$500,000 in ARPA Funds Awarded to12 Providence Arts Nonprofits

Twelve arts and/or culture-based non-profit organizations have been awarded a total of $500,000 in grant funding through the Providence American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Additionally, the City celebrated the continued prioritization of public art, while also recognizing its Sidewalk Tattoo project.

The 12 non-profits selected for grant funding through the ARPA Special Events Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) are Providence Children’s Film Festival, DESIGNxRI, Southside Community Land Trust, Educational Center of Arts and Sciences (ECAS), The Steel Yard, FirstWorks, Federal Hill Commerce Association, D’High Class Human Development Agency, Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA), Oasis International, the Wilbury Theatre Group, and Quisqueya in Action, Inc.

Applicants were able to apply for up to $50,000 of demonstrated need. To be eligible for funding, these Providence-based, art and culture-based organizations had to (1) currently provide public special events programming and (2) have experienced negative impacts or disproportionate impacts of the pandemic as demonstrated by a year-to-year financial comparison with the fiscal year ending prior to March 2020.

Additionally, the Department of Art, Culture, + Tourism celebrated its the Sidewalk Tattoo public art program, made possible in part by the Art in City Life Ordinance. In early 2021, ACT and the Art in City Life Commission invited RI-based writers and artists to submit poetry or word-based art for permanent display on City sidewalks. Following the open call, the Art in City Life Commission awarded 30 artists $1,000 each, for a total of 30 poems or designs. The awarded poems were printed on reusable stamps, and the first two poems were installed into newly-repaired sidewalks in September of 2022. The first two tattoo installations can be found on Sharon Street, with many more to be applied in the future as funding and site conditions allow.

For more information on public art in Providence, please visit ACT’s website.

Leaders of 10 Local Organizations Chosen for New Nonprofit Innovation Lab

The leaders of 10 local organizations have been selected as fellows to participate in the latest Nonprofit Innovation Lab. This marks the third cohort of the joint effort of United Way of Rhode Island and Social Enterprise Greenhouse (SEG) that launched in 2020. The unique program challenges organizations to think outside the box to develop new solutions to pressing social issues, and offers an opportunity to secure seed funding to bring those ideas to life.

With the Nonprofit Innovation Lab, United Way and SEG help to accelerate organizations’ ability to hone and implement unique ideas with the potential to create positive social impact. The effort pairs each fellow with a custom team of coaches and provides the knowledge, resources, and networking opportunities that help turn transformative ideas into reality. The months-long program culminates with “Sparked!”, a “Shark Tank”-like presentation broadcast on Rhode Island PBS where fellows compete for $90,000 in seed funding and other in-kind services and supports. The fellows selected and their organizations are:

  • Christopher Antao, Gnome Surf
  • Elizabeth Cunha, The Center for Dynamic Learning
  • Eugenio Fernandez, Melior
  • Bior Guigni, Beat the Streets New England
  • Jody Jencks, Meeting Street
  • Helene Miller, The Partnership for Providence Parks, Recreation Centers, and Streetscapes (P3)
  • James Monteiro, Reentry Campus Program
  • Nicole O’Malley, Hands in Harmony
  • Valerie Tutson, Rhode Island Black Storytellers
  • Kristen Williams, Riverzedge Arts
  • Among the projects selected for advancement are Meeting Street’s vision to create a Teacher’s Assistant Apprenticeship Program to address both an ongoing labor shortage and the longstanding underrepresentation of minorities in the field; Hands in Harmony developing a specialized Mental Health and Music Wellness program to decrease stress and improve healthcare utilization; and Riverzedge Arts expanding its art and entrepreneurial programming to serve adults while simultaneously growing its career development and employment offerings for at-risk youth.

 

Olneyville Programs Awarded $182,708 in Grants by United Way of Rhode Island

Through its Olneyville Community Fund, United Way of Rhode Island has awarded $182,708 in grants to programs whose work is strengthening the Providence neighborhood it calls home. The investments focus on creating opportunities for all by improving access to services for residents, enhancing educational offerings for children through adults, and increasing nonprofit capacity to meet community need. Eleven organizations received funding.

Grantees include Amenity Aid, Children’s Friend, Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic, Community Libraries of Providence, FirstWorks, Inspiring Minds, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island, Olneyville Neighborhood Association, Project 401, Providence Promise, and Teatro ECAS.

