History of Equity Action

In 2002, a group of community volunteers partnered with The Rhode Island Foundation to establish Equity Action, a field of interest fund at the Foundation. The catalyst was a 2:1 challenge grant of $100,000 from the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership (NLGCFP), a national foundation now known as Funders for Gay and Lesbian Issues.

Rhode Island raised more than $200,000 by early 2005, the first of 32 NLGCPF grantees to meet its match. The $100,000 match went directly into grants for LGBTQ communities. The remaining money seeded a permanent endowment, which will continue to grow in perpetuity. By 2007, the endowment grew to almost $500,000 in gifts and investment earnings.

In 2004, the Foundation and Equity Action proudly published Meet the Neighbors, the first-ever complete portrait of Rhode Island’s LGBTQ individuals, and distributed its first grants. By 2007, Equity Action granted more than $340,000 to area nonprofits tackling many of the priorities identified in Meet the Neighbors.

In 2005, Equity Action launched the Million Dollar Challenge campaign, in response to The Rhode Island Foundation's promise to match the next $500,000. Equity Action’s goal is to meet the challenge by 2011.

In 2007, Equity Action and the foundation published Special Report: Equity Action 2002-2007 , a five-year update on Equity Action's activities and accomplishments.