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NHPRI | Downcity| Arts | Fellows | Website| Advisors | New Funds | Ed Reforms | Convenings | A Bank's Legacy

NHPRI
Children without adequate health coverage often get their “preventive” care in emergency rooms. In other words, they get none.

In the 1990s, Rhode Island aggressively pursued and won a series of Medicaid waivers that allowed the state to offer HMO membership to families with children who live under 250 percent of the poverty line. Called RIte Care, the innovative program has grown to provide a comprehensive array of services to 68,470 Rhode Island children.

RIte Care’s strongest advocate has been the Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (NHPRI), an HMO created by the state’s 14 community health centers which have traditionally provided the most accessible health care to the poor. In only 7 years, NHPRI has become the HMO of choice for 59% of RIte Care families, even eclipsing the much better known Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

But for strategic reasons NHPRI was originally established as a for-profit venture with majority out-of-state ownership. To ensure that its high-quality health care coverage would always be available to low-income Rhode Islanders, in 2000 the Foundation purchased NHPRI’s out-of-state stock, converting it into a 20-year, low-interest loan, and NHPRI applied for permanent, nonprofit status.

Downcity
Downcity Providence is a 6 by 10-block showpiece of some of the most beautiful commercial architecture in Rhode Island, situated on intimate and personable streets and byways. But it is a neighborhood that now only whispers of its once glorious past as the shopping district for Rhode Islanders. With an estimated 300,000 square feet of abandoned floor space, much of which has been untouched for 30 years or more, Downcity has settled into a very undemanding equilibrium. Look upward from a street level of only modest storefront activity; the empty windows reflect either an unwillingness or an inability to resurrect its earlier successes. In 2000, the Foundation took its first steps to stimulate the area’s revival by establishing a $9 million revolving loan fund and a new nonprofit, the Downcity Partnership Inc. Both the Partnership and the financial resources will support private and public efforts to create mixed-income residential housing, encourage retail economic growth, and expand a nascent but vibrant arts and entertainment district.

Above photo by David Brussat

Arts
Even in the midst of World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed large increases in subsidies to his nation’s arts. When asked why, he replied, “To remind us what we are fighting for.”With communities from Woonsocket to Westerly employing the arts as economic generators, with schools from Pawtucket to Kingston recognizing the power of the arts to educate, and with more Rhode Islanders than ever simply enjoying museums, theatres, galleries, and concert halls, the Foundation in 2000 declared the Arts as its fourth focus area. An already-committed $1.7 million in projects will bring new artistic works to Rhode Island, expand arts education in the schools, enable institutions to secure their futures, and bring public art to communities.

By exceeding the budget for the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts (RISCA), the Foundation simultaneously challenged state government to up its own commitment to this centerpiece of Rhode Island’s future.

The Foundation also brought the arts home to One Union Station, with a new state-of-the-art gallery which has already been named as “one of the top ten places in Rhode Island to hang”.

Above photo by Shane Photography.

Fellows
They traveled across four continents, learned new languages, interviewed exemplary leaders, took yoga and fly-fishing lessons, attended Harvard and Wharton Business Schools, wrote several chapters of a mystery novel, and honed public speaking skills.”They“ are the 20 inaugural Foundation Fellows who were given the opportunity to realize their dreams for personal and professional growth – to break new ground, learn new skills, and experiment with new approaches.

The program advances four Foundation beliefs:

1. Excellent leadership is the most important criteria determining nonprofit success;

2. Nonprofit leaders and their organizations face constant change, generally low remuneration, and workloads that often force myopic tendencies;

3. Too few opportunities are available to the sector for professional development and renewal; and

4. The nonprofit sector carries the weight of all the Foundation does. Without strong nonprofit leadership in the community, the Foundation will not have strong partners. With inaugural Fellows describing their experiences as ”incredibly empowering,” ”a recharge opportunity,“ and ”a life-changing event,“ the program is continuing in 2001 for additional individuals seeking ”to re-energize and enhance nonprofit leadership across the Ocean State.“

Above photo courtesy of Bill Shuey

Website
‘Hits’ at the Rhode Island Foundation rose significantly throughout 2000, from 35,000 in January to more than 105,000 in December. (The number exceeded 200,000 at publication deadline.)

No, it’s not violence that’s escalating, but rather usage of the Foundation’s web site, “http://www.rifoundation.org”. ‘Hits’ measure activity on the site, such as a visitor viewing a page or downloading a file.

Much of the increased usage can be attributed to the Foundation’s renewed interactive site which was launched in April — “Rhode Island’s Center for Philanthropy: Cyberspace Edition.” The site allows visitors to search a database of more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations in the state and find volunteer opportunities based on their individual profile.

Special sections address issues of concern to philanthropists, including stories of Rhode Islanders who have partnered with the Foundation to create their philanthropic legacies. Grant seekers may apply on-line for Leadership Development Grants and submit Letters of Intent, and students can learn about scholarship opportunities.

The website has already won two national awards, including a coveted one from the Foundation’s colleagues across the nation. But the fact that more people every month are finding it a valuable resource is the best possible reward.

Advisors
Professional advisors — estate planners, lawyers, accountants, and others — play a key role in helping philanthropic individuals meet their charitable goals.

