About us
Neighbors funding a better Normandy
Our mission
The Normandy Isles Foundation is a community-funded nonprofit dedicated to improving quality of life in Normandy Shores and the Isle of Normandy by supporting local projects, strengthening community connections, and creating opportunities for neighbors to thrive.
Our purpose
Normandy Isles Foundation, Inc. is a voluntary, independent, nonpartisan community organization. We bring neighbors together to:
- Fund and organize beautification, safety and community projects across the islands
- Turn community-submitted ideas into funded initiatives, guided by neighbor upvotes
- Partner with the City of Miami Beach and local HOAs on shared goals
- Host events that strengthen connections between neighbors
Every dollar is raised from the community and reinvested in the community. Initiatives are chosen by our Board from the ideas neighbors submit and upvote on this site, and each one carries a public goal tracker so you can see exactly where contributions go.
Founding team
Mitch Wainer
Founding Member & President
mitch@normandyislesfoundation.orgMitch is a Miami Beach entrepreneur and marketing leader best known as a co-founder of DigitalOcean, the cloud infrastructure company, where he served as Chief Marketing Officer while the business grew from a small startup into a publicly traded company.
Today he is Managing Partner of Maximize, a growth marketing agency for startups, and co-founder of Source, an AI-powered attribution platform. He founded the Normandy Isles Foundation to bring that same community-building energy home — helping neighbors turn shared ideas into real projects that make the islands a better place to live.
Lionel Nicolai
Founding Member & Vice President
lionel@normandyislesfoundation.orgLionel is a Normandy Shores resident who builds luxury single-family homes with Sabal Luxury Builder, from Miami to Palm Beach. He also founded EasyMLS, a technology company. A sailor and former yacht broker, he understands how central boating and waterfront life are to our islands.
Lionel co-founded the Normandy Isles Foundation with Mitch Wainer to bring neighbors together and invest in projects that make Normandy Shores and Normandy Isle safer, more beautiful, and more connected.
Get in touch
Have an idea for the neighborhood, or want to get involved? Reach any of us directly by email above, or submit your idea on the idea board. We read everything.