Endowment / Foundation

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Miami Foundation

The Miami Foundation is a community foundation established in 1967 in Miami, Florida. It serves donors, nonprofits, and local leaders by managing investments,...

Miami Foundation logo

Miami Foundation

The Miami Foundation is a community foundation established in 1967 in Miami, Florida. It serves donors, nonprofits, and local leaders by managing investments, administering grant programs, and providing philanthropic services.

General information

Firm type

Endowment / Foundation

Year founded

1967

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

Miami

Corporate office

Miami, FL, United States

Principals

Rebecca Fishman Lipsey

President and CEO

Kerry-Ann Royes

Board Chair

Sector focus

Real EstateCommunity DevelopmentEducationArts & CultureHealthcare Services

Frequently asked questions

Who runs investment decisions at Miami Foundation?

The foundation's investment committee oversees allocation across the balanced, income, and cash investment pools, though the names of committee members and any outsourced CIO or OCIO relationship are not publicly detailed. President and CEO Rebecca Fishman Lipsey leads the organization broadly, but day-to-day investment management authority likely sits with finance staff and external managers under board-approved policies consistent with Council on Foundations accreditation standards.

How is Miami Foundation structured relative to a single-family office?

It is not a family office at all — Miami Foundation is a public charity organized as a community foundation, aggregating charitable capital from thousands of individual donors, families, and corporations across Miami-Dade County. Unlike a single-family office, it owes fiduciary duties to the public and must report on IRS Form 990, making its governance and grantmaking far more transparent than private family structures.

Does Miami Foundation make direct investments or operate only through grants?

Primarily a grantmaker, but it does hold direct commercial real estate — a daycare facility in Opa-locka and a prep academy facility in Miami Gardens appear on its balance sheet. The foundation also structures program-related investments and forgivable-loan products, such as the Wells Fargo-funded 'Miami Open for Business' small-business program, which functions more like impact-first debt deployment than traditional philanthropy.

Which sectors does Miami Foundation explicitly prioritize?

The foundation's programming centers on community development, affordable housing, small-business access, arts and culture, digital equity, and racial equity. Thematic funds — the LGBTQ Community Fund, Music Access Miami, and the Racial Equity Fund — signal specific donor-coordinated priorities. Early-stage venture, private credit, and hedge-fund allocations do not appear as a visible part of the operating model.

Who are Miami Foundation's known co-investors and program partners?

Key partners include the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation for the Crearte arts-grant program, the Knight Foundation for civic leadership and journalism initiatives, and Wells Fargo as the capital provider behind the $20 million 'Miami Open for Business' small-business program. These relationships suggest a coalition model where the foundation serves as the local distribution and governance layer for nationally sourced capital.

What is Miami Foundation's known posture on co-investments alongside external managers?

The foundation does not publicly market co-investment opportunities to outside allocators. Its investment pools primarily serve the foundation's own charitable funds, and any external manager relationships are likely standard OCIO or consultant-facilitated mandates rather than club-deal or direct co-investment structures common among private family offices.

How does Miami Foundation's governance work?

A board of directors chaired by Kerry-Ann Royes provides fiduciary oversight, operating under the community foundation model regulated by both IRS public-charity rules and Council on Foundations accreditation standards. This means investment and grantmaking decisions are made by staff and committees accountable to a board with civic stakeholders, not a single family or founder.

Profile maintained by using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.

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