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Recognized for its philanthropic contributions supporting Miami’s economic development, The Beacon Council Economic Development Foundation was awarded a 2018 Lighting the Way Award and $75,000 grant by the SunTrust Foundation for the launch of their Miami Community Ventures Program, part of the One Community One Goal initiative.
The SunTrust Foundation’s Lighting the Way Awards recognizes select nonprofit organizations that strengthen their local communities through programs that help people better their circumstances and gain financial confidence.
“We’re committed to building stronger communities, and our nonprofit partners are addressing community needs in innovative and very meaningful ways,” said Stan Little, president of the SunTrust Foundation. “Miami-Dade Beacon Council is set to improve the lives of many people, and we applaud their mission, long-term service and the impact they’re making where it’s most needed.”
“Receiving the SunTrust Foundation’s grant for this program is extremely significant as we work toward the official launch of the Community Ventures Program in Miami in early November 2018. The program was framed after a successful model I rolled out in Michigan, which generated positive state-audited results reflecting break-even achievement in the 20th month,” said Michael A. Finney, President & CEO, Miami-Dade Beacon Council and The Beacon Council Economic Development Foundation. “The mission of this program is to make communities safer, to alleviate poverty and to connect low-income, structurally unemployed individuals with sustainable living wage jobs. With this initiative, we are focusing on a very important segment in our community and we are also providing individuals an opportunity to establish financial independence that in return will help contribute to the Miami-Dade economy.”
Established in 2008, the SunTrust Foundation is committed to supporting a wide range of financial well-being efforts through grants and partnerships with local philanthropic organizations. To date, the SunTrust Foundation has awarded more than $140 million in grants to organizations across the United States.
About The Miami-Dade Beacon Council
The Miami-Dade Beacon Council is Miami-Dade County’s official economic development partnership. The not-for-profit public-private organization focuses on job creation and economic growth. Since 1985, the organization has assisted more than 1,000 businesses that have created nearly 70,000 direct jobs and added more than $4.6 billion in new capital investments. It accomplishes this by marketing Miami-Dade as a world-class business location, growing local companies and fostering entrepreneurs, and shaping the County’s economic future.
About the SunTrust Foundation
The SunTrust Foundation is dedicated to SunTrust Bank’s purpose of Lighting the Way to Financial Well-Being by engaging organizations to advance financial confidence. Grants and activities focus primarily on financial empowerment, but also include education, health and human services, civic improvement and cultural growth. The SunTrust Foundation supports American Red Cross disaster relief efforts and contributes as a United Way Global Corporate Leader. Established in 2008, the SunTrust Foundation has proudly provided grants totaling more than $140 million throughout the United States.
