through STEM/STEAM Educational Programs. Our purpose is to equip our community’s youth to advocate for their own success by teaching real-world and lifelong problem-solving skills through STEM Education.
The Allapattah Collaborative CDC – $50,000
The Allapattah Collaborative CDC (TAC) was founded in 2019 to implement placemaking techniques to foster identity, support wealth-building strategies for marginalized communities of color, and advocate for long-range equitable, comprehensive, and sustainable community development. Allapattah is a rapidly gentrifying, low-to-middle-income, ethnic community of color whose 300 predominantly Dominican-owned, family-run small businesses microbusinesses were hurting even before the pandemic due to gentrification pressures, rising rents, and lack of formal business training. TAC’s genesis was a robust community engagement process that resulted in an Equitable Development Action Plan (EDAP), a formative, community-driven collaborative mission framework that underpins our approach.
Transition, Inc. – $50,000
Transition, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization located in the heart of Overtown, assists under-served residents of Miami-Dade County in becoming gainfully employed. Transition provides clients workforce readiness training, career exploration, job placements, occupational skills training, and proactive coaching. Transition targets its efforts towards assisting youthful offenders, returning citizens, people experiencing homelessness, the disabled, veterans, low-income individuals, and others facing various employment barriers. The agency’s goal is to remain proactively engaged with clients, ensure they succeed in satisfying job performance standards, and adopt additional life skills to stay financially stable and personally self-sufficient.
INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE ABILITIES
Casa Familia Inc. – $50,000
Casa Familia, Inc. (CF) was established in 2015 by a group of concerned parents out of fear for the uncertain futures of their adult children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Other Related Disabilities (IDD). Our mission is to sponsor the development of affordable residential options for individuals with IDD in an enriched community setting. The Village of Casa Familia (VCF) is scheduled to break ground this year on CF’s nine-acre site in Kendall.
Community Habilitation Center (The WOW Center) – $60,000
The WOW Center offers support, guidance, and encouragement to adults with developmental disabilities to help them become more independent and make Miami a more inclusive community.
DMF Employment Opportunities – $50,000
The de Moya Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to creating employment opportunities for young adults with unique abilities by building long-term partnerships with employers and providing employee support. We foster hope, confidence, and independence to ensure successful employment outcomes and community inclusion.
South Dade Women’s Veterans Alliance, Inc. – $40,000
South Dade Women’s Veterans Alliance, Inc. (SDWVA), is a nonprofit organization designed to provide supportive services to women veterans living in the Community of South Dade, specializing in survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Intimate Partner Violence, and other women veterans issues. SDWVA provides a safe, caring environment that promotes emotional wholeness and empowerment of women veterans through listening, art, music, yoga, trauma focus training, mindfulness sessions, support groups, advocacy, and computer and employment training services for women impacted by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-connected trauma including Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and Intimate Partner Violence (IVP).
Sunset TRP, Inc (Whispering Manes) – $50,000
To benefit children and adults with special needs or disabilities by allowing them to interact with dedicated horses in a manner that promotes physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We believe people can develop therapeutic relationships with horses, crossing boundaries of speech and physical disabilities to encourage healing and improve self-esteem.
The Key Clubhouse of South Florida, Inc. – $50,000
The mission of The Key Clubhouse of South Florida is to allow people whose lives have been disrupted by mental illness to recover meaningful and productive lives through self-directed reintegration into the workplace and the community. Our goal is a high quality of life for all members, ongoing improvement, and eliminating the stigma associated with mental illness.
SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Hold the Line Coalition – $80,000
Founded in 2004, the Hold the Line Coalition’s mission is to prevent urban sprawl in Miami-Dade County, protect natural and agricultural land and the region’s surface and groundwater, and advocate for allocating public resources to meet the needs of residents in existing communities, by investing in land preservation, public transit, blue-green infrastructure, affordable housing, agriculture, and clean air and water.
Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper – $100,000
Miami Waterkeeper’s (MWK) mission is to defend, protect and preserve South Florida’s waters through citizen engagement and community action rooted in sound science and research. We work to ensure swimmable, drinkable, fishable water for all by focusing on clean water, habitat protection, and sea level rise resiliency. We employ a multifaceted approach that includes science and research, policy and legal advocacy, and community education and outreach.
Catalyst Miami, Inc. – $100,000
Catalyst Miami builds Power with low-wealth and working-class communities throughout Miami-Dade County to collectively advance justice and achieve shared prosperity. We envision a just democracy and cooperative society where we can all build wealth, lead healthy lives, and thrive.
Citizens for a Better South Florida, Inc. – $80,000
Since 1989, Citizens for a Better South Florida’s mission has been to provide environmental education, particularly to the diverse underserved community that inspires active stewardship and preserving the South Florida environment.
Dade Heritage Trust, Inc. – $90,000
The mission of Dade Heritage Trust (DHT) is to preserve Miami-Dade County’s architectural, environmental, and cultural heritage through preservation, education, and advocacy efforts.
Dream in Green, Inc. – $80,000
Dream in Green’s mission is to empower individuals, especially youth, to lead in response to climate change and other environmental challenges facing South Florida. We do this by assisting diverse organizations, including schools, households, local governments, and businesses, to reduce their ecological footprint. By establishing partnerships in our community, we develop, implement and oversee educational programs and workshops that promote environmentally sustainable behaviors among all age groups.
Everglades Law Center – $80,000
Our mission is to advocate, negotiate, and, when necessary, litigate to protect and restore South Florida ecosystems and communities.
Florida Rising Together – $80,000
The MCA is a 158-member climate and energy justice coalition that includes 50 neighborhood-based organizations, 15 social service providers, and seven labor groups. Since founding in 2015, we’ve secured over 100 “community wins” led by and for Miami’s frontline communities. Rooted in radical transparency, deep listening, and horizontal, democratic decision-making, the MCA is a community-led mutual aid and advocacy network that works for equity and resilience by activating the community through planning, education, and strategic action.
Friends of The Underline – $90,000
The mission of Friends of The Underline (FUL) is to deliver and activate a 120-acre, world-class linear park spanning 10 miles below Miami’s Metrorail that will transform regional mobility and celebrate diversity, culture, and lifelong learning. Through innovative urban trails and creative programming, we connect people to their environment and each other to create a safe, healthy, equitable, and resilient community.
Health in the Hood Inc. – $50,000
Equal food access for all through urban farming and wellness programs. Health in the Hood connects our most food-insecure communities to more nutritious food and healthier, happier lives. Our mission is to provide equal food access for all, one community garden at a time.
Love The Everglades Movement, Inc – $80,000
We are a movement that brings people together to address the environmental, structural, cultural, and spiritual issues confronting the Greater Everglades of Florida by inspiring adults and children while raising awareness to our community leaders through organizing positive civic engagement at the local, regional, national, and global levels.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, Inc. – $80,000
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, Inc. (MSDBNC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to environmental education and encouraging greater citizen participation in protecting our natural environment by connecting our community to the world through nature and the arts.
Miami-Dade Coastal Cleanup, Inc – $80,000
VolunteerCleanup.Org engages volunteers to clean up their neighborhoods, shorelines, and waterways to raise awareness about marine debris and encourage people to reduce their reliance on single-use plastics.
Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida. Inc. – $90,000
Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida’s mission is to provide affordable housing opportunities to low-wealth residents residing in South Florida. Our vision is to create opportunities for generational prosperity and self-sufficiency through homeownership. To achieve this mission, NHS collaborates with residents and stakeholders to forge more equitable and income-diverse neighborhoods in South Florida. Each year, we guide 2,700 low-to-moderate income households on the path to homeownership and financial well-being by closely integrating homebuyer education, financial capability coaching, in-house lending, and affordable housing development.
Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, Inc. – $90,000
Pelican Harbor Seabird Station is Miami’s premier native wildlife hospital evolving into a world-class wildlife rescue, rehab, release, and education center. We are dedicated to improving the lives of sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife with the goal of releasing healthy animals back into the ecosystem, thus enabling future generations. We embody the highest level of patient care, compassion, and integrity while promoting community engagement on the importance of wildlife conservation.
The CLEO Institute – $100,000
To educate & empower communities to demand climate action, ensuring a safe, just, & healthy environment for all.
Tropical Audubon Society, Incorporated – $80,000
The mission statement of the Tropical Audubon Society (TAS) is to “Conserve and restore South Florida ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats.” We facilitate our mission via conservation, education, and preservation. Our geographic target is Miami-Dade and mainland Monroe counties focusing on water quality and habitat sustainability in Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and the Everglades. Tropical Audubon Society is a science- and solutions-based nonprofit conservation organization driven by its grassroots community and equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.
WeCount!, Inc. – $90,000
Our mission is to build the Power of immigrant workers and families in South Florida through education, leadership development, and grassroots campaigns. Our vision is to win better living and working conditions for all.
THRIVING YOUTH AND FAMILIES
300 Letters, Inc. – $40,000
300 Letters aims to break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration by providing emotional support and mental health services, financial relief, and community resources to families with young children affected by the divide of incarceration. By creating a safe and transparent environment, families come together to process, heal, and thrive.
Achieve Miami Inc. – $60,000
Achieve Miami partners with educators, students, and schools to bridge disparities, provide meaningful educational experiences, and demonstrate the Power of students learning with and from each other.
Art Creates Us, Inc. – $40,000
ProjectArt transforms local public libraries into vital cultural hubs through artist residencies where professional artists teach free, weekly after-school art classes to youth ages 4-18 in historically underserved communities.
Be Strong International, Inc. – $60,000
Founded in 1992, Be Strong International (BSI) ‘s mission is to provide holistic educational services and resources to youth and parents in broken families to develop and maintain heart skills through healthy relationship education. Since its inception, 300,000-plus children, youth & families (CY&F) have been provided with tools needed to make better decisions about relationships, money, work, and family life – shaping social change and paving a path to a more equitable tomorrow. BSI’s holistic approach strengthens families struggling with divorce, abuse, addiction, parenting challenges, etc., equipping them with tools to nurture the development of children into thriving, resilient adults.
Cuban American Bar Association Pro Bono Project, Inc. – $60,000
CABA Pro Bono Legal Services’ mission is to change the lives of children, individuals, and families in need through legal advocacy by providing free legal services to those who cannot otherwise afford it – regardless of race, creed, color, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin.
enFAMILIA, Inc. – $50,000
Familia was founded in 2000 to enhance and preserve family life for low-income individuals and families in the South Miami-Dade County farmworker community. Its mission is to “promote healthy relationships through education and the arts.” Program services are offered through a place-based initiative to cultivate community and cultural identity among farmworkers and their families while honoring their cultural heritage and fostering social cohesion. Program services, designed to meet families’ needs and empower them to achieve their full potential, include arts education, youth development, care coordination, counseling, and classes on ESL, parenting, and fatherhood.
Fanm Saj, Inc – $40,000
At Fanm Saj, we guide families toward their healing. The mission of Fanm Saj is to provide families across the African Diaspora with cultural and wellness tools and social and political resources to nourish themselves, their families, and their communities.
Florida Association for Infant Mental Health – $40,000
FAIMH’s vision is that all children will be emotionally healthy, equipped to learn, and nurtured to develop their full potential. We achieve it by supporting and strengthening the infant mental health workforce better to serve the young children and families of Florida. FAIMH exists to ensure that every young child has professionals in their life that promote positive mental health—from doctors and nurses who care for mothers and babies, to child care providers who care for babies when parents go back to work, to home visitors helping new families, to mental health therapists who heal families after trauma.
