The Miami Beach Special Event Sponsorship Program (the "Program") was created in June 2021 to assist the City in the  review of event sponsorship and fee waiver requests. The Program process is formalized and allows the Administration to properly analyze and budget special event sponsorship requests. The City's current sponsorship process is within the City Code:

Section 12-6 of the City Code defines a sponsorship as any contract, grant or other commitment by the City to fund an event, either through:

- A cash or in-kind contribution, in any amount; or

  - A reimbursement for City special event-related costs (police, fire, sanitation); or

  - A waiver of special event permit fees (including user fees, admin fees, and square footage fees), in excess of $25,000.

Section 12-7(c) of the City Code provides that “in considering approval of a Sponsorship for an event, the City Commission may consider: 

(i) whether the event organizer has exercised good-faith, diligent efforts to apply for grant funding that may be available from the City's Visitor and Convention Authority ("VCA") or Cultural Arts Council ("CAC");

(ii) the Event organizer's history and performance in delivering quality Events;

(iii) any benefits being directly provided to the general public with respect to the Event, such as free or discounted tickets to persons residing in the City of Miami Beach, seniors, veterans, or member of disadvantaged groups;

(iv) whether the event is accessible to the general public (either as a ticketed event or otherwise);

(v) the demonstrable economic impacts associated with the Event;

(vi) the demonstrable media commitments secured by the Event organizer for the Event; or

(vii) the efforts undertaken by the Event organizer to mitigate any quality of life impacts associated with the Event, including noise, littering, traffic or parking impacts associated with an Event.

In Section 12-7 of the City Code, sponsorship requests are generally  to be reviewed well in advance of the date of each event, either as part of the City Commission’s annual budget process, or through applications to the VCA or CAC.  Any sponsorship request that falls outside of the standard review process is subject to Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (“FERC”) advisory review, as well as a heightened 5/7ths approval requirement by the City Commission.

The Special Event Sponsorship Process addresses these elements and provides a platform for event organizers to apply for city sponsorship in advance and allows the Administration time to do a proper due diligence and budget planning for the fiscal year, while also allowing for a opportunities to curate a fiscal year of engaging, unique, entertaining, educational and fun community events that express the spirit of Miami Beach residents, businesses, visitors, history and ethos.

Accordingly, in it's second year, the program applications opened on January 1, 2022 and closed February 28, 2022. The program is hosted at:  MBEventSponsorship.gosmart.org.

Nine (9) event organizers opened the application and Four (4) event organizers completed the application. During the months of April and May each application was reviewed and accessed.

The Program is for events held in Miami Beach. The purpose is to provide financial assistance and in-kind support to local festivals, special events, community events, or programming that attracts quality events and promotes community engagement and elevates Miami Beach as a world-class tourist destination.

The City of Miami Beach considered special events that:

• provide unique and engaging experiences that increase resident quality of life;
• increase tourism by hotel rooms block contract(s) and targeted tourist attendance;
• promote Miami Beach as a national and international tourist destination;
• accessible to the general public; and
• strengthen Miami Beach by enhancing the City’s Cultural Events.

Application review included an extensive review process that reviewed non-profit status, length of event, history of event, hotel room block, whether attendees are regional, national and/or international, resident/community benefit, marketing, and public relations exposure, utilization of local venues and more. Applicants were required to have a mandatory dollar for dollar ($1 to $1) match and demonstrate this match through cash, other matching sponsorships, and/or in-kind contributions.

Four (4) applicants who met all application requirements, including deadlines, were reviewed. Incomplete applications were disqualified and applicants were invited to apply during the next session, which launches on January 1, 2023 and will close on February 28, 2023.

According to the Special Events Sponsorship Guidelines approved by the City Commission, an application must score at least 65% on the Sponsorship Score Card for the administration to recommend that the sponsorship be awarded. Only three (3) met the threshold. Furthermore, guidelines state that based on the score received from the Sponsorship Score Card, applicants would receive that percentage of their Sponsorship request. Based on these guidelines, the administration is making the following funding recommendations: 

Event Descriptions: 

American Black Film Festival (the Event): The American Black Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to recognizing Black talent and show-casing quality film and television content by and about people of African descent. The annual event will take place June 12-19, 2023 at the New World Center, Regal South Beach Cinema, Ritz Carlton Hotel, and Royal Palm Hotel. This event traditionally attracts 7,000 to 10,000 visitors each year with four (4) to five (5) host hotels. 

FIU Surf and Turf Beach Volleyball Tournament (the Event): Proposed by Florida International University, the 9th Annual FIU Surf and Turf event will take place at Lummus Park on March 17-18, 2023. Every year, FIU produces this annual NCAA Women's invitation Beach Volleyball Tournament which is free to the public and widely considered as a premiere collegiate beach volleyball tournament on the East Coast, and  one of the top two in the nation. 

South Beach Jazz Festival (the Event): Proposed by Power Access, Inc., the 7th Annual South Beach Jazz Festival will take place at locations throughout the City of Miami Beach on January 5-8, 2023. The festival promotes access, opportunity and inclusion for people with disabilities in the arts through jazz. Performances will take place at the 1111 Lincoln Road Stage and Plaza, the Euclid Oval on Lincoln Road, The North Beach Bandshell, Faena Hotel, with an additional evening event on the weekend. 

The amount awarded for special event sponsorship for FY 2022/2023 is $207,000.

Accordingly, the Administration recommends the approval of the Miami Beach Special Event Sponsorship recommendations for fiscal year 2022/2023.

The Program recommended funds will provide financial assistance and in-kind support to three wonderful events. Together with annual contractual events (such as SOBE Wine & Food, Miami Beach Pride, and Air & Sea Show), these events will begin the journey to create an environment where, in partnership with the CAC and VCA, the sponsorship will support quality and well-financed events and play a role in supporting the special event community. In addition, the events will assist in the promotion of tourism, economic and cultural development efforts that should have a positive impact on the entire city.  

Program applications for FY 23/24 including events held between October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024 will be open and available from January 1, 2023 to February 28, 2023. Sponsorships will be presented to Commission on or before June 2023 Commission meeting.