PROVIDENCE – Grantmaking was still aplenty last year for the Rhode Island Foundation.
The prominent nonprofit funder announced Thursday that it awarded close to $87 million in grants to more than 2,500 local nonprofits in 2024. That amount ties what was then a foundation record set
in 2020, a year where the Ocean State was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the foundation
awarded $89 million in financial assistance to local organizations, currently the record.
Additionally, last year was the fourth time in the last five years that the foundation awarded more than $80 million to the community. In 2022, the foundation
awarded $84 million to about 2,400 nonprofits.
“Demand for our help did not diminish last year. The pandemic is behind us in many ways, but its impact on student success, health and the economy lingered,” foundation CEO and President David N. Cicilline said in a statement. “We are grateful for the generosity of Rhode Islanders who trust us to guide their philanthropy and the dedication of our nonprofit partners that enabled us to take on the challenge.”
The gift giving last year by the foundation couples with the funder launching its new five-year action plan to determine how it deploys its funds. The plan, spotlighted in a Providence Business News
Dec. 6, 2024, Q&A cover story featuring Cicilline, contains six community priorities: advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; expanding civic and cultural opportunities that bring diverse groups of people together; reducing the effects of climate change; improving education for all by strengthening student experiences and educator support; lowering the barriers to affordable housing and generational wealth building; and working for more equitable access to quality health care to build healthy and strong communities.
The foundation also said Thursday total assets stood at approximately $1.5 billion, up by about $100 million from the previous year. Total fund investment return for the year was 10.5%, the nonprofit funder says, and the foundation raised $59 million in gifts.
Additionally, the foundation raised last year nearly $720,000 for its Civic Leadership Fund. That fund allows the foundation to go beyond traditional grantmaking to meet emerging opportunities and challenges, and to engage Rhode Islanders in civic and civil dialogue.
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 X at @James_Bessette.
