Check presentation ceremony with representatives of recipient non-profits.
(Photo credit: Sten Garcia)
The Miami Foundation recently unveiled the findings of a first-of-its-kind study on nonprofit funding in South Dade, alongside the announcement of a $1 million investment from Amazon intended for more than a dozen South-Dade nonprofit organizations.
The findings and the investment were shared during at an event at Miami-Dade College Homestead campus, bringing together thought-leaders, funders and community members.
The report, South Dade Community Needs and Nonprofit Funding Landscape, was commissioned by The Miami Foundation and analyzed more than 1,400 grants made to 262 South Dade nonprofits between January 2023 and October 2024, and included interviews with 19 community leaders, providers and advocates. It represents one of the most comprehensive looks to date at opportunities for investment and ways philanthropic and public dollars are reaching one of the region’s fastest-growing communities.
“This is a long overdue report to help us better understand how funding resources flow into South Dade and where the gaps in funding exist,” said Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, president and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “South Dade is home to resilient families, dedicated leaders and strong grassroots organizations. They deserve the knowledge this report provides to help uplift local leadership and draw infrastructure investments that will set this Miami community up for long-term success.”
Key Findings
As a testament to the community’s growing philanthropic partnerships, the study found that funders invested $94 million in South Dade during the study period, with 66 percent of funds concentrated in Homestead and Florida City. Public funds made up 77 percent of that total, with private philanthropy accounting for 23 percent. Most of the funding supported Youth and Family Services (64 percent), Health (19 percent) and Education (9 percent), while areas critical to the region’s long-term resilience, like economic mobility, arts and the environment, received comparatively little investment.
The report also surfaced structural inequities in how funding is distributed. Larger organizations, particularly those with budgets exceeding $2.5 million and those headquartered outside South Dade, attracted a disproportionate share of grants, while smaller, community-based nonprofits operated with thin infrastructure and limited capacity to scale. Only 4 percent of funding was flexible or unrestricted, limiting organizations’ ability to invest in staff and growth, and 71 percent of nonprofits relied on a single funder — leaving many financially fragile.
While Homestead and Florida City receive relatively consistent funding, unincorporated communities including Richmond Heights, Richmond West, West Perrine, Goulds, Naranja and Leisure City show the greatest need for investment.
Community interviews conducted for the report’s second phase revealed the everyday barriers families face: strained access to housing and healthcare, including long drives for basic medical and mental health services; persistent transportation gaps that limit access to jobs, care and opportunity, and a chronic shortage of physical space for nonprofits to operate and expand.
The Landscape report urges the broader philanthropic community to respond with more flexible, sustained and geographically targeted investments, particularly in unincorporated South Dade communities and in sectors like economic mobility, arts and environmental resilience that have historically been underfunded.
$1 million investment
Inspired directly by the report’s findings, Amazon announced a $1 million investment in 13 South Dade nonprofit organizations to strengthen their capacity and deepen their impact in the community. Grant recipients include: Be Strong International, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, Bridge To Hope, Chapman Partnership for the Homeless, Children’s Home Society of Florida, Genesis Hopeful Haven, Mexican American Council, Miami EdTech, Miami-Dade College School of Aviation, South Dade Connections, South Dade Women’s Veterans Alliance, Touching Miami with Love and Uplift Literacy.
“South Dade is a community we know well and care deeply about. This report confirmed what local leaders have been telling us: smaller, grassroots organizations need more flexible support to grow their impact,” said Angelica Santibanez, head of Community Engagement for Amazon Public Policy, Florida and Latin America. “Amazon is proud to invest $1 million in 13 local nonprofits doing essential work for families across South Dade.
“We’re committed to being a good neighbor in the communities where we live and work, and we look forward to seeing that investment multiply through Give Miami Day on Nov. 19,” Santibanez said.
The Miami Foundation also announced its own ongoing commitment to bring donors and funders together to partner with South Dade to fund grassroots innovators, expand access to diverse resources and services, grow the next generation of local leaders, connect families to critical support, and target funding designed to accelerate long-term impact across the region.
Together, the report and announcements mark a renewed, coordinated push to ensure investment reaches the organizations and communities across South Dade that need it most.
About The Miami Foundation
The Miami Foundation is building a Greater Miami where everyone can thrive. Since 1967, The foundation has invested more than $905 million to strengthen the community in partnership with more than 1,000 fundholders and 60,000 donors. By accelerating leadership, generosity, and a sense of belonging across Miami, it inspires people to become changemakers, and it creates ways for donors, nonprofits, leaders, and locals to work together on solutions for our community. At The Miami Foundation, everyone has a role they can play in creating a thriving Greater Miami.
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