The Carrie Meek Foundation was founded in 2001 by Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, one of Florida’s most consequential public servants. The Foundation carries forward her lifelong commitment to education, economic opportunity, accessible housing, health and wellness, and stronger communities throughout Miami-Dade.
For more than two decades, the Foundation has carried Congresswoman Meek’s vision forward through grantmaking, civic engagement, community development, and strategic partnerships.
Congresswoman Meek created a permanent vehicle for directing resources, partnerships, and opportunities toward communities that have historically been overlooked.
The Foundation translated Congresswoman Meek’s priorities into community-centered investments in education, housing, health, economic development, and civic engagement across Miami-Dade County.
Lucia Davis-Raiford became President and CEO, beginning a new period of organizational growth. Under her leadership, the Foundation expanded its grantmaking, developed new community partnerships, and strengthened its response to emerging needs across Miami-Dade County.
Supporting Safer Communities invests in local organizations advancing violence prevention, healing, mentorship, youth engagement, and safer futures. Launched in April 2023 by the Carrie Meek Foundation in partnership with Miami-Dade County, the program directed approximately $8.9 million toward community grants, capacity-building support, strategic partnerships, and scholarships for 132 recipients. Through grants to 82 organizations, the program prioritized high-risk interventions, reentry services, mental health and victim outreach, and grassroots groups working closest to communities affected by gun violence.
Support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women expanded the Foundation’s prevention work through Men to Men: Mobilizing Leaders for Safer Communities. The program engages men and boys across Miami-Dade as partners and advocates for women and girls through culturally responsive workshops, mentorship, leadership development, and community conversations. By promoting healthy masculinity, accountability, and respect, Men to Men helps prevent gender-based violence and build safer homes and communities.
The Foundation works with residents, nonprofits, and community partners to advance education, health, housing, economic opportunity, workforce development, and community safety.
invested in South Florida since 2020
organizations funded across Miami-Dade
1,200+
scholars supported since 2001
Carrie P. Meek was a pioneering educator, public servant, and advocate whose career transformed opportunities for communities across Florida. Born in Tallahassee in 1926, she grew up in the segregated South, where racial and gender barriers limited opportunities for Black women. Rather than allow those barriers to define her future, she dedicated her life to education, public service, and creating opportunities for others.
Meek graduated from Florida A&M University in 1946. Because African Americans could not attend graduate school in Florida at the time, she continued her education at the University of Michigan, earning her master’s degree in 1948. She later moved to Miami and became an educator and administrator at Miami-Dade Community College. As the college desegregated, she advocated for integration and emerged as a respected community leader.
In 1979, Meek entered public office after winning a special election to the Florida House of Representatives. Three years later, she became the first African American woman elected to the Florida Senate. During her service in the state legislature, she championed education funding, affordable rental housing, and protections against stalking.
In 1992, Meek was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming one of the first Black members of Congress from Florida since Reconstruction. During her decade in Congress, she served on the House Appropriations Committee and advocated for education, economic development, healthcare access, immigration reform, transportation, childcare, and aviation training. Following Hurricane Andrew, she helped secure $100 million in federal assistance to support Miami-Dade County’s recovery.
Before retiring from Congress in 2002, she founded the Carrie Meek Foundation to continue her lifelong commitment to expanding opportunity and strengthening communities. Congresswoman Meek passed away on November 28, 2021, at the age of 95. Her legacy lives on through the people, organizations, and communities she inspired and through the Foundation that proudly carries her name.
Why this legacy guides everything we do.
Congresswoman Meek did not believe in waiting for the right moment. She ran for office after a tragedy. She traveled north for her education when Florida would not let her stay. She secured hurricane relief before anyone asked her to. She founded this Foundation before she retired. That urgency, that refusal to accept barriers as permanent, is the spirit behind every grant we make, every program we run, and every community we serve.
