To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of our members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate the Order as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities of this nation through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share.

 

The Miami Elks Lodge #948 was chartered on July 13th, 1905. William Mark Brown was the Exalted for the first two years of our existence. The lodge consisted of 22 members initially, has grown to as many as 3,000 members in the past and currently has over 1,100 members. Over the years the lodge has been a bellwether of community activity and a guiding force in shaping Miami and South Florida. Organizations like the United Way of Miami-Dade County and the South Florida Blood Bank can trace their roots to our lodge, where they started with humble beginnings and grew to be the community forces they are today. We are also a charter member of the Florida State Elks Association, comprised of nearly 70,000 Elk members in 109 lodges throughout Florida. Nationally our organization is comprised of nearly 1 million members and over 2,100 lodges. We are the largest fraternal organization in the United States. For more information about the Order and the good works we do click here.

Our aim is to lessen the suffering of those less fortunate than us and to invest in benevolent programs that help our children to realize their full potential as they grow up, to bring comfort and assistance to veterans and active military service people of the United States military, to be community leaders in the fight against drugs and to quicken the pulse of Americanism in our community. We achieve these goals using various financial instruments to fund our benevolent programs, donations, volunteerism and old fashioned hard work. We are a strong link in the chain of B.P.O.E. lodges and annually contribute thousands of dollars to charitable foundations as well as distributing thousands of dollars to the local community.

• Elks National Foundation. This trust fund distributes money on a national level to Elks state associations and nationally managed programs. These programs include:
• America's Promise
• Drug Awareness
• Scholarships
• Youth Activities including the Hoop Shoot, Soccer Shoot, and Drug Awareness as well as other youth activity programs.
• Veteran's Services
• Elks National Home.
• During the past year the Elks National foundation distributed over 13 million dollars in scholarship monies to deserving college students, another 6 million to affiliated Elks state associations. In all, the Elks National Foundation distributed more than 22 million for all of the programs under its jurisdiction. The fund is seeded by contribution and fund raisers from Elks lodges across the nation.

• Harry-Anna Trust Fund. This fund is managed by the Florida State Elks Association and it is used to finance the two major benevolent projects of the Florida State Elks Association:
• Florida Elks Youth Camp. The Florida State Elks Youth Camp is a 385 acre camp located in Umatilla, Florida, 45 miles north of Orlando. The camp has been rated A+ by the American Campers Association and scored 798 points out of a possible 800 points at the last evaluation. The camp features a lake with catch and release fishing, canoes, paddle boats, an archery range, golf driving range, Olympic swimming pool, baseball diamond, soccer field, outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, a rock climbing wall, a confidence building ropes course with elevated and ground elements, 68 cabins that house 9 occupants each, a 15,000 square foot enclosed pavilion, an 850 seat gymnasium with 3 full length basket ball courts, and additional primitive camp sites. The camp entertains over 2000 children during the 6 week summer session and about 23,000 people use the site annually. The camp has an annual budget of over 2 million dollars.
• Florida Elks Children's Therapy Services. This service provides free in-home physical & occupational therapy to handicapped children throughout the state of Florida. The program utilizes 20 vans with licensed physical and occupational therapists and currently visits over 300 children per week. 
• The Harry-Anna Trust Fund is seeded by donations and fund raisers from Florida Elks Lodges and members. In the fraternal year 2005-2006 over $1 million in new donations was realized.