The Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation is seeking to fund community-based organizations throughout Miami-Dade County with grants up to $50,000 each. Qualified tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations conducting grass-roots work that improves, preserves, or restores the health and healthcare of local area citizens have until April 30 to apply.
Since 1992, the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation has responded to identified community needs,” said Aldo C. Busot, Chairman of the Coral Gables-based nonprofit foundation. Our board is appreciative of the work being done by our grant recipients throughout the community. The Board of Directors remains committed to sustaining its support in meeting the needs of our local community-based organizations.” Busot is a senior vice president and financial advisor with Busot Group at Morgan Stanley in Coral Gables, and a graduate of the University of Miami.
From its earliest days, the foundation board wanted the foundation to serve the immediate grassroots needs of both children and adults – and has successfully done so by awarding 468 grants to more than 300 community-based organizations over the years.
According to Charles Dunn, M.D., Chairman of the Community Grants Committee, “The Community Grants program is the backbone of the foundation. The local organizations that receive funding are providing much-needed services and contribute to the well-being of our community.” A graduate of University of Miami School of Medicine, Dr. Dunn is a long-established family medicine practitioner in Coral Gables.
The Coral Gables Women’s Club is one of hundreds of local organizations qualified to receive Foundation funding each year. As a legacy grant recipient for more than 20 years, the organization’s Children’s Dental Clinic provides indispensable dental care services for disadvantaged school-age children whose parents cannot afford costly dental care.
Among other grantees from throughout Miami-Dade during the 2019-20 funding year are first-time recipients Friendship Circle, Iam Able, and Fishing with America’s Finest. Recent award recipients also include the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, Canine Assisted Therapy, Good Hope Equestrian Training Center, and Epilepsy Foundation of Florida, among many others.
In addition to community grants, the foundation also has undertaken three “signature” initiatives in conjunction with UM’s Miller School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics with the establishment of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation School Health Initiative, the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Department of Human Genetics, and the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute (BioNIUM).
According to the Foundation’s Managing Director John Edward Smith, “Since its inception as a grant-making institution, the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation has invested some $48 million into our community. Foundation grants serve as recognition of the admirable work so many community-based organizations are doing across the county to improve the quality of life for our citizens.”
The Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation is accepting letters of inquiry for the 2020-21 grant cycle now through April 30, 2020. Funding priorities include:
- Projects that promote health education and prevention, and early detection of disease;
- Health related projects that assist children and the economically disadvantaged; and
- Projects that target medical care.
Qualified organizations that propose to conduct projects or programs related to the health needs of the citizens of Miami-Dade County, and are seeking funding support from the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation, should first submit a letter of inquiry. Programs and projects are funded depending upon the budget in the $5,000 – $50,000 range. Applications are available online at www.JTMacdonaldFDN.org.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
With a long legacy of service to the local community, Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables is the genesis of today’s Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation. The foundation grew from the sale of the hospital in 1992. Starting as a grant-making institution with an initial fund balance of $12 million, over the course of the past 20 years, the foundation’s fund balance has appreciably grown. Today, the foundation continues funding and invest in the healthcare and medical needs of the local community.
The Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation is located at 1550 Madruga Ave., Suite 215, Coral Gables, FL 33146. For information, call 305-667-6017 or send an e-mail to info@jtmacdonaldfdn.org.
