Policy, Advocacy, and Systems Reform

In the second year of the Foundation’s Attaining Vibrant Communities grants program, 22 (17%) of the 131 proposals received were in the Policy, Advocacy and Systems Reform (PASR) strategy.  Of these, 17 were funded, representing 20% of the 86 grants made.  In dollars, the funded PASR proposals total $747,450, or 22% of the $3,426,351 awarded overall.  The range and mean of the Policy, Advocacy and Systems Reform grants are, respectively, from $15,000 to $135,000, and $43,968.

Together, the 17 Policy, Advocacy and Systems Reform grants encompass a wide range of sectoral focus, approach, specific activities and geography.  For the second year, the largest single cluster of PASR grants is in the area of housing, representing seven (44%) of the grants made and $261,450 (35%) of the total awarded. Once again, the activities funded range from grassroots organizing campaigns to community-based housing planning projects, and from research and policy development to new pilot models for increasing the number of permanent affordable housing units developed in the state.

Two of the largest grants made in the Policy, Advocacy and Systems Reform strategy (and, indeed, in the Attaining Vibrant Communities grants program) are to the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College and Rhode Island Kids Count.  Each serves as the principal research and policy development entity in the state on poverty issues for, respectively, adults and children, and provide the data and analysis furthering strengthening of the support systems necessary to sustain our most vulnerable citizens.

The third grant cluster focuses, broadly, on community organizing. Six grants totaling $195,000 fund campaigns adopting different organizing strategies on issues ranging from separation of powers to the elderly and from prison issues and justice reinvestment to health care.

We invite you to delve deeper by reading the individual grant summaries that follow, and to contact the relevant organizations, or us at the Foundation, for further information. Happy reading!

• American Institute for Social Justice,  $35,000, for ACORN’s (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) efforts to assist in organizing low- and moderate-income families in such areas as education, financial literacy, predatory lending and utilities in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket.
• Church Community Housing, $15,000, for Housing Our Community in Jamestown, to help establish a local fund to finance construction and/or renovation of affordable housing for island residents.
• Common Cause Education Fund, $25,000, to support the Separation of Powers Transition & Implementation project which will broaden the representation on boards and commissions.
• Conservation Law Foundation, $25,000, for the Vibrant Communities Through Healthy Rivers project that supports river protection efforts and organizations on the Blackstone River.
• Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), $35,000, for Behind the Walls, a statewide campaign for “justice reinvestment,” an effort to reallocate dollars currently being spent on punitive measures in the criminal justice system back to affected communities, and with the issue of felon voter disenfranchisement.
• Gray Panthers, $50,000, for the Senior Agenda Consortium that seeks to improve the quality of life for the state’s elderly residents through lobbying for prescription drug policies, drug price reform, coordination of benefits, assisted living waiver funding, and transportation.
• Grow Smart Rhode Island, $55,000, to implement the 2004 Housing Act and promote additional housing initiatives throughout the state.
• Grow Smart Rhode Island, $41,000, for this statewide organization’s research, policy analysis, and capacity building around such issues as affordable housing, growth centers, property tax reform, and brownfield development.
• Housing Network of Rhode Island, $40,000, for Developing New Partners for Neighborhood Revitalization, a project that is creating a statewide community reinvestment organization and further developing the statewide land trust.
• Ocean State Action, $25,000, for the Health Care Organizing Project that is advocating for universal health insurance in Rhode Island.
• Providence Plan, $32,950, to further develop the Urban Land Reform in Providence project, a citywide, Internet-based real estate database that supports both a strategic plan for using vacant and abandoned property and an early warning system to predict and prevent property abandonment.
• Rhode Island College School of Social Work, $135,000, to support the statewide Poverty Institute’s role in providing data and policy analysis relating to low-income families and to ensure that Rhode Island’s tax and budget policies are equitable, produce adequate revenue to finance the state’s basic services, and support economic development that creates jobs offering career advancement.
• Rhode Island Kids Count, $100,000, for its statewide efforts to sustain public investments in child care and other income supports for families transitioning from welfare to work, as well as to establish early learning standards for child care, and to begin extensive policy efforts in the areas of improving the mental health system for children.
• Rhode Island Parents for Progress, $25,000, for its bilingual community organizer who works particularly with new immigrant women; many of whom are single mothers, to teach them self-advocacy skills that enable them to join the workforce.
• University of Rhode Island Foundation, $35,000, to support the Washington County Regional Planning Council as it continues its work in open space, affordable housing, transportation, economic development, and water supply/quality.
• Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, $25,000, for the Providence Greenspace Initiative, a citywide, community-based alliance of Providence residents and organizations dedicated to the development and care of public places, such as neighborhood parks.
• Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation, $48,500, for the Northern Rhode Island Affordable Homes ACTION Coalition, a multi-year project for six communities in northern Rhode Island to meet the state’s 10% affordable housing  goal.

