Photo courtesy of GreenLight Fund

MIAMI – With Miami facing racial and economic disparities, a national nonprofit wants to close the gap.

GreenLight Fund, which helps communities with pressing challenges, has launched a program in Miami with $6.5 million in funding from more than 100 local investors.
“We are deeply grateful to local investors and philanthropic organizations whose generosity and belief in our mission have made it possible to bring GreenLight to Miami,” said John Simon, Co-Founder and Board Chair of GreenLight Fund, in a press release.

The initiative will go a long way to help local residents and businesses facing economic disparity issues.

After research and conferring with local leaders, business owners and residents, GreenLight discovered that income inequality has been a longstanding issue in Miami.

GreenLight Fund said Miami had the fifth-highest level of income inequality among cities with 100,000 or more people.

It found that the bottom 20 percent of workers earned an average of $10,093 a year compared to the top 20 percent of workers who earned an average of more than 20 times at $264,000.

The median household income is $54,858 for mostly Blacks and other minorities.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said it will help “break down barriers and create lasting change” for families across the county.

Named as GreenLight Fund Miami’s executive director is Valeria Perez-Ferreiro, who previously worked at Citi as Vice President and Community Development Senior Manager, where she partnered with several community organizations, including FutureBound Miami, StartUp FIU Food and the Office of New Americans of Miami Dade-County.
“During this rapidly changing time for Miami, GreenLight is well positioned to tackle racial and economic disparities head-on with impactful solutions the community tells us they want and need,” said Perez-Ferreiro.

According to GreenLight Fund, which debuted in 2005, Miami represents the 14th U.S. city to join the nonprofit network, along with Philadelphia, Charlotte and San Francisco.

GreenLight Fund will work with local governments and other nonprofits in Miami-Dade to address racial and disparity issues with the $6.5 million.