Grants support jobs creation, the environment

In its second of three grantmaking sessions for 2002, The Rhode Island Foundation Board of Directors approved 25 grants totaling $1,024,750. With a focus on economic and community development, seven of the grants are supporting economic opportunity for such diverse groups as farmers, small contractors, and women.

Assisting recent and low income immigrants to develop profitable farms is the goal of a Southside Community Land Trust project that received a $30,000 grant. At the Trust's newly-acquired, 50-acre farm in western Cranston, participants from Providence's Southside will receive instruction and technical assistance in farm management, farm a one-acre plot, participate in an equipment lending program, and sell their produce at the Broad Street Farmers' Market.

Small contractors from throughout the state looking to work on larger construction projects will benefit from a $30,000 grant to Bryant College. The college, through its Small Business Development Center, will offer small contractors and sub-contractors training, technical assistance, and SBA-backed financing and bonding.

Women are the focus of two economic opportunity grants - a $35,000 award to the Center for Women and Enterprise to support the Foundations for Success program by providing 85 low-income Rhode Island women with the training, technical assistance, and access to capital and technology necessary to start their own small businesses, and a $25,000 grant to the Women's Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties to expand an economic literacy program to youth and to initiate a peer lending and mentoring program for survivors of domestic violence and homelessness in Newport and Bristol counties.

Other economic opportunity grants include the following:

United Way of Southeastern New England, $75,000, for "Making It Work,a five-year effort to train and support adults on public assistance to move successfully into the workforce.

RI Coalition for Minority Investment, $50,000, to provide technical assistance and mentoring services to minority and disadvantaged small businesspeople and prospective entrepreneurs in Rhode Island.

Institute for Poverty Awareness and Education, $34,750, for its economic development program to provide low-income Woonsocket residents with financial training, budgeting, business plan development, micro-loans, and savings incentives.

Policy, Advocacy, and Leadership

Seven grants were made to organizations working in the area of policy and advocacy:

The largest grant in this area, $75,000, was awarded to Hispanics in Philanthropy, an affinity group of the Council on Foundations, for its Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities. Foundation dollars will be matched through the collaborative and will be used to support Latino-led, Latino-serving organizations in Rhode Island.

Grow Smart Rhode Island, $58,000, for continued support, through a 1:1 challenge grant, of this statewide organization's efforts to influence policy research, to provide education, and to strengthen capacity building around grow smart issues.

Progreso Latino, $50,000, for second-year support of a statewide, collaborative education and organizing program for immigrant workers' rights with the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, the Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy, and the Immigrant Action Committee at St. Teresa's Church.

Washington County Regional Planning Council, $40,000, to aid in its work with the nine towns in the county to balance local economic development with the preservation of natural and cultural resources.

Newport County Development Council, $30,000, toward planning activities for the re-use of de-commissioned Navy property on the West Side of Aquidneck Island with uses to include small business facilities, recreational open space, and affordable housing.

The Providence Plan, $25,000, for continued support of the Community Opportunity Zone Information Network project, a web-based network designed to help non-profits, public agencies, and residents learn about programs and services offered in the community.

Rhode Island Jobs With Justice, $20,000, to support coalition-building programs including the Providence Living Wage Campaign, the Workers' Rights Board, and the American Heroes program, the latter for youth, arts and cultural groups, and community organizations to recognize individuals not traditionally honored for their hard work.

Community Development

Projects that work to strengthen communities and neighborhoods include:
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) received the largest single grant, $100,000, for its Neighborhood Development Fund that supports community development corporations (CDCs) throughout the state to increase their ability to develop affordable housing.

Olneyville Housing Corporation, $50,000, to support a comprehensive redevelopment effort with a focus on revitalization of Providence's Olneyville Square and economic development initiatives for the neighborhood.

Rhode Island Housing Development Corporation, $50,000, for a funding pool for eight Rhode Island neighborhoods to implement action plans developed through the Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

Herreshoff Marine Museum, $25,000, to renovate and preserve the exteriors of six historic buildings that are part of the Herrreshoff Marine Complex in Bristol for use by marine-related businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Saint Elizabeth Community, $25,000, to support, through a 1:1 challenge grant, the conversion of its former nursing home in the Elmwood section of Providence into a 69-unit assisted living facility for low-income seniors.

Environment

Projects that support and/or conserve Rhode Island's natural resources include:

Nature Conservancy, $40,000, for the Rhode Island Land Trust Council and its work to support and advocate for the state's 47 local land trusts.

Coalition for Consumer Justice, $27,000, for continued support for People's Power and Light, a statewide educational program around energy efficiency and renewable energy, with a focus on its green electricity and oil heating programs.

Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, $25,000, to support the Council's regional planning and economic growth programs that integrate environmental restoration and historic preservation in the six Rhode Island communities through which the river flows.

Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, $20,000, to support this Hope Valley-based organization's plan to develop sound policy for water allocation and demand management for the 194,000-acre watershed.

Other Grants

Completing the myriad of projects approved by the Foundation board are:

Middletown School Department, $50,000, to support "Pathways to Leadership,a district-wide project that establishes new roles for principals and new leadership responsibilities for teachers.

John Hope Settlement House, $35,000, to support one of Providence's oldest social service agencies in its work to identify new donors and build an endowment to support its extensive programs for inner city residents.

The Foundation Board of Directors will meet again to review grant applications in December when proposals in the focus areas of education and the arts will be considered.