PROVIDENCE – Citing uncertainty surrounding the status of federal funding and possible threats to local nonprofits’ stability, the United Way of Rhode Island Inc. is expanding services and supports available for local organizations.
That also includes the prominent nonprofit holding a special grantmaking round for organizations to seek support funding.
The United Way on Wednesday launched its “United Is The Way” initiative to provide resources to Rhode Islanders and local nonprofits. This new initiative derived from the United Way hearing “very loudly” from nonprofits their concerns about the Trump administration and pauses in federal funding to said nonprofits, United Way CEO and President Cortney Nicolato told Providence Business News on Wednesday.
All of the unknowns are causing “concern and chaos,” Nicolato said. She also said some organizations had seen federal funding they planned to get either paused temporarily or “not gotten back.” The United Way, she said, was working on obtaining a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant and it’s “sitting in the bank and won’t release [it].”
“We’re hearing from a lot of nonprofits saying [the funding] is frozen, still waiting on payments,” Nicolato said. “Yet, these organizations are providing services that are contractually obligated from the federal government.”
She also noted that organizations are being asked to fill out forms that are “illegal,” including language that could be considered discriminatory.
Now, Nicolato said the United Way’s new initiative will support three areas. Most notably, she said the organization’s board of directors agreed to seed $500,000 to the new grant initiative. Those grants, Nicolato said, will be made available through requests for proposals and awarded “on a rolling basis.”
Nicolato said the United Way issue a Request For Proposals to organizations by the end of March. Between $25,000 to $50,000 in grants will be awarded to selected organizations providing “the most basic of needs” for Rhode Island families, Nicolato said.
The half-million-dollar seed funding will be financed through community donations raised and through the United Way directly, Nicolato said. She also hopes additional money will be raised on top of the $500,000 already earmarked.
“It’s similar to what we did during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nicolato said. “It was based on evolved needs happening as well.”
United Way will also expand supports for local organizations through the Alliance for Nonprofit Impact. Among the expanded resources include increased access to professional experts in the areas of fund development and revenue generation, strategic planning and financial management, the United Way says.
The alliance will also facilitate and fund legal supports to help organizations navigate the new regulatory environment, the United Way said. Nicolato added that the United Way heard from organizations that either had clients in need of legal services but didn’t had access to them, or organizations had funds frozen and need help getting those dollars. Plus, the alliance will provide technical assistance to prepare nonprofits for increased federal scrutiny.
Also, residents will receive expanded services through United Way’s 211 and community outreach programs. Nicolato said the United Way plans to add more staff to handle increased call volumes from residents.
“We always have to keep an eye on what’s next,” Nicolato said. “It’s a tough time to serve the community. But we’ve supported the community through tough times, and this is no exception.”
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.