Organizational and Leadership Development

In the second year of the Foundation’s Attaining Vibrant Communities Strategy Grants program, 59 (45%) of the 131 proposals received were in the Organizational and Leadership Development strategy.  Of these, 44 were funded, representing 50% of the 86 grants made.  In dollars, the funded proposals total $1,518,140, or 44% of the $3,435,493 awarded overall. The award range of the Organizational and Leadership Development grants is from $9,000 to $225,000, with a median grant award being $34.500.

These Organizational and Leadership Development strategy grants represent a continued commitment to building the capacity and infrastructure of the nonprofit sector, which we rely on to ensure that the most vulnerable and marginalized residents of our state are able to access educational, economic, health, social and cultural resources to lead productive and meaningful lives. Once again, under this strategy, the Foundation has supported diverse organizations – promising (Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation) and established (Corporation for Supportive Housing), grassroots (Westerly Area Rest Meals - WARM) and well established (International Institute of Rhode Island) – representing a broad range of fields and issues.

Each grant seeks to focus mission, strengthen financial and fundraising systems, expand programs, and/or enhance quality of services. To this end, the Foundation is supporting organizations’ efforts to update long-term strategic plans (New Urban Arts, Prevent Child Abuse-Rhode Island), design marketing plans (The Pawtucket Armory), create comprehensive fund development plans (Youth Pride), develop formal assessment systems (International Charter School) and improve organizational facilities (IN-SIGHT). The Foundation also invested in a number of collaborations (Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Nature Conservancy, VNS Home Health Services, and the Rhode Island Natural History Survey) in which organizations and groups with overlapping missions and constituents come together to share resources, and create efficiencies to strengthen a field in ways otherwise impossible.

One critical concern not reflected within this pool of grants pertains to leadership development opportunities, especially for youth, new immigrants and marginalized residents. In the future, the Foundation hopes to invest in the training, coaching and organizing of new leaders who reflect the changing demographics of the state’s population, and who can advocate on behalf of disenfranchised communities.

The Foundation understands that organizational and leadership development is an ongoing effort, yet we hope to see continuous improvement in the nonprofit sector over the course of five to ten years in part as a result of our investments in this strategy.  We urge you to delve deeper by reading the comprehensive summaries that follow, and to contact the responsible organizations, or us at the Foundation, for further information.

