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The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation Announces Open Call for 2025-2026 CreARTE Grants Program

via Business Wire

The Program’s Fourth Iteration Will Award Over $5 Million to Organizations Supporting and Enhancing Miami-Dade County’s Artistic Ecosystem

The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation (the Pérez Family Foundation) is proud to launch the fourth edition of the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program (Pérez CreARTE), awarding over $5 million to arts-first organizations across Miami-Dade County that seek to cultivate a vibrant, connected and engaging arts ecosystem. In celebration of its 10th year of philanthropic impact, the Pérez Family Foundation’s 2025–2026 program will have a renewed focus on Arts Access, Arts Education and Artist Fellowships and Residencies. Applications open on Tuesday, April 29, with winners announced in the fall. Eligible organizations may apply here.

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The Pérez Family and 2019 Pérez CreARTE grantees

The Pérez Family and 2019 Pérez CreARTE grantees

“Art is a catalyst for connection, feeding the soul and benefiting entire communities in a unique way,” said Jorge M. Pérez, internationally recognized philanthropist and founder of the Pérez Family Foundation. “As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Family Foundation this year, we proudly remain committed to expanding access to the arts and nurturing a culture of creativity and expression. With CreARTE, we’re helping shape a future where the arts continue to uplift communities across Miami-Dade and beyond.”

Since its 2019 inception, CreARTE has made a total investment of over $11 million across 47 unique organizations in Miami-Dade County. This investment has enabled these organizations to reach over 700,000 individuals through grant-supported programming, capacity building and impact assessment, and secure an additional $17.9 million by leveraging their CreARTE awards.

CreARTE’s fourth edition seeks to further this reach, filling key areas that impact the creative community most, including access to affordable workspaces, cultural equity and education. The grants will be awarded to arts-first organizations whose missions align with one of three main focus areas:

  • Arts Access: Funding to support meaningful and diverse public engagement with and access to various forms of high-quality art across Greater Miami and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
  • Arts Education: Funding to support high-performing, innovative organizations in Greater Miami working to ensure that all young people have equitable access to arts education opportunities. This area aims to invest in the most effective, scalable, multidisciplinary arts education programs, in school and out of school, as well as pre-professional training programs that prepare future artists in a variety of disciplines.
  • Artist Fellowships and Residencies: Funding to support the creation and/or expansion of artist fellowship and residency programs to expand local options for artistic professionals to hone their talents and showcase their work.

After receiving hundreds of applications for the 2023 program, the Pérez Family Foundation distributed $5 million across 39 cultural organizations throughout Miami-Dade County. Current grantees include Art Prevails Project; Bakehouse Art Complex; Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, Inc (DVCAI); Miami Children’s Museum; Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (Miami MoCAAD); Arts for Learning and others, each of whom received between $100,000 and $200,000 to support initiatives ranging from multidisciplinary programming and arts education to operational growth and community outreach. The full list of grant recipients can be found here.

The Pérez CreARTE Grants Program is made possible through a unique partnership between the Pérez Family Foundation and The Miami Foundation, a cornerstone of the local nonprofit community that currently manages over $427 million in philanthropic funds.

“Jorge Pérez and his family have transformed countless organizations through their bold generosity. Multi-year significant investments in local arts leaders are rare, and have a serious impact on community health,” said Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, President and CEO of The Miami Foundation. “I’m so proud to live in a community where grant programs like CreARTE help create a more vibrant, inclusive and creative future for the arts."

Current arts-first grantees are invited to apply for renewed funding through a separate but parallel process. The Pérez family remains committed to supporting and strengthening the work of past and current partners while also making space for fresh ideas and new investments. The application window will close on June 13, 2025.

All interested applicants should direct their inquiries to Jacki Altman, Community Investments Manager, at JAltman@miamifoundation.org and Belissa Alvarez, Director of the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, at Belissa.Alvarez@relatedgroup.com, who will be managing applications and the awards process. Full guidelines for Pérez CreARTE can be found in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

For those who want to learn more about the program, a webinar will take place on May 6, 2025. Register here.

For more information about the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, please visit www.jmperezfamilyfoundation.org, or follow along on Instagram (@perezfamilyfoundation).

About The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation

Founded in 2015, The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation (the Pérez Family Foundation) fulfills the philanthropic vision of Jorge M. Pérez, Founding Executive Chairman of The Related Group, and his family to develop South Florida as an exemplary world-class urban center. Now more than a decade into its work, the Pérez Family Foundation promotes sustainable, inclusive and just communities by supporting programs and organizations focused on arts and culture, education, health and well-being, environment and economic development — with a particular preference for initiatives that can serve as models for other urban centers. In total, the Pérez family has committed over $100 million in support of over 150 non-profit organizations, both personally and through the Pérez Family Foundation. For more information, please visit www.jmperezfamilyfoundation.org.

About The Miami Foundation

The Miami Foundation is building a Greater Miami where everyone can thrive. Since 1967, The Foundation has invested over $772M to strengthen our community in partnership with more than 1,000 fundholders and 50,000 donors. By accelerating leadership, generosity, and a sense of belonging across Miami, we inspire people to become changemakers, and we create 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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