To recognize the advisor’s role and to honor one exceptional individual for his enduring commitment to philanthropy, the Foundation in 2000 established The Harold B. Soloveitzik Professional Leadership Award. An attorney in Westerly, Mr. Soloveitzik has demonstrated the importance of giving back to the community throughout his life and was singled out as the award’s namesake due to the “tremendous leadership he has exercised through his support and promotion of philanthropy.”

The inaugural award was presented to Edward B. “Ned” Corcoran, senior partner at the Newport law firm Corcoran, Peckham and Hayes. A graduate of Brown and Columbia universities, Mr. Corcoran has served the Town of Middletown for more than 40 years, beginning on the Zoning Board of Review and culminating as president of the Town Council. As just one additional example of his dedication to the community, he currently co-chairs, with his wife Ruth, the Vision 2001 capital campaign at Newport Hospital.

The Foundation will select one professional advisor to honor with the Harold B. Soloveitzik Professional Leadership Award each year.

New Funds
Every year Rhode Islanders contribute a bit more “permanence” to The Rhode Island Foundation in the form of endowments, the best way for a philanthropic individual to say, ‘this gift is forever.’

In 2000, a record 48 new endowments worth $5.4 million brought the Foundation’s total “permanence” to 674 separate funds.

As always, the range of the endowments reflected the diversity of the givers themselves. Providence resident Zabel Berg established a fund to thank the Newman Congregational Church in Rumford for its kindness to her developmentally-disabled son, Harrison. The Woodcock family who summer in Rhode Island created a fund from which the parents and the children alike will recommend grants each year. The Tiverton Land Trust Fund will perpetually support the Pardon Gray Preserve and other properties owned by the Trust. Providence Police Major Cornel Young and prominent attorney Walter Stone both created memorials in the face of the tragic deaths of their children, for scholarships and for the arts, respectively. Others asked the Foundation to choose grants.

Ten of the 48 endowments are promises for the future, based on financial arrangements such as charitable gift annuities that enable the giver to derive some income from his or her gift during a lifetime, with that income shifting to the charitable purpose upon their deaths.

Above photo by Peter Silvia, Jr.

Ed Reform
When Bill Gates was looking to expand his education grantmaking beyond his home state of Washington, neither Rhode Islanders nor The Rhode Island Foundation was surprised he selected the Ocean State.

The Foundation, long-recognized as a major grantmaker in the state, is taking on an increasingly larger role as a grant seeker — working to attract grant dollars from national funders. In addition to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, RIF has partnered with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, among others.

In the case of the Gates Foundation, a $780,000 grant was made for a leadership development program for superintendents and principals and a $500,000 grant was made to establish 112 technologically-advanced, model classrooms in 56 schools across the state.

Also in 2000, the Gates Foundation awarded two additional grants in Rhode Island that RIF is administering — approximately $13.5 million to the Providence School District and nearly $2 million to the Coventry School District — to support the creation of smaller, personalized learning environments that help all students achieve.

National foundations are learning that community foundations, which know their respective local areas, are sound partners for a statewide or local effort.

Photo of Coventry High School at lunchtime
by James Beach Brennan

Convenings
At the beginning of the 20th century, rail service was a preferred means of travel and Union Station was bustling with activity, as nearly 300 trains entered and left the station daily.

Although the last train departed the station in 1986, Union Station continues to bustle with activity. During 2000, more than 100 nonprofit and government agencies accepted the Foundation’s invitation to utilize meeting space within our new headquarters.

The Foundation’s role as “convener” for a large, diverse, and growing group of organizations supports the goal of being a center for philanthropy in Rhode Island. The Foundation has quickly become a place to conduct meetings, discuss the issues of the day, and do creative thinking.

Groups as small as a few dozen people — such as the Rhode Island Alliance’s Non-Profit Management Training for Executive Directors series — to those exceeding 200 people — including The Rhode Island School of Design’s reception and preview of the Foundation-hosted art exhibition, “Virginia Lynch: A Curatorial Retrospective” — have met almost daily in the facilities.

Above Photo: Lawyers and tax experts gather in the Foundation’s Rhode Island Room to discuss the potential impact of estate tax repeal.

Above photo by Robin Blossom

A Bank's Legacy
The Rhode Island Hospital Trust (RIHT) had a noble beginning. In the midst of the Civil War, civic leaders agreed that the state needed a hospital, and that the fledgling institution must have an ongoing source of income. In 1868, Rhode Island Hospital was born.

RIHT ultimately became the oldest trust company in New England, dedicating at first approximately one-third of its net profit to Rhode Island Hospital, which later became a major stockholder.

By 1916, both the bank and hospital were well established and important community institutions. That year the bank became a partner to a third institution: “a permanent fund for assisting and promoting worthy charities and by securing… the preservation and proper application of the property given.” Namely, The Rhode Island Foundation.

Through the next eight decades, the bank’s daily involvement was able to decrease as the Foundation’s staff and expertise grew. In 2000, already absorbed by BankBoston and soon to lose all semblance of its historic name as Fleet and BankBoston merged, Rhode Island Hospital Trust “let the child go,” and the Foundation entered entirely into corporate form.
Rhode Island Hospital Trust National Bank is now another classic Rhode Island memory, but Rhode Island Hospital and The Rhode Island Foundation are legacies of which it can be proud.

Above photo from a painting by Maxwell Mays