LGBTQ+ Equity Fund
Supporting and strengthening South Florida’s LGBTQ+ Community
INVESTED IN MIAMI’S LGBTQ+
COMMUNITY SINCE 2005
GRANT PARTNERS
In partnership with The National LGBTQ Task Force and Our Fund, The Miami Foundation leverages the LGBTQ+ Equity Fund to respond to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community and invest in opportunities that promote equity, prosperity and health in South Florida. The goal for this fund is to increase the scale and impact of philanthropic resources dedicated towards enhancing the well-being, safety and resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities in South Florida.
Our Why
Funding LGBTQ+ equity initiatives is motivated by The Miami Foundation’s commitment to human rights, social justice, and equality. As we work to build a better Miami, we recognize that LGBTQ+ individuals, like all people, deserve equal opportunities, access to resources, and freedom from discrimination.
What We Do
For the past 20 years, The Miami Foundation has been grateful to collaborate with the National LGBTQ Task Force to strengthen the local LGBTQ+ community. Each year, the Task Force donates proceeds from its Miami-based fundraising events to the LGBTQ+ Equity Fund at The Miami Foundation. The Miami Foundation then ensures the funds are invested locally to improve the quality of life for LGBTQ residents, particularly our community’s most vulnerable populations.
The Fund has grown and continues to be a vital source of funding for LGBTQ+-centered organizations – it is one of only two local funding sources in Miami dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ needs. As the threats to the safety and personal liberties of the LGBTQ+ community continues to grow, The Miami Foundation is dedicated to bringing in new funding partners and expand its grantmaking.
Our Grantmaking
The LGBTQ Equity Fund is responsive to the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community and invests in opportunities that promote equity, prosperity, and health in South Florida. This includes supporting organizations that advocate for the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community, provide critical health resources, and create safe spaces LGBTQ+ youth.
Meet the 2025 Grantees
This year’s LGBTQ+ Equity Fund investments focus on high-impact, unrestricted grants to address urgent needs around health equity and systems change. Consider giving directly to the grantee organizations listed below or join us in giving collaboratively through the LGBTQ Equity Fund.
Urban Health Partnerships invests in our communities by co-designing sustainable change and promoting health and well-being across the life span.
Alliance for LGBTQ Youth provides mental health and care coordination services, leadership development, and policy advocacy that centers the lives and experiences of LGBTQ youth in South Florida.
Care Resource provides compassionate, competent, and committed healthcare and support services to address the full health care needs of our pediatric, adolescent and adult populations.
Latinos Salud exists to provide client-centered, culturally competent health education and integrated preventive, screening, and healthcare services throughout South Florida in order to reduce the burden of communicable diseases and improve health outcomes.
The McKenzie Project uplifts individuals aged 14 and above within the Black TGNCNB+ and the LGBTQIA+ community across Miami-Dade and Broward County, with a special emphasis on those experiencing homelessness and/or involved in sex work.
TransSOCIAL Inc advocates for Trans visibility and unity within TLGBQ+ community.
FOO Society provides a growing network of support for LGBTQ+ youth in South Miami-Dade County through volunteer opportunities, counseling, and emergency resources such as housing, mental health services, and employment support.
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
SAVE is recognized as South Florida’s longest serving organization dedicated to protecting people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) against discrimination.
Funders and Supporters
Foundations, corporations, and individual partners are coming together to ensure the safety, rights, and well-being of our LGBTQ+ family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and classmates in South Florida.
Supporter Spotlights
Dennis Edwards and Mark Steinberg
Dennis and Mark have been setting the example as community leaders for decades.
In their over 40 years together, they have been dedicated to our community as board members, donors and volunteers for many of Miami’s arts organizations, including Armour Dance Theatre, Miami City Ballet, Maximum Dance Company, and New World School of the Arts.
In addition, their family foundation has supported organizations uplifting the youth and the LGBTQ+ community. Mark and Dennis have also dedicated their legacy to bettering Miami by leaving an estate gift to continue to fight for LGBTQ+ Equality in our community. In 2024, we honored them with our Living Legends Legacy Impact Award.
Ralph Lutrin and Alfred Allan Lewis
Ralph and Alfred left indelible marks on our community by dedicating their lives to causes close to their hearts.
Ralph, who came from a thriving Jewish New York City family, chose to use his advantages for transformative change. In his later years, as a co-trustee of the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, Ralph channeled his generosity towards his passions: local cultural institutions and animal well-being. In contrast, Alfred Allan Lewis came from a family whose early years were shaped by the hardships of the Great Depression. He was known for his commitment to providing direct, immediate assistance to those in need, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community.
Their legacy is not measured by the sum of their resources, but by the tangible impact of each generous check written in support of causes they believed in. Thanks to trailblazers like Ralph and Allan, our community continues to benefit from a legacy of giving that transcends generations. (Read in full within our 2024 Annual Report.)