With charity cuts looming, Miami-Dade steers $250,000 a year to this new foundation

In a year where Miami-Dade may slash tens of millions of dollars in nonprofit funding, one new charity with a sparse track record recently secured a $250,000 yearly revenue stream mandated by a county contract. The president of the charity receiving the payments is a top official in the city of Miami’s government.

A last-minute item on Wednesday’s County Commission agenda handed Loud and Live, a prominent production company, a 20-year contract allowing it to produce profit-making events and programs at Miami-Dade’s Tropical Park, including running the equestrian center and putting on the annual holiday fest that replaced Santa’s Enchanted Forest two years ago.

In addition to paying rent to Miami-Dade for exclusive use of some Tropical Park facilities, the Miami-Dade contract requires Loud and Live to pay $250,000 annually to the A3 Foundation.

That charity formed in 2023, when it reported having less than $25,000 in the bank, according to its 2023 federal tax return, which is available online.

As of Friday afternoon, A3 Foundation had a website with no contact information and inoperable links on pages under its projects section dedicated to “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture,” “Education” and “Community Outreach.” Tax and corporate records list its address as a townhouse in West Miami. The Miami Herald visited the townhouse on Friday to request the 2024 tax returns from the A3 Foundation. Nobody answered the door.

State records show the president of the A3 Foundation is Francisco Petrirena, who is also chief of staff to Art Noriega, Miami’s city manager.

On Friday, Petrirena told the Herald he began earning compensation from the foundation this year and will be paid $80,000 annually. He said he’s the charity’s lone paid employee.

“Right now, it’s only me,” he said.

In the phone interview, Petrirena said the foundation helps put on one of Tropical Park’s signature events: the annual agriculture show and rodeo known as CountryFest that promoters say attracts about 25,000 visitors a year. He said A3’s mission is to promote agriculture education in South Florida.

“We work with CountryFest,” Petrirena said. “We help organize the festival.”

CountryFest is a county event hosted by the commissioner whose district includes Tropical Park, Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez. Rodriguez sponsored the legislation awarding the Tropical Park contract to Loud and Live, a Miami-based production company that lists CountryFest as one of its events on social media.

In a statement, Rodriguez praised the charity.

“The A3 Foundation is an ag-focused nonprofit organization that, while new, has served our community well,” he said. “The legislation approved by the County Commission supports an innovative way to fund Ag related community initiatives without the need to rely entirely on government funding ... I am grateful for the work that A3 does and am proud to support them.”

The county-mandated payment to A3 may not be the only windfall for the foundation this year. Florida’s recently enacted budget includes a $950,000 allocation to an organization of the same name. Online records show the A3 Foundation in March submitted a request for $500,000 to the Florida Senate to cover $100,000 in payroll expenses for an executive director and an assistant, as well as $385,000 for resources to “help educators and consumers learn more about agriculture” and provide scholarships related to farming.

The A3 Foundation has also has been receiving scattered funding from Miami-Dade as well. Rodriguez won commission approval to send $75,000 in county grant dollars to A3 earlier this year, on top of the $125,000 awarded A3 in the 2025 Miami-Dade budget recommended by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava last fall and approved by commissioners. The $125,000 wasn’t in Levine Cava’s original budget proposal but added ahead of the final approval vote in September, which is typically when a mayor grants additional spending requests from commissioners.

Live and Loud won its Tropical Park contract through a bidding process run by the Levine Cava administration. Bidding documents included the requirement for a $250,000 yearly charitable contribution by the winning bidder but did not specify the charity. Instead, it said the County Commission would select the charity.

A spokesperson for Levine Cava, Natalia Jaramillo, said the administration didn’t learn the identity of the chosen nonprofit until the legislative item appeared as a last-minute add to the agenda of Wednesday’s County Commission meeting.

The administration did not respond to inquiries about how CountryFest is run at Tropical Park or what role A3 may play in that springtime event.

In 2024, the commission passed Rodriguez legislation exempting CountryFest from normal bidding requirements in the county’s purchasing rules.

Petrirena confirmed his paid foundation work comes on top of his full-time job as a senior aide to Miami’s top administrator. In a text message, Noriega said the city would provide paperwork related to approval of Petrirena’s outside employment.

The $250,000 yearly payment to A3 came the day after Levine Cava proposed a 2026 budget with steep cuts to county grants for nonprofits. Along with eliminating roughly $40 million in nonprofit grants, the Levine Cava budget eliminates the jobs of county staffers charged with administering the grant programs.

“It’s very painful,” she said of the cuts required to close a $402 million deficit between projected tax revenues and 2026 expenses.

Miami Herald staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.