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Champlin Foundation Awards $9.6 Million to Nonprofits Statewide

The Champlin Foundation announced more than $9.6 million in capital funding to 87 nonprofit organizations across the state.  Nonprofits receiving funding in this cycle serve Rhode Islanders of all ages across youth services, healthcare, arts and culture, and beyond. Among the recipients are 12 first-time grantees. 

The Champlin Foundation specifically supports capital improvements across nine areas of focus: arts and culture, conservation and parks, education, healthcare, historic preservation and heritage, libraries, social services, youth services, and welfare of animals. Every area is represented in this round of funding. Total giving by the Foundation will be supplemented with a second round of grants in fall 2022. 

The funding includes three $1 million awards, given to the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum, Crossroads Rhode Island, and the Boys and Girls Club of Providence.   It is unusual for Champlin to award three grants of this size in one cycle, but it speaks to both the tremendous need in the nonprofit community and the leadership and commitment of the grantees.  

The Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum is preparing to build a comprehensive, four-building campus on 18 acres of rural University of Rhode Island land in South Kingstown that honors the region’s Indigenous history with a new museum, robust archives, a maker’s space, as well as a building for educational programming. 

In the face of an urgent statewide affordable housing crisis, Champlin awarded a $1 million grant to Crossroads Rhode Island, the leading provider of homeless services. The organization’s main headquarters, which is the epicenter of service and support for the more than 1,100 Rhode Islanders who face housing insecurity on any given day, is in need of significant exterior restoration and repair.  

The third and final $1 million grant in this cycle is going to the Boys and Girls Club of Providence, which plans to renovate and expand its Wanskuck Clubhouse. The branch opened in 1927 and has been providing recreational activities and educational programming to the young people of the city’s North End ever since. The Boys and Girls Club of Providence is also a longstanding grantee, having received the first of what has been an annual grant from The Champlin Foundation in 1958. 

In addition to the three mentioned, grants supporting other transformational projects were awarded to Teatro ECAS, which is building out a larger theater in the Valley Arts District; Save the Bay, which is moving its Newport aquarium to a greatly expanded new Downtown space; Revive the Roots in Smithfield, which is acquiring land and the historic Mowry house; and a grant to CCRI that will completely update the Dental Hygiene program’s equipment at the Lincoln campus.  

 The full list of grantees and their awards is available on the Champlin website

RISCA, RI Arts Organizations Awarded Over $900,000 from NEA

As part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ $91 million grantmaking initiative (Arts Projects, Our Town, and State and Regional Partnerships),  Rhode Island State Council of the Arts and five local nonprofits received a total of almost $990,000.

Nonprofit recipients were Community MusicWorks, Brown University, First Works, Newport Music Festival, and AS220.

Rhode Island Foundation’s Black Philanthropy Bannister Fund Awards $105,000 in Grants

The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded $105,000 in grants to nonprofits serving the state’s Black community through its Black Philanthropy Bannister Fund.

The fund supports nonprofits that offer youth development and mentoring, promote the history and achievements of Blacks in Rhode Island, preserve the culture of the Black community and strive to uplift low-income Black Rhode Islanders.

Fifteen organizations received grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.  Recipients include:

  • Mixed Magic Theatre & Cultural Events
  • YMCA of Pawtucket
  • Rhode Island Slave History Medallions
  • AS220
  • College Visions
  • The Everett School
  • The John Hope Settlement House
  • A Leadership Journey
  • Mt. Hope Learning Center
  • New Bridges for Haitian Success
  • New Urban Arts
  • The Nonviolence Institute
  • Oasis International
  • Providence Promise
  • Rhode Island Black Storytellers

The fund also offers scholarships for Black students who are pursuing or advancing a career in health care in college or a technical school. Last year, the fund awarded $55,300 to 24 recipients. The deadline to apply for 2022 scholarship assistance is April 18.

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National Endowment for the Arts announces $195,000 in Project Funding to 11 RI arts organizations

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today the first round of recommended awards for fiscal year 2022, with 11 awards totaling nearly $195,000 to Rhode Island-based arts and culture organizations.

Nationally, the first round of NEA’s recommended awards for fiscal year 2022 totaled 1,498 organizations and nearly $33.2 million in funds. The Grants for Arts Projects funding spanned 15 artistic disciplines and reached communities in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Recipients of the Challenge America grant program, NEA Literature Fellowships in creative writing and translation, and support for arts research projects were also included in this announcement.