HAITIAN NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER SANT LA INC – $60,000
Sant La’s mission is to empower, strengthen and uplift South Florida’s Haitian community by providing free access to information and existing services to ensure its successful integration. Sant La envisions a fully integrated and self-sufficient Haitian community in South Florida. We attain those goals by Partnering with community-based organizations, government agencies, and public and private institutions and providing cultural competence training for partner agencies, and working to strengthen neighborhood-level leadership and civic engagement. Advocating for the Haitian community’s needs and interests at local, state, and federal levels and making relevant recommendations for policies and investments. Assessments on emerging community needs and issues.
Kristi House, Inc. – $70,000
Kristi House is dedicated to eradicating child abuse and child sex trafficking – working nationally on solutions and locally to heal child victims.
Mahogany Youth Corporation – $40,000
0ur mission is to empower youth, expand their possibilities, and connect them with nature by immersing them in a STEAM-based program. The textbook pages come to life as the child experience hands-on science projects. Youth explore nature and a whole lot more. Fishing is the hook that we use to get their attention. Many children see the ocean for the first time with us, starting a lifelong connection with nature. Working with supportive partners like you, together we change their lives. The goal is long-term improvement in the youth’s education, emotional well-being, and environment.
Mexican American Council, Inc. – $60,000
With a mission to ensure that every farmworker child receives a quality education and access to the arts and technology for a brighter future, the Mexican American Council (MAC) provides opportunities for children, adolescents, and their families that address the cultural barriers experienced by the Latino migrant community in Homestead/Naranja/Florida City.
Miami Diaper Bank Inc. – $50,000
Miami Diaper Bank fills service gaps by connecting diapers and baby essentials to vulnerable families, providing immediate relief, and raising awareness about diaper needs in South Florida.
Miami EdTech – $50,000
Through collective action, Miami STEAM Coalition is committed to ensuring that every student in Miami-Dade can access high-quality Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education both in and out of school. The coalition brings together over 20 organizations who collaborate to share knowledge, streamline data, and share resources to increase accessibility to STEAM programs, both in and out of school, available in Miami-Dade. Miami STEAM Coalition’s goal is to build a robust and motivated community working in tandem to create opportunities for underrepresented communities in Miami’s growing tech space.
Miami Music Project, Inc. – $60,000
Miami Music Project (MMP) uses music as an instrument for social transformation, empowering children to acquire values and achieve their full potential, positively affecting their society through the study and performance of music. We espouse the following goals: Develop values of community, sharing, and teamwork. Develop creativity, discipline, perseverance, and self-esteem; Inspire children to reach excellence through their own efforts; Improve children’s school performance; Strengthen the unity of families. We remain committed to equity and inclusion through our Equity and Inclusion Committee, focusing on centering the voices of our students, parents, and Teaching Artists.
Nana’s Restart Inc. – $40,000
Our mission is to heal, uplift, and connect our community through acts of kindness and Love, treating everyone with compassion and dignity, increasing their access to resources, empowering them with knowledge and wisdom, and making a difference in their lives.
National Voices for Equality Education and Enlightenment – $40,000
To prevent bullying, violence, and suicide among youth, families, and communities through direct service, mentoring, and prevention education.
Nora Sandigo Children Foundation – $40,000
Caring for and protecting children separated or at risk of separation from their immigrant families by ensuring they are in a safe, healthy environment
Nyah Project, Inc.- $50,000
Nyah Project unlocks opportunities for underrepresented youth through college admissions and scholarship access coaching, leadership development, and fellowships abroad. Twenty years ago, Leigh-Ann Buchanan met Mr. Larry Jenkins, whose organization helped Black and Indigenous students learn the skills necessary to get into college and win scholarships. She followed his instructions and was offered nine scholarships at the college fair he hosted. Mr. Jenkins’ techniques, which helped her unlock $700,000+ to fund undergrad, law school, and executive programs at Harvard, Columbia, and INSEAD, aren’t rocket science. They are simply inaccessible. In 2014, Leigh-Ann founded Nyah Project to pay it forward.
