EAST PROVIDENCE – On Wednesday, Lisa Guillette and her staff at Foster Forward spent the day trying to catch their breath, and for good reason.
It was for the amount of time they’ve spent both seeking contributions during 401Gives Day on April 1-2 and for counting the exorbitant amount of money that has come into the nonprofit over 36 hours.
During the annual United Way of Rhode Island Inc. initiative that
raised a new record $3.77 million this year for nonprofits statewide, the local organization that supports foster children having healthy and productive lives raised $233,590 on 401Gives Day. That mark is tops of all the 597 local nonprofits that received funding during the statewide nonprofit support initiative.
The monetary impact 401Gives Day has had on Foster Forward in the five years the nonprofit has participated in is “profound,” Guillette told Providence Business News. In that time, Foster Forward has raised a total $864,950 and had three consecutive years in which it raised in excess of $200,000.
Guillette says Foster Forward with the funds gained from 401Gives Day over the years acquired three multifamily homes in Pawtucket and East Providence and rent them to foster children who would have otherwise been left out in the cold. She says the nonprofit had young people receiving vouchers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the COVID-19 pandemic that entitled them to 36 months of subsidized rent but couldn’t find landlords willing to rent to them.
Now, fostered youths have roofs over their heads in the multifamily homes.
Additionally, ONE Neighborhood Builders on April 26 will have a ribbon-cutting on 16 new affordable housing units, with three of the units being set aside for youths leaving foster care, Guillette says.
“I think our savvy donors looking to make the greatest impact look at these game-changing things we’re doing,” Guillette said. “We’re partnering with other [organizations] to achieve results at scale. This money is really making a difference for us to do that.”
Foster Forward employees also benefit from 401Gives Day. Guillette says the raised funds helped increase employee salaries to where the lowest-paid employee with the organization makes $50,000.
“This is tough work, so people need to come to every day knowing that their basic needs are attended to,” Guillette said, “so they can give their attention and empathy and support for the young people we serve."
Guillette told PBN that prior to 401Gives Day, the September gala fundraising event was Foster Forward’s lone opportunity to seek significant monetary donations from the community to support its causes. Now, between what Foster Forward brings in from 401Gives Day and its gala, it amounts to approximately 20% of its total operating budget, which is around $3 million annually. Plus, 471 donors contributed to Foster Forward during this year’s 401Gives Day, which Guillette says is a 35% increase from last year.
“401Gives [Day] gave us a platform to expand our donor base,” Guillette said. “That’s an extra 35% of people who will go into our database who will now become friends of the organization, and we’ll cultivate them for future contributions. So, not only are we achieving extraordinary results on April 1-2, but we also parlay the new donor engagement we’re getting through 401Gives into the success of the fall event.”
(CORRECTION: The ribbon-cutting on the new affordable housing units in East Providence will be held April 26.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