• 2nd Story Theatre, $32,000, for long-range planning for this Warren-based theater and for statewide fundraising.
• Aquidneck Island Land Trust, $10,000, to assist this agency which serves Middletown, Newport, and Portsmouth to strengthen its capacity in community outreach, communications, and volunteer management and to develop a conservation docent program
• Arts and Business Council of Rhode Island, $25,000, to further develop ArtTix, a statewide ticketing and box office service, through improved software, technical assistance to its members, brand name recognition with art patrons, and enhanced service delivery.
• Association of Fundraising Professionals-RI Chapter, $25,000, to help the organization increase its services and support to the Rhode Island community through support of its director of volunteers, programs, and marketing.
• Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, $13,000, to assist this organization serving northeast Rhode Island to identify and bring new leaders together to explore issues such as preserving the natural resources of the watershed, developing a tourism industry, building a transportation corridor, and coping with economic challenges.
• Brown University, $21,332, to support the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service in the start-up of the Providence Youth Council which will be responsible for soliciting input from youth citywide, forming a youth policy agenda and, through advocacy and public education, making that agenda a reality.
• Community MusicWorks, $25,000, to support this Providence organization that provides music education for at-risk children and families in its efforts to implement a fundraising campaign for new staff and sustainability.
• Connecting for Children & Families, $70,000, to support start-up costs for the new Hope Street Family Center which will serve 95 Woonsocket children, from infants to school age.
• Corporation for Supportive Housing, $45,000, for the statewide Expanding Supportive Housing in Rhode Island initiative which provides housing and necessary social services to single adults, more than three-quarters of the homeless population.
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, $30,825, to support the agency’s Teen Center and its program of leadership development for Newport youth.
• In-Sight, $17,700, to improve the safety and efficiency of this Warwick-based agency’s industrial workshop in Rumford which evaluates, trains, and employs the blind and severely visually-impaired from throughout the state.
• International Charter School, $30,000, to develop a comprehensive learning assessment system for this K-4 charter school in Pawtucket.
• International Institute of Rhode Island, $42,000, for a fund development and marketing campaign for Rhode Island’s only resettlement agency for new immigrants and refugees.
• Island Arts, $18,500, to support the Community Arts Project which provides an array of out-of-school time art classes to Newport youth ages 6 to 18.
• Island Moving Company, $15,000, for a director of educational programs who will develop additional opportunities for school-based programs throughout the state, as well as for corporate and leadership training in the region.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), $225,000, for its Neighborhood Development Fund effort to support community development corporations (CDC) as they revitalize neighborhoods and create affordable housing, with a focus on expanding into Washington County.
• The Nature Conservancy, $35,000, to support the executive director of the statewide Land Trust Council as it coordinates the efforts of the various local land trusts and to advocate at the state level for land preservation issues.
• New England Grassroots Environment Fund, $25,000, for a small grassroots grants, training, outreach, and consulting program for Rhode Island organizations that are involved in, as its motto states, “protecting the environment and practicing democracy.”
• New Urban Arts, $25,000, to support capacity building through marketing and fund development for this Providence organization that seeks to empower youth as artists and leaders through after school youth development programs.
• Newport Art Museum, $20,000, to support the design and operation of the Museum’s rental program which will provide a site for local meetings and private events while also providing a source of income.
• Ocean State Action Fund, $30,000, for this statewide organization’s Capacity Building Initiative, with a focus on implementing a strategic plan.
• Olneyville Housing Corporation, $45,000, for the Olneyville Capacity Building Initiative that is working to continue building Olneyville neighborhood’s assets and vitality.
• Pawtucket Armory Association, $40,000, for support of the Arts Exchange, a regional center for the arts and arts education located in the historic Pawtucket Armory.
• Pawtucket Citizens Development Corporation, $20,000, for the Pawtucket Neighborhood Revitalization program of outreach and education activities.
• People’s Power & Light, $25,000, to expand the heating oil program which provides heating oil at a reduced rate to low-income Rhode Islanders.
• Prevent Child Abuse Rhode Island, $15,000, for an organizational leadership and capacity-building project focusing on the statewide organization’s board capacity, financial stability, and programs.
• Providence Black Repertory Company, $38,000, for a marketing initiative which will enable this statewide organization to increase its outreach, audience development, ticket sales, and other earned income support.
• Providence City Arts for Youth, $35,000, to sustain and stabilize this program which serves at-risk youth in South Providence, Elmwood, Washington Park, and the West End.
• Rhode Island Black Storytellers, $10,000, to support this statewide organization’s efforts to increase programming and to secure additional regional and national funding.
• Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, $100,000, for the Abuse Prevention Education Network’s efforts to increase the capacity of domestic violence organizations, to increase parental involvement, and to develop a comprehensive youth campaign.
• Rhode Island Free Clinic, $20,000, to support implementation of the data collection, management, and research so this Providence medical facility that only serves people without health insurance can track volunteer staff, patient demographics, and clinical records.
• Rhode Island Natural History Survey, $47,500, for the Rhode Island Rivers Council’s role of coordinating and supporting the state’s numerous watershed protection organizations.
• Rhode Island Natural History Survey, $30,085, for the Ecological Inventory, Monitoring and Stewardship Program that provides scientific data to assist with land stewardship and management.
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), $9,350, for the Guide for Design Professionals, online lists of electronic resources and relevant periodicals at RISD, descriptions of some of the Library’s Special Collections, and a directory of other local business and design resources.
• Saugatucket River Heritage Corridor Coalition, $16,000, to support this Washington County river protection organization’s efforts to attract new members, expand services, and increase fundraising capacity.
• Sophia Academy, $35,000, for the Career Mentor Program that assists 7th and 8th grade students in formulating and planning career goals at this middle school for girls from Providence’s low-income neighborhoods.
• Thundermist Health Center, $40,558, for the West Warwick Community Dental Program that will provide school-based dental services to 480 students at two elementary schools.
• Trinity Repertory Company, $25,000, for an audience diversification plan to enable this statewide theater to better serve minority populations.
• United Methodist Elder Care, $25,000, for the Adding Life To Years Comprehensive Campaign to raise funds for independent living apartments in East Providence.
• VNS Home Health Services, $40,000, to support the Washington County Risk Response Team as it works to fill gaps in services for children and their families.
• Westerly Area Rest Meals, $40,000, to support the ongoing capacity-building efforts of this organization serving the homeless and needy in Westerly.
• Westerly Armory Restoration, $25,000, to support restoration of this 1902 building which serves as a community center for the town.
• Youth In Action, $20,000, for organizational and leadership development for this Provi-dence organization that empowers low-income, at-risk urban youth, engages them in decision making, and trains them to manage programs and to address issues that affect their lives.
• Youth Pride, $36,290, to support Rhode Island’s only organization working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth to strengthen its financial base through increased and expanded development work.