Click here to see the national listing of grantees.

RISCA and RIHPHC Award $3.46 million in Capital Grants

Governor Dan McKee, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission (RIHPHC) jointly announced the recipients of 24 State Cultural Facilities Grants and 18 State Preservation Grants.
Together the projects represent some $2.28 million from RISCA and more than $1.18 million from RIHPHC for capital preservation work at public and nonprofit arts and performance facilities, museums, cultural arts centers and historic sites throughout the state.
Last March, Rhode Island voters overwhelmingly passed the Cultural Arts and State Preservation Grants Programs ballot measure, which authorized the state to allocate funds to arts, culture and historic facilities. Included in this funding are carryover funds from the 2014 $30 million ballot measure totaling $460,930.
For a listing of State Cultural Facilities Grants, click here.
For more on HPHC’s State Preservation Grants, visit www.preservation.ri.gov.

RI Arts and Humanities Councils Award Nearly $1 Million in Grants with Federal Funds

One hundred twenty one culture, humanities and arts nonprofits have been awarded grants through the Rhode Island Culture, Humanities and Arts Recovery Grant (RI CHARG) program, a historic collaborative partnership between the State Council on the Arts (RISCA) and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (Humanities Council).
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded $968,000 in assistance to Rhode Island from their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and is not part of the $1.1 billion in ARPA funding awarded to the state.
These federally appropriated cultural assistance funds administered by RISCA and the Humanities Council provide general operating support grants of $8,000 each to 121 culture, humanities, and arts nonprofits:
● 95% are small to midsize and/or Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) centered organizations;
● 65% are organizations based outside the city of Providence; and
● More than 25% are first-time grantees.
Click here to read the list of grantees.

Community Leaders Call for More Investment and Focus on Rhode Island’s Nonprofit Sector

Several community leaders — Mario Bueno of Progreso Latino, Anthony Hubbard of YouthBuild Preparatory Academy, Cortney Nicolato of United Way, and Daniel Schliefer of New Urban Arts — published a commentary piece in the Boston Globe on the importance of investing in the capacity and sustainability of the nonprofit sector.

Rhode Island can no longer overlook, and underfund, its nonprofit sector

Over the last 19 months, Rhode Island’s nonprofit organizations have been the heart, hands and feet of Rhode Island’s relief and recovery efforts.  They provided food and shelter to Rhode Islanders in need. Helped underserved communities access testing and vaccines.  Supported children and families with the challenges of distance learning.  Provided physical and behavioral health care.  Helped isolated seniors connect with loved ones and services.  Provided support and training for small businesses and social entrepreneurs.  Trained workers for new jobs.  Uplifted somber days with beautiful music and art.

In some ways, the last year-and-a-half has been a story of unprecedented commitment and heroism. Faced with the confluence of health, economic, and racial justice crises, Rhode Island nonprofits rose to the challenge of skyrocketing need. At great personal and organizational cost, they overcame public health restrictions, inadequate staffing, physical and emotional exhaustion, and fundraising limitations to deliver services in innovative ways. They were a lifeline to thousands of Rhode Islanders during their darkest moments.

In other ways, the commitment and heroism displayed by our state’s nonprofits during the pandemic is completely normal. It is what happens when organizations are driven by mission and collective social benefit.

Every single day, pandemic or not, quiet, essential work is done across Rhode Island by nonprofit organizations.  Skilled, dedicated, compassionate staff work with limited resources to care for our neighbors, empower our children, and build flourishing communities.  Community-based organizations provide the expertise, energy, and innovation to make the state’s vision for strong, equitable, prosperous cities and towns a reality. Every. Single. Day.

And every day, whether in times of crisis or plenty, the state depends on these same nonprofits to make Rhode Island lives and communities better.  Yet, at nearly every turn, this vital sector is under-resourced, stretched thin, and often taken for granted.

Like the steel beams that undergird our bridges, the crucial work of our state’s nonprofits is so integral to the health and well-being of our communities that it can easily be overlooked.  But like our physical infrastructure, our “civic infrastructure” of unheralded nonprofits, collaborative networks, and community-based initiatives cannot continue to carry the weight of our state’s critical needs without comprehensive, long-term investment.

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