Community
HEAT Charitable Fund Mission
Established in 1997, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund strives to positively impact the lives of at-risk families in our South Florida community by supporting organizations focused on three primary areas: youth programs, education and health and wellness initiatives.
Program Duration: Year Round
Make A Gift To MIAMI HEAT Charitable Fund
By donating through this secure website, your support enables us to ensure that our efforts reaches more in the community to inspire the families and youth of South Florida.
1. To make a donation online, click the button below:
Donateor scan the QR Code Below:
2. If you prefer to donate through the mail, please make payable to “Miami Foundation” and send your donations to the following address:
Miami HEAT Charitable Fund
601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132
*Your privacy is important to us, we will not sell or share your personal information.
Baptist Health South Florida & Miami Cancer Institute
Mission: To inspire philanthropy and build extraordinary donor relationships in support of excellence, innovation, community wellness and global leadership in healthcare at Baptist Health South Florida, a not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence.
Jackson Health Foundation
Mission: To help fill the gaps of major capital projects and programmatic needs that cannot be financed by public bond support.
SafeSpace Foundation
Mission: To advocate and empower domestic violence victims and survivors by providing emergency shelter, transitional housing and financial assistance.
Dedication To Community
Mission: To educate and empower communities through skill-building workshops and ongoing forums designed to improve understanding and foster relationships while pursuing healing, reconciliation and unity. Its experts work with government agencies and the private sector by training and advising on critical issues in public safety and law enforcement, as well as diversity, belonging and equity.
Up2Us Sports
Mission: To engage, train and support sports coaches to transform youth, programs and communities.
Home Strong
Established in 2006, Home Strong is an ongoing program that salutes and honors the courageous men and women in uniform for their dedication to the United States Armed Forces. Home Strong's mission is to give aid, support and recognition to any person who has been in harm's way in the military service. Pat Riley and the Miami HEAT created this initiative as a means of paying tribute to our soldiers and veterans. Currently, the program is working in partnership with Ultimate Software to provide further assistance with the unmet needs of military personnel and their families who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan and reside in the South Florida area.
Beneficiaries include:
- HEAT Home Strong Recognition Program: Hosts, honors and supports military personnel and their families who have served in combat and reside in the South Florida area.
- Fisher House Foundation: Builds and maintains a “home away from home” at no charge for military families of patients receiving medical care at nearby VA medical centers.
- Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade: The Miami HEAT works alongside members of the U.S. Armed Forces to help renovate homes of local veterans while funding the renovation.
Now, you can make a difference by clicking here and make a gift to our Home Strong Program. We truly appreciate your support!
Miami HEAT Family Festival
The Miami HEAT Family Festival presented by Carnival Foundation takes place in the spring of each season. The Annual Miami HEAT Family Festival is a themed, interactive, carnival-like celebration in which HEAT players, coaches, celebrities and about 1,500 fans and families come together to raise vital dollars for local charities. In addition to the fanfare at the event, top restaurants and chefs from South Florida create a memorable dining extravaganza.
Miami HEAT Golf Classic
The Annual Miami HEAT Golf Classic has offered golfers an opportunity to tackle some of the most prominent golf courses around town, such as Don Shula's in Miami Lakes, the Trump National Doral Miami, the Miccosukee Golf & Country Club, the Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club and most recently, Biltmore Golf Course Miami. All net proceeds benefit the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund.
MIAMI HEAT Gala
Every spring the Miami HEAT players and coaches join Micky and Madeleine Arison and Pat and Chris Riley to raise funds during an exclusive gala. This unique event features a private dinner and live performances by musical artists. Past performers at this event have included Michael McDonald, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Earth, Wind & Fire, Mary J. Blige, Kool & The Gang, The Commodores, comedian Gary Owen, Dermot Kennedy and Rick Ross. The evening is also highlighted by a live auction featuring exclusive, one-of-a-kind experiences. Guests can mingle and dance along with HEAT players and coaches while also raising funds for the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund. With the support of loyal family and friends, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund has been able to raise more than $11 million in total since the event's inception in 2006.
HEAT Home Court For Kids Wing At Holtz Children's Hospital
Holtz Children's Hospital at Jackson Memorial continues to provide state-of-the-art assistance to children in their pediatric intensive care unit made possible from the joint donation of Carnival Cruise Line and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund. The redesigned facility currently lets parents play a more active role in their child's treatment and recovery. This ongoing partnership allows for more critically ill children to be treated in South Florida through cutting-edge medical care.
HEAT Player Ticket Program
One of the most generous and trendsetting programs in the NBA, the Miami HEAT's Player Ticket Program will spend the entire regular season reaching out to children who typically would only dream of watching a HEAT game live. HEAT players will join forces to donate tickets for every single home game to local charitable organizations and over the course of the 2019-20 season, more than 5,000 children, many for the first time, will have the opportunity to enjoy a HEAT game, courtesy of their favorite HEAT players and role models. Players also graciously provide several private "Meet & Greet" opportunities for the groups prior to each HEAT home game, where the players talk to children, sign autographs and take pictures.
HEAT Family Charity Group
The Miami HEAT Family Charity Group, established in conjunction with the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, consists of members including wives of active HEAT coaches, players, select senior executive management as well as player mothers and family. The group works closely together with the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund to assist the South Florida community through activities including the organization of various fundraising efforts, the Annual SafeSpace Holiday Outreach initiative, the Domestic Violence Prevention Walk and other numerous hours of volunteer contributions.
Social Justice
In partnership with the Miami Police Department and Dedication to Community (D2C), the Miami HEAT will facilitate the specialized training of all of Miami's sworn police patrol officers with the goals of positively impacting interactions between law enforcement and our diverse, local community—particularly the Black community. In September of 2020, the partnership began with a pilot program, training a subset of Miami PD officers with the longer-term goal of providing training to all of the sworn patrol officers of the Miami PD force, with the eventual goal of training the remaining civilian employees as well.
Training of the entire complement of sworn police patrol officers began in January 2021. The goal is to build trust, provide the tools and actions that can be used as part of the “recipe for reconciliation” while addressing implicit bias and racism within society. This is the next step in the team's continuing effort to use their unique platform and standing in the community to deliver on our social justice pledge and effect positive change that uplifts the Black community.
A key component of the course emphasizes community interaction. To that end, in true Bonded by Ball fashion, Wilson, the official basketball of the NBA, has donated 1,000 basketballs to the HEAT, who will use the donation to equip each of the 900 officers of the force with a basketball to be carried in their vehicles and to be used for random pick-up games with South Florida youth.
Also, HEAT partner, Florida Blue, share our vision and commitment to enhancing the interactions between local law enforcement and the South Florida community they serve and will co-present this initiative.
Values of the Game Award
On Monday, April 25, 2022, Michael McCullough, Executive Vice President / Chief Marketing Officer and Steve Stowe, Vice President / Executive Director of the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund have received the “Values of the Game” Award, which recognizes an individual or individuals who inspire and connect people everywhere, but specifically in their community, through the power of basketball.
McCullough and Stowe won for their combined efforts in launching a first-of-its-kind partnership with the City of Miami Police Department and Dedication to Community (D2C) through a unique community policing program designed to help bridge the gap between Black and Brown city residents and local law enforcement.
