The Rhode Island Foundation is giving out $3.44 million in “strategy grants” to 87 groups and projects, more than half of it focused on alleviating poverty by creating affordable housing, advocating for children and families and maximizing economic opportunities.
The balance will support access to quality health care, education reform, natural resource protection and the arts.
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The “strategy grant” program, now in its second year, is the foundation’s largest, though it only represents a fraction of the nearly $25 million it gave out last year. Foundation staff work closely with the beneficiaries to support three “strategies” for improving life in Rhode Island: policy, advocacy and systems reform; organizational and leadership development; and innovative models and proven programs.
The biggest single grant, $225,000, is going to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, for its Neighborhood Development Fund, which supports local community development corporations as they revitalize neighborhoods, create affordable housing and expand resources such as child-care facilities.
Thirteen more housing-related grants, worth $15,000 to $55,000 each, will support local housing groups across the state, boost two Grow Smart Rhode Island initiatives, try to prevent and remedy property abandonment in Providence and help provide housing and social services to the homeless and the elderly.
Nearly $1 million is going to 18 nonprofits advocating for children and families, including $100,000 for Rhode Island Kids Count’s statewide advocacy and policy-making work, and a second-year, $33,000 grant for Project Impact in Woonsocket, which serves teen parents and their children, stressing education and self-sufficiency.
Several other grants focus on “economic empowerment” for low-income Rhode Islanders. Amos House is getting $70,000 to expand a program that trains former clients to work in the food service industry. Crossroads Rhode Island is getting $67,000 to set up a copy center to train homeless people for entry-level jobs. And Dorcas Place is getting $98,400 for “career academies” for Providence adults with low literacy, numeric and language skills.
The single-biggest grant in that category, $135,000, will go to the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College, to continue its leadership in welfare policy, research and advocacy.
Other grant recipients include community health groups such as Gateway Healthcare; the Kids First nutrition education program in Pawtucket; the Gray Panthers senior citizen advocacy group; the Meeting Street Center; the Rhode Island Dairy Farms Cooperative, to support the “Rhody Fresh” product line; and arts organizations such as Community MusicWorks, the 2nd Story Theatre, and New Urban Arts.
