OVERVIEW: The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation supports arts and culture, health and well-being, education, environment and economic development in Miami and South Florida.
IP TAKE: The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation is a major arts funder in Florida, but predominately in Miami, where it funds local arts groups. Unfortunately, this is not an accessible funder and it lacks a large staff to field requests. Getting your foot through the door here will be challenging without deep networking. You can also reach out to previous grantees; however, note that this funder prefers to makes grants for more established organizations rather than smaller grassroots outfits. As well, opportunities for funding are limited, competitive and often for multi-year terms.
Follow future giving opportunities here through the couple’s four children, who are also involved in the family’s philanthropy. Each child has their own interests you can learn more about through this article, featuring the family’s giving.
PROFILE: The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation is a donor-advised fund managed by the Miami Foundation and based in Miami, Florida. This is the foundation of Jorge M. Pérez, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, and his family. Pérez and his wife, Darlene, are signatories of the Giving Pledge. A son of Cuban parents, Jorge Perez grew up in Argentina and Colombia before attending CW Post University on Long Island. He later received his M.S. from the University of Michigan. As a young urban planner, Perez met developer Stephen Ross, which led to a long and profitable partnership. Perez runs Related Group, which claims to have developed more than 80,000 condos, mostly in South Florida. Perez has also executed large-scale real estate development projects in Central and South America.
The foundation aims to "develop South Florida as an exemplary world-class urban center” and to “promote sustainable, inclusive and just communities.” It funds local efforts for arts and culture, health and wellbeing, education, environment and economic development.
Grants for Arts and Culture, Education, and Economic Opportunity
The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation has broad philanthropic goals and supports a wide range of local causes, often centered on art and community development, as well as access to the arts and arts education. It prefers to fund programs and organizations that can serve as models for other urban centers. In addition to arts-related education funding, Perez serves as a trustee to the University of Miami, which is home to the Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center. The couple are also involved with Gulliver Schools, where they are parents.
The foundation makes arts and culture grants through its Pérez CreARTE grants program, focused on turning “South Florida as a world-class urban center.” The program was launched in 2019 and has since invested more than $5 million in Miami-Dade organizations that work to expand “residents’ access to the arts” and turning Miami into an international hub for “artistic excellence.” Previous CreARTE grantees include the HistoryMiami Museum, Miami Book Fair at Miami Dade College, and the Bakehouse Art Complex, among many others.
The Foundation believes that effective arts education can inspire creative development in local youth, drive a lifelong interest in and appreciation for the arts, and build audiences for the future. The Foundation seeks to support top artistic talent and attract artists to Miami by creating local fellowship and residency programs.
In the arts space, the family also funds the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), which is a modern and contemporary art museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting international art. Jorge Pérez gifted the museum cash and artworks totaling about $40 million in 2011.
The Foundation also provides Social and Economic Impact Grants, which have provided funding for “organizations dedicated to promoting equitable education opportunities, addressing growing concerns of economic inequality and more.”
Grants for Health
The Pérez lacks a clear giving strategy for health grants, preferring a more personal approach, which drives their giving here rather than a dedicated program. This includes a series of major grants, many of which reflect the family name at local institutions, with interests in nursing. In 2006, Pérez and Darlene donated made a significant donation to Florida International University’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences, creating the Jorge M. and Darlene M. Pérez Nursing Laboratory.
Health support has gone to their local United Way. Previous health grantees also include Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Voices For Children Foundation, Inc., while it has made some limited environmental grants, most recently to Miami Waterkeeper.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between about $30,000 and $150,000. Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the news section of the Miami Foundation’s website. Grantmaking focuses on Miami and other communities in South Florida. Past local grantees include Arts for Learning Miami, Common Threads Miami, and Miami Waterkeeper.
This foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits for all of its programs. However, it occasionally opens up select grant opportunities to the public, such as the Pérez CreARTE Grants. Grant guidelines and application forms are available on the Miami Foundation’s website. Direct general questions to the staff at foundation@relatedgroup.com.
PEOPLE:
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