Innovative Models and Proven Programs

In the second year of the Foundation’s Attaining Vibrant Communities grants program, 50 (38%) of the 131 proposals received were in the Innovative Models and Proven Programs strategy.  Of these, 26 were funded, representing 30% of the 87 grants made.  In dollars, the funded proposals total $1,169,903 or 34% of the $3,435,493 awarded overall.  The range of the Innovative Models and Proven Programs grants for 2003 was from $15,000 to $98,400; the median grant award was $41,946.

Together, these grants represent a wide range of focus, approach, activity and location.  A number of the projects are looking to reform, through the development of new models or the adaptation of existing ones, the delivery and quality of complex social systems.  Others are, by contrast, focused on individual neighborhoods or a subset of a larger community, developing the case for new approaches from the ground up.  All are committed to the charge of attaining vibrant communities in Rhode Island and have the partnerships, resources and leadership in place to turn their respective visions into a working reality.

Thematically, 2004 saw a number of projects working in the following areas: access to quality mental health; adult education and business/workforce development; and youth development and engagement.  The effort of several nonprofits to develop revenue-generating businesses that support their bottom line while advancing their social mission is significant and represents a hopeful trend in the sector.  By contrast, there still is little in this strategy or in the Strategy Grant program as a whole that addresses the disparate quality of public education in Rhode Island.

We urge you to delve deeper by reading the individual grant summaries that follow, and to contact the responsible organizations, or us at the Foundation, for further information.

