Foundation News | July 2022

Dear Foundation friends,

I'm thrilled to share with you the July Edition of our Newsletter. This year is flying by, and Give Miami Day is just around the corner! Nonprofit registration will open up on 

August 9, and we can’t wait to see your organizations registered for the best Give Miami Day ever!

In this month’s newsletter, you will also learn more about the Candidates' Forums that started this week to ensure you are informed and engaged for the upcoming County Commission elections. We are also happy to share an update on the Wells Fargo Open for Business Program we launched a few months ago to support minority-led small businesses in Miami. Finally, you will learn about another important update from Charisse Grant, the Foundation's Senior Vice President and Strategy Advisor.

Read, enjoy, and connect! We feel honored to co-create this community with you!

Bruno Borges

Vice President of Philanthropy, The Miami Foundation

INSIDE | Give Miami Day | Our Miami: The People's Forums | Open for Business Grants coming soon | Special announcement from our Senior Vice President Charisse Grant

Mark your calendars: Give Miami Day nonprofit registration opens on August 9!

Give Miami Day, one of the largest annual online giving events in the Southeast United States, is our favorite holiday of the year. On that day, anyone can make a philanthropic impact by collectively supporting local organizations. Give Miami Day 2021 made history, raising over $32 million for 975 nonprofits. More than 38,000 individual donors participated in this movement of generosity.

Give Miami Day 2022 will take place on Thursday, November 17, and dollars raised by nonprofits on that special day are unrestricted funds. Participating organizations increase their online visibility, engage new donors and prospects, and connect with other nonprofits.

Training workshops, capacity-building resources, and masterclasses will be offered by Radical Partners around fundraising strategies, digital campaigns, loving on your donors, and much more. For further information, including about eligibility requirements for nonprofits to participate, click here.

Join us for the season of civic engagement!

Communities are stronger when locals are civically engaged. Join us for an opportunity to hear from your candidates on the issues you care about this election cycle.

County Commissioners play a huge role in shaping the future of Miami, and our community will soon be electing five new commissioners. Together, with many nonprofit partners and friends, we invite you to the remaining “Our Miami: The People’s Forums" to get to know the candidates who seek to lead our region into the future. These forums prioritize big issues facing our county this election year including transportation, affordable housing, urban development, sea level water rise, climate change, and more.

Please join in and spread the word so community members can become more informed and engaged in shaping the future of Greater Miami. All registration links can be found below (as well as recordings from this week's forums). All information regarding accessibility options available can be found in the registration links or at miamifoundation.org/ourmiamiforums.

Miami Open for Business is getting ready to launch! 

A few months ago, The Miami Foundation embarked on a major collective impact initiative to distribute $20 million to support historically disadvantaged minority small businesses and nonprofits to own more of their own assets, such as technology, equipment, and real estate. As part of this effort, we are pleased to share that Behavioral Science Research Institute (BSRI) will serve as our data collection partner in this effort.

The applications for grants and loans will be opening in the next few months. Subscribe to the Open for Business newsletter to be one of the first to know when these funding opportunities become available!

A time to boldly go - forward… 

Where were you 27 years ago? I’ll tell you where Charisse Grant was…she was here at The Miami Foundation. Listening to community, developing brave and equity-minded leaders, pushing community change. I know because I too have been mentored by Charisse for over a decade now.

Being here for the Foundation and community will continue, even as today we are announcing that Charisse will be transitioning to a new consultancy relationship with The Miami Foundation as our Leadership Development and Strategy Advisor - still supporting the Foundation while also evolving forward to explore new possibilities beyond.

What an honor it is for our Foundation to be shaped by her for so long. We have benefitted indelibly from exclusive access to her professional brilliance for more than a quarter century, and now we are excited to continue our work with Charisse while supporting her to evolve forward. Below, you’ll read about what she’s daring to do next… while still staying engaged with our team in a new capacity - Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, President and CEO.

"Building communities of equitable opportunity is the heart, soul, and joy of my professional journey. I love being immersed in communities, working with people living the issues and leading change, evolving my roles to help move change forward. And my time at The Miami Foundation has gifted me these privileges beyond measure for 27 incredible years!"

Be Strong International Completes First Community Leadership Training Cohort (Miami's Community News) 

Miami named one of the 50 World's Greatest Places of 2022 (Local 10)

This Miami attraction was just chosen best in North America by travel guide voters (Miami Herald) (Pictured)

A Time To Boldly Go Forward (The Miami Foundation)

August 4

Giving in Florida Research Release

August 9

Give Miami Day Nonprofit Registration Opens

August 13

Black Pepper Food Festival 

August 15-Sept. 6 (Several sessions)

Cleo Speakers Network - Climate advocacy and Leadership

Until Sept. 11

At The Edge (Oolite Arts)

Until Sept. 15

Summer Movies Under the Stars (Miami Jewish Film Festival & Miami Beach OnStage) (Pictured)

Until Oct. 14

“Art on the Plaza” series - The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) (Pictured)

We're always looking for people and organizations that do great work in our community. If you have a story or know one we should highlight, please email Jessica Cohen.