The Miami Foundation is a community grantmaking foundation located in Miami, Florida. The foundation offers donors the opportunity to create a donor-advised fund within the foundation for donors to direct their funds to recipient organizations. Much of the organization’s funding activity focuses on the greater Miami and south Florida region although the group is both funded by and funds national organizations and groups in other states. 1
The foundation fiscally sponsors a program titled Representative Democracy, which promotes left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion philosophy within government. Funders of the foundation include many notable left-of-center grantmaking organizations such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Democracy Fund. 2 3 4 1
The foundation is the fiscal sponsor organization of NewsMatch, a collaborative fundraising group that provides funding to nonprofit news outlet organizations that was previously called, “…the largest collaborative fundraiser for nonprofit news in the U.S.” 5 6
Background
The Miami Foundation was established in 1967 and distributed $485 million in its first 50 years of existence, mostly focusing on projects in the Miami area. Unlike other foundations, the Miami Foundation allows its funders to set up donor-advised funds (DAFs) within the organization that allows the donor to personalize their giving through the foundation while he or she is living. The foundation manages over 1,000 such funds and has more than $350 million in assets under management as of 2022. 1
The organization has promoted a variety of left-of-center movements and causes including launching a “racial equity fund” to “address systemic racism” in 2020, a program that has received a $1 million donation from Facebook. The foundation also directed funding to promote completion of the 2020 Census. 1 7
The Miami Foundation also has a longstanding partnership with the National LGBTQ Task Force to fund local LGBT organizations in the Miami area. 7
The foundation is the fiscal sponsor organization of NewsMatch, a collaborative fundraising group that provides funding to nonprofit news outlet organizations that was previously called, “…the largest collaborative fundraiser for nonprofit news in the U.S.” 5 6 NewsMatch is also a project of the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), a network of nonprofit news outlet organizations that include Mother Jones, ProPublica, and The Intercept. 8 In December 2024, NewsMatch (designated as “Newsmatch – Fund for Nonprofit News at The Miami Foundation”) was listed as one of the major 2024 funders for Aspen Journalism, a left-of-center news nonprofit within the Aspen, CO region that focuses on covering environmentalism, social justice, and water management policy. 9
Representative Democracy
The Miami Foundation allows small nonprofits to be housed as a project under its umbrella. One such organization fiscally sponsored by the Miami Foundation is called Representative Democracy, which is described as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among government agency employees and elected officials. The project does not have a listing on the foundations website but grant databases from donors to the effort explain that the program is centered on providing grants and training to form DEI programs and strategies in public sector workspaces. The program also states a goal of bringing such initiatives to the U.S. Congress. The Representative Democracy Program has drawn funding from notable left-of-center funding groups including the Hewlett Foundation and the Democracy Fund. 3 2 10
Funding
The Miami Foundation’s racial equity program has received funding from companies and organizations including Facebook, the Jorge M. Perez Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Amalgamated Foundation, the Edward S. Moore Family Foundation, the Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation, the Five Together Foundation, the Bacardi Family Foundation, Google, and Wells Fargo. 7
In 2021, the foundation received the largest gift in its history of $33 million from the Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation. 7
Members of the foundation’s Ruth and Richard Shack Society recognizing funding of over $1 million to the foundation include the Batchelor Foundation, the City of Miami, former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Charles E. Cobb, the Good Government Initiative Fund, The Greenberg Traurig Philanthropic Fund, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney, the Miami Heat, the Marlins Foundation, Royal Caribbean, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 4
Financials
According to its 2023 990 form, the Miami Foundation reported a revenue of $133,524,071, expenses at $79,026,991, and total assets of $524,999,533. 11
According to its 2022 990 form, the foundation reported a revenue of $113,981,496, expenses of $81,136,698, and total assets of $438,006,992. 12
Leadership
Rebecca Fishman Lipsey is the president and CEO of the Miami Foundation since being appointed in 2020. Prior to the foundation, Lipsey worked on the Florida Board of Education was the founder of”incubator” organization Radical Partners, and also worked as a public school teacher. 13
Erin Knight is the board chair of the Miami Foundation and is also the president of Monument Capital Management. In addition, she is also a board member for the Baptist Health Foundation and the March of Dimes. 14
References
- “About.” Miami Foundation. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://miamifoundation.org/about/
- “Representative Democracy.” Democracy Fund. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://democracyfund.org/grant/representative-democracy/
- “The Miami Foundation for the Representative Democracy program.” Hewlett Foundation. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://hewlett.org/grants/the-miami-foundation-for-the-representative-democracy-program/
- “Ruth and Richard Shack Society.” Miami Foundation. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://miamifoundation.org/fordonors/ruth-and-richard-shack-society/
- Downing, Andy. “Donate to our NewsMatch campaign today and support nonprofit news.” Matter News. Novemeber 9, 2022. Accessed March 31, 2025. https://www.matternews.org/voices/donate-to-our-newsmatch-campaign-today-and-support-nonprofit-news
- “Home.” NewsMatch Powered by INN, Accessed March 31, 2025. https://newsmatch.inn.org/
- “2021 Annual Report.” Miami Foundation. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://miamifoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/20220322-TMF-Annual-Report21-FINAL.pdf
- “INN Network Directory.” Institute for Nonprofit News. Accessed December 4, 2023. https://findyournews.org/campaign/inn-network-directory/
- “2024 Donors and Funders.” Aspen Journalism, Accessed March 31, 2025. https://aspenjournalism.org/aspen-journalism-donors-and-funders/
- “Fiscal Sponsorship Funds.” Miami Foundation. Accessed May 5, 2022. https://miamifoundation.org/fordonors/fiscal-sponsorship-funds/
- Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Miami Foundation. 2023. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/650350357/202402689349300135/full
- Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Miami Foundation. 2022. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/650350357/202332659349301603/full
- “Rebecca Fishman Lipsey.” Miami Foundation, Accessed March 31, 2025. https://miamifoundation.org/staff/rebecca-fishman-lipsey-biography/
- “Erin Knight.” Miami Foundation, Accessed March 31, 2025. https://miamifoundation.org/board/ERIN-KNIGHT-biography/