Rhode Island Foundation Awards $52 Million in Grants
Monday, February 18, 2019
The Rhode Island Foundation announced it has awarded a record $52 million in grants to more than 1,800 nonprofit organizations last year.
As the largest funder of nonprofits in Rhode Island, the Foundation "works in partnership with donors and nonprofits to meet the needs of the people of Rhode Island." At the end of 2018, total assets stood at approximately $970 million.
The Foundation also said it raised a record $114 million in funds from individual, family, organizational and corporate donors. Gifts ranged in size from $1 to just over $6 million, including nearly 1,500 gifts under $250. And, a notable new partner – the Jewish Federation Foundation – joined the Rhode Island Foundation as a supporting organization in 2018. The $55 million foundation has been making significant grants in support of the Jewish community since 1945.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"We are grateful for the visionary donors who have joined with us for more than a century to take on the state’s challenges and opportunities," said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “Partnering with nonprofit organizations to support their important work, engaging generous donors and providing leadership around key issues for our state all contributed to this outstanding growth as we strive to meet the needs of all Rhode Islanders.”
Of the $52 million in grants awarded in 2018, 70 percent were donor-directed awards and 30 percent were Foundation-directed, says the Foundation.
The Foundation says, many of the grants aligned with the Foundation’s three strategic priorities: educational success, healthy lives and economic security. Through these, the Foundation invests in organizations and programs that strive for long-term solutions to significant community issues.
The Rhode Island Foundation cites a number of examples in the announcement:
The Woonsocket School Department will receive $675,000 over three years to strengthen school leader development and support, specifically the improved effectiveness of school leaders to influence climate, culture and academic outcomes in their schools and across the district. The initiative is in partnership with the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity, New England Basecamp, Teach for America – RI, Better Lessons and Generation Citizen.
- Visiting Nurse Home & Hospice of Portsmouth was awarded $80,200 to implement a Community Pharmacist Program that integrates the services of a homecare clinical pharmacist in a multidisciplinary transition of care team. The pharmacist will work directly with patients in their homes to increase medication adherence, facilitate medication interventions and improve care coordination.
- Fuerza Laboral of Central Falls received $90,000 to fund its Cooperative Business Incubation program, designed to train and support low-income workers in Rhode Island to create and connect worker-owned and operated cooperative enterprises in Rhode Island.
“Working with committed nonprofit partners, our support helps to move every Rhode Island student closer to achieving educational success, encourages all Rhode Islanders to lead healthier lives and puts economic security within reach of even more of our state’s residents,” said Steinberg.
The Foundation also made grants in a wide variety of sectors, such as arts and culture, the environment, housing and basic human needs; including to organizations doing critical work in the community like the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Newport, the Jonnycake Center in South Kingstown and Sojourner House in Providence and Woonsocket.
In addition to grantmaking and fundraising, community leadership is central to the Foundation’s work.
In 2018, the Foundation said it raised a record $600,000 for its Civic Leadership Fund. The annual fund enables the Foundation to go beyond traditional grantmaking to meet emerging opportunities and challenges, and engage Rhode Islanders in civic and civil dialogue. For example, in 2018 the Foundation launched Together RI, a series of 20 neighborly get-togethers that offered people a chance to talk face-to-face about topics that are critical to our common future over a free family-style meal.
“Our Civic Leadership donors understand that progress requires many different approaches. Having the means to tackle opportunities as they arise enhances the work that our community partners already do,” said Jessica David, the Foundation’s executive vice president of strategy and community investments.
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