Grants That Make a Difference

The Miami Performing Arts Center Foundation has received grants totaling $30 million from Carnival Corporation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, both based in Miami.

In recognition of the $20 million grant from the global cruise company, the largest grant to the center to date, the center has been renamed the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, the center's concert hall, previously known as the Carnival Concert Hall, will be renamed the Knight Concert Hall in recognition of $10 million in grants from the foundation.

Carnival has been associated with the center since the late Ted Arison, Carnival's founder and chairman emeritus, made a substantial personal financial gift in the early 1990s to help fund its development. Carnival Corporation has also provided ongoing support for Carnival Center’s resident companies – Concert Association of Florida, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy.

"The Carnival organization has always been and continues to be enormously passionate about South Florida and fostering the arts within our community," said Howard Frank, the company's vice chairman and COO.

Since 1995, the Knight Foundation has made numerous grants in support of the center's artistic initiatives and its capital campaign, and has also provided support for its four resident companies. With this latest gift to Carnival Center, Knight Foundation has awarded a total of $1 billion in grants over its 56-year history. In the Miami area, the foundation has made 1,002 grants totaling more than $155 million to nonprofit organizations working in journalism and communities.

"This new complex has been the catalyst for the most phenomenal transformation of an urban downtown since Lincoln Center caused a revival of New York's Upper West Side," said Knight Foundation president Alberto Ibargüen. "And in the region, it will augment Miami's reputation as a world-class cultural destination."

These two momentous gifts bring the total raised through the Center’s Capital Campaign to $80 million against a goal of $85 million. They are also evidence of both expanding and intensifying support from the community for the Center.

Recipient Contact Information:
Recipient Name: Carnival Center for the Performing Arts Foundation
Address: 1300 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132
Phone: 786-468-2250
FAX: 786-468-2002
URL: www.pacfmiami.org/

Grantmaker Contact Information:
Grantmaker Name: Carnival Corporation
Year Founded: 1972
URL: www.carnivalcorp.com

Grantmaker Name: John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Year Founded: 1950
Address: Wachovia Financial Ctr.
Ste. 3300, 200 S. Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33131-2349
Phone: 305-908-2600
FAX: 305-908-2698
URL: www.knightfdn.org

The selection of organizations for the "Grants that Make a Difference" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size of funding programs to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.
If you'd like to see support for your organization featured in "Grants that Make a Difference," e-mail a detailed description of the grant, including the name and contact information of the funder and of your organization, the amount given, and how the grant made a difference. For your convenience, we have provided a template to follow. We welcome press releases in addition to, or as a substitute for, the information in the template.
Email the description or press release to atweb@foundationcenter.org, with "Grants that Make a Difference" in the subject line.

Recipient Name:
Project Name:
Organization Mission and how it relates to the project:
Beneficiaries or Community Impact:
Funding Partner(s): (Grantmaker Names)
Grant Amount:
Recipient Contact: Name, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail, URL
Grantmaker Contact: Name, Address, Phone, Fax, E-mail, URL