One Hundred Black Men of South Florida, Inc. – $40,000
Founded on June 24, 1989, One Hundred Black Men of South Florida, Inc. is a group of men in business, industry, public affairs, government, and the professions who share a common goal of improving the quality of life and enhancing opportunities for African-Americans and other minorities through mentorship. Our members serve as a strong force for overcoming cultural and financial obstacles. We are committed to the intellectual development of youth and the economic empowerment of our community, to empower our people to become self-sufficient shareholders in the economic and social fabric of the communities we serve.
PS 305, Inc. – $40,000
Inform, organize, and empower leaders that fight for a rigorous system of quality, choice, and accountability across all of Miami’s schools.
Pace Center for Girls Miami – $60,000
Pace Miami’s mission is to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training, and advocacy. Pace values all girls and young women, believing each deserves a chance to find her voice, achieve her potential and celebrate a life defined by responsibility, dignity, serenity, and grace. The Pace vision is a world where all girls and young women have Power in a Just and Equitable society.
The Alliance for LGBTQ Youth – $50,000
The Alliance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth provides mental health and care coordination services, leadership development, and policy advocacy that centers on the lives and experiences of LGBTQ youth in South Florida. We serve, nurture, and empower LGBTQ youth, their families, and their communities while advocating for the equal rights and equitable treatment of young people in affirmation of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
The Education Fund Inc – $70,000
The Education Fund is an independent PreK-12 organization officially sanctioned by the School Board of Miami-Dade County to work for its students. Our mission is to maximize every child’s potential and ensure that each graduate has every opportunity for success. We invest in our public schools through innovation, information, and resources. We develop and implement new methods to help all children excel, train educators to improve student outcomes, provide needed supplies, and inform parents, business leaders, elected officials, and the community about our schools and the issues they face to increase support for public education.
The Liberty City Optimist Club of Florida, Inc – $50,000
The Liberty City Optimist Club’s mission is to enhance the character, physical growth, and development of at-risk children and youth ages 4 to 19 through intramural sports and supportive activities. To carry out our mission, we will provide Educational programs and supporting activities, such as; health, fitness, and recreation. Youth mentoring training; character development; cultural and social services; and anti-gang outreach; will help these youth develop good reading, writing, and listening skills. Our Cultural and Recreational activities will help develop good social skills, confidence, and self-esteem.
The Lucy Project, Inc – $40,000
The Lucy Project (TLP) provides complete and fair access to evidence-based literacy instruction and intervention in underserved communities. We teach students and train teachers using Structured Literacy, the gold standard in literacy instruction aligned with the Science of Reading. In particular, our programs aim to create equitable access to high-quality reading instruction and intervention for youth of color from low-income backgrounds. TLP envisions a Miami-Dade where all students can access the resources they need to build a strong reading foundation, live choice-filled lives, and contribute to a better world.
Touching Miami with Love Ministries, Inc – $60,000
Touching Miami with Love (TML) was founded in 1995, and for over twenty-five years, our mission has been to provide hope, opportunities, and resources to children, youth, and adults. TML is a community-based nonprofit serving nearly 1000 children and adults in the Miami communities of West Homestead, Florida City, and Overtown in ways that inspire, educate, and empower. Our all-encompassing educational enrichment programs support K-12th Graders through after-school programs, summer camps, and in-school services. We aid adults through adult literacy, life skills classes, coordinating school services, mental health referrals, social services support, and meeting food insecurity needs.
Voices For Children Foundation, Inc. – $70,000
Per its recent strategic planning, Voices For Children Foundation’s mission: “Voices For Children is a beacon of hope for abused, abandoned and neglected children and youth in the Miami-Dade County foster care system. We do this by providing critical support for advocacy, essential needs, and positive experiences.” The vision: “Voices For Children believes that support should not be a privilege. Voices’ vision is that every child in the foster care system has quality Guardian ad Litem representation and fully centralized access to services and resources to meet their physical, social, and emotional needs.”
