Give Miami Day marks its 15th year on Thursday, November 19, 2026, with 24 hours of online giving to more than 1,000 Miami-Dade nonprofits. Early giving runs November 14 to 18. The Miami Foundation launched the event in 2012, and last year it raised nearly $43.8 million from more than 60,000 donors.
Key Takeaways
- Give Miami Day runs for 24 hours on Thursday, November 19, 2026, with early giving from November 14 to 18.
- The second Give Miami 5K + Festival takes place Sunday, November 15, at Maurice A. Ferré Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd, with the race starting at 8 a.m.
- The Miami Foundation launched Give Miami Day in 2012 with support from the Knight Foundation.
- In 2016, Give Miami Day raised $9.1 million from more than 17,000 donors for more than 600 nonprofits.
- Last year’s event raised nearly $43.8 million from more than 60,000 donors, up from $39.5 million the year before.
Give Miami Day Began With a Question About Civic Engagement
Give Miami Day did not start as a fundraising idea. It started as a response to a problem. In 2012, a Knight Foundation survey found that the Miami metro area ranked low in civic engagement among the country’s major metropolitan regions. For a city known for its energy, its culture, and its international reach, the finding pointed to a gap between how Miami looked from the outside and how connected its residents felt to local causes.
The Miami Foundation, the region’s community foundation, set out to close that gap with a single day that asked residents to support the nonprofits working in their own neighborhoods. Rather than one large campaign for one cause, the format let each donor choose where their money went.
A 2012 Breakfast Meeting Shaped the First Give Miami Day
The event’s origin story is a small one. According to a Miami Foundation anniversary video, as reported by CiberCuba, then-foundation president Javier Alberto Soto traced Give Miami Day to a breakfast meeting with Alberto Ibargüen, who was leading the Knight Foundation at the time. Ibargüen suggested letting donors choose their causes freely and offered a $250,000 incentive from the Knight Foundation if the event happened before the end of the year.
Soto traveled to Pittsburgh to study similar giving days, and the first Give Miami Day took place on December 12, 2012. By the same account, it raised $1,124,050 through nearly 5,000 donations for 300 organizations. The following year, the total reached $3.2 million.
Give Miami Day Grew From Hundreds of Nonprofits to More Than 1,000
Give Miami Day’s growth over the next decade shows how the idea took hold. The event also did something the 2012 survey suggested Miami needed: it introduced residents to new causes. In 2015, 28 percent of gifts came from donors who said they were giving to that organization for the first time.
By 2016, Give Miami Day brought in nearly 25,000 donations from more than 17,000 donors, raising $9.1 million for more than 600 local nonprofits. In 2020, as the pandemic strained food banks, shelters, and youth programs across the county, the event raised more than $18 million, a record at the time.
The numbers kept climbing. Give Miami Day raised $39.5 million in 2024, and last year’s edition reached nearly $43.8 million from more than 60,000 donors. The participating list now includes more than 1,000 nonprofits across Greater Miami, from small neighborhood groups to established cultural institutions.
Arts and Culture Groups Are Part of the Give Miami Day Mix
For Miami’s creative community, Give Miami Day has become a regular part of the fundraising calendar. According to The Miami Foundation, as reported by Biscayne Times, arts and cultural organizations received 17 percent of Give Miami Day funding last year.
That share matters for a city whose dance companies, galleries, music programs, and theaters rely on a mix of ticket sales, grants, and individual gifts. Many of the same organizations also run their own seasonal fundraisers, such as Miami City Ballet’s Nutcracker Magic fundraiser for local students, but Give Miami Day puts arts groups on the same platform as health, housing, education, and environmental nonprofits, where donors can compare causes side by side.
How Give Miami Day Works in Its 15th Year
Give Miami Day runs online. Donors choose one or more participating nonprofits on the Give Miami Day platform, and gifts start at $25. Early giving opens Saturday, November 14, and runs through Wednesday, November 18, before the main 24-hour event on Thursday, November 19.
The 15th edition adds a weekend of in-person programming. The second Give Miami 5K + Festival takes place Sunday, November 15, at Maurice A. Ferré Park, with the race starting at 8 a.m. Runners choose a participating nonprofit or issue area when they register, and the festival is open to the public at no cost. The Miami Foundation has also framed this year’s anniversary around a quinceañera theme, a nod to the 15th birthday celebrations common in many Miami families.
Fourteen years after the first edition, Give Miami Day still follows the idea from that 2012 breakfast meeting. Miami residents pick the causes, and the city’s nonprofits compete on one shared stage.
FAQs
When Is Give Miami Day 2026?
Give Miami Day is Thursday, November 19, 2026, and runs for 24 hours. Early giving opens November 14 and continues through November 18.
When Is the Give Miami 5K?
The Give Miami 5K + Festival is Sunday, November 15, 2026, at Maurice A. Ferré Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd. The race starts at 8 a.m.
Who Organizes Give Miami Day?
The Miami Foundation, Greater Miami’s community foundation, organizes Give Miami Day. The event launched in 2012 with support from the Knight Foundation.
How Much Did Give Miami Day Raise in 2025?
Give Miami Day raised nearly $43.8 million in 2025 from more than 60,000 donors, up from $39.5 million in 2024.
