Community Grants & Medical Scholarships

Since becoming a grant-making organization in 1992, the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation has given over 568 grants to community organizations to conduct projects or programs related to the health needs of the citizen of Miami-Dade Country.

Programs and projects are funded, depending upon the budget, in the $5,000 to $50,000 range with an occasional exception for a program that the Board of Directors find particularly meritorious. Consistent successful applicants over the years include:

  • Coral Gables Women's Club for its support of the Coral Gables Children's Dental Clinic
  • Hearing Research Institute to provide hearing aids to under-served populations
  • Miami Lighthouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired for vision screenings and eye examinations in the Heiken Children's Vision Program
  • Wounded Veterans Relief Fund to provide emergency financial relief for Miami-Dade County veterans

New programs are added each year. For a full list of 2023 grantees, click here.

MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIPS

The Foundation also provides scholarships to medical and nursing students at local colleges and universities. Students from South Florida who are preparing for careers in healthcare compete for scholarships provided by the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation. Granted in memory of former board members: Dr. Harold Norman, Dr. George Mekras, Dr. Frederick Pope, and Edmund Russo, medical and nursing students at local universities are annually awarded scholarships:

  • Barry University College of Health Sciences, Division of Nursing
  • Florida International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences
  • Miami Dade College School of Nursing
  • University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Sciences 
  • University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

The Foundation also has endowed two medical scholarships.  In 2011, a research scholarship at the University of Miami Miller Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine to honor the late Dr. Louis "Skip" Elsas, the first director of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Center for Medical Genetics and in 2023, a medical scholarship for Miami-Dade students at Meharry College to honor the late Dr. Dazelle Simpson, a board member. 

Students interested in learning more about the scholarships should inquire at their school for the criteria and to make application. The Foundation does not accept applications directly for scholarships.


For more information on applying for a grant, click here.