2008 Highlights of Your Community Foundation

waterfire
Volunteer fire stokers dressed in black feed the flames during WaterFire, the public arts event that has transformed the summer scene in downtown Providence.

2008 was an historic year on many fronts, as the Foundation welcomed a new president and chief executive officer and elected a new chairman. Grantmaking reached record-breaking levels -- more than $27 million invested in Rhode Island -- and new gifts and funds exceeded $44 million. We also prepared to launch a new website detailing our goals of permanent philanthropy, community leadership, and statewide impact.

Permanent Philanthropy

  • Established 57 new, permanent endowments, bringing the total at the Foundation to 1,140.
  • Accepted more than $44 million in charitable gifts, the second-highest amount received in one year in the Foundation’s 93-year history.
  • Accepted endowments of 10 area nonprofits, ensuring their long-term financial stability and increasing the total number of organizational endowment funds to 136.

Statewide Impact

  • Broke previous Foundation grantmaking records by distributing more than $27 million in grants to more than 1,300 organizations statewide.
  • Leveraged more than $200,000 in grant dollars by co-funding important projects with Foundation donor advisors.
  • Through the Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence, offered 20 developmental workshops and sector convenings that drew 524 staff members and 215 board members of 354 organizations.
  • Distributed $500,000 in an emergency community grant to help Rhode Islanders with food, shelter, and heating costs in the midst of the state’s severe economic downturn.

Community Leadership

  • Established, with a $20 million gift from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Fund for Healthy Rhode Island, a permanent endowment to increase access to quality primary care.
  • Launched a million dollar campaign for the Black Philanthropy Initiative, a permanent endowment at the Foundation devoted to causes and issues affecting Black Rhode Islanders.
  • Convened the first annual Rhode Island Charter Public School Conference for more than 200 charter public school teachers, administrators, support staff, board members and parents to share best practices.
  • Appointed Neil D. Steinberg as the Foundation’s fourth president and chief executive officer after a national search spanning six months.