• Amos House, $70,000, for the Amos Culinary Education Program, a Providence-based employment training and job readiness initiative that prepares selected Amos House clients for entry-level jobs in the food industry.
• Autism Project of Rhode Island, $52,000, for the statewide Parent Coaching Program that will offer initial training, skill building, and support to families with children with autism, focusing on the Spanish-speaking community and other key populations.
• The Big Picture Company, $40,000. for start-up costs for the Metropolitan Regional Career & Technical Center’s Adolescent Health Center which will provide health services to a pilot group of 580 of its students from Providence.
• Crossroads Rhode Island, $67,000, to expand its vocational services to include a copy center with a program to train homeless Rhode Islanders for entry-level positions in the printing business.
• Dorcas Place Adult & Family Learning Center, $98,400, for the Career Academies for Low-Income Adults, a community-to-career pilot for Providence adults with below minimum literacy, numeric, and language skills.
• English for Action, $24,750, for support of this neighborhood-based organization that has been offering English for Speakers of Other Languages classes in Providence’s Olneyville section since 1999.
• Everett Dance Theatre, $35,000, for the Tiered Mentorship Program, an out-of-school arts initiative that connects middle and high school youth from Providence with the expertise of dance, theater, writing, and video production professionals.
• Family Resources Community Action, $33,000, for Project Impact that assists Woonsocket teen parents and their children with an emphasis on education and self-sufficiency, as well as to advocate for a funding policy at the Federal and State level.
• Family Service, $48,000, for replication of a successful school-based mental health program in three North Kingstown schools: Davisville Elementary, Davisville Middle, and North Kingstown High School.
• Family Service, $35,000, to expand the highly-successful Providence Child Development-Community Policing Program, in partnership with the Providence Police Department, to include a prevention component for Providence children and their families who are victims, witnesses, or perpetrators of violent crimes or domestic abuse.
• Gateway Healthcare, $25,000, to expand the Integrated Primary Care Project serving Pawtucket and Central Falls residents with additional psychotherapy services and weekly consultative services for the Latino community.
• Kids First, $40,200, for Transforming School Nutrition: Better Meals for Pawtucket Students, a program that will result in healthier lunch offerings for students at Slater, Jenks and Goff Middle Schools.
• Little Compton Community Center Corporation, $18,700, for start-up costs of the Youth Involvement Initiative which will develop, implement, and evaluate a pilot series of after-school activities for middle school students from Little Compton.
• Meeting Street Center, $75,000, for evaluation of services offered through the Infant Mental Health program and for training of other Earlier Intervention providers in the state.
• Quality Partners of Rhode Island, $70,000, for the Access Improvement Project which seeks to connect Rhode Islanders to primary care providers.
• Rhode Island Parent Information Network, $41,891, to expand the volunteer component of the Parent Consultant Program which trains women experienced in navigating the healthcare system as advocates for families statewide.
• Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, $15,000, for Creative Communities, a partnership of the Orchestra and the Pawtucket Housing Authority, which provides youth at two public housing developments with after-school music classes and lessons, as well as the opportunity to audition for the Philharmonic’s youth orchestra.
• Rhode Island Rural Development Council, $25,000, for the Rhode Island Dairy Farms Cooperative to develop new products and corresponding packaging, to market “Rhody Fresh” products, and to retain business and legal consulting services.
• RiverzEdge Arts Project, $55,000, for this innovative model that provides youth empowerment and economic development through microenterprise and the arts to Woonsocket area youth.
• Southside Community Land Trust, $30,000, for the New Farmer Incubator Project that supports the new farm business ventures of recent- and low-income immigrants from Providence’s Southside.
• Thundermist Health Center, $42,000, for two models of integrated health services, one in Woonsocket and the other in Pawtucket, that work to improve integration of behavioral and primary health services.
• United Way of Rhode Island, $60,000, for Making It Work, a program that provides support for un- and under-employed adults in Providence and Northern Rhode Island to gain job skills, readiness and gainful employment.
• VNS Home Health Services, $42,142, to demonstrate the effects of a telemonitoring health promotion project on chronic disease management at Washington County senior centers.
• Warwick House of Hope, $25,420, for the Jefferson Boulevard Convent Project which will provide 13 transitional housing units and comprehensive case management services for previously-homeless Warwick families, including individuals with physical and mental disabilities.
• Westerly Public Schools, $50,000, for a pilot program at Westerly High School and Babcock Middle School which uses handheld computers in the instruction of math, science, and technology, and allows a teacher to see immediately what percentage of a class has mastered the key concepts in a unit or lesson.
• Youth Pride, $51,400, for the statewide Safe Zone Initiative which seeks to empower youth and their adult allies in schools and the community to improve school climates to ensure the safety of all students, with a focus during 2005 on Newport.