Rhode Island Foundation Offers Grants for Services to RI’s Latino community

PROVIDENCE, RI – Nonprofit organizations have until Oct. 2 to apply for grants that serve the Latino community through the Juanita Sánchez Community Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation.

The Fund was created in 1992 through contributions from Sánchez’s friends and family members who wished to honor her achievements as a community leader, organizer and long-time believer in fighting for the unmet needs and rights of Latinos. The fund has awarded more than $100,000 in grants to date.

Recent recipients include Children’s Friend and Service, which received $1,500 to support language and literacy development in low-income Latino families;  the Washington Park Citizens’ Association, which received $1,500 to deliver culturally-sensitive, family-focused after-school-programs to low-income Latino children; and Rhode Island Latino Arts, which received $800 for its Café Recuerdos (Coffee Memories): A Traveling Piece of Latino Rhode Island History project.

The fund is guided by an advisory committee comprised of Marta V. Martínez, Angel García and Antonio Sánchez. Supporters can donate to fund on-line on the Foundation’s website.

“Eighteen years after her death, Juanita Sánchez still evokes powerful memories, smiles, tears, advocacy and the act of giving to Latino issues in Rhode Island. Today, the Sánchez Fund memorializes Juanita’s life by making small grants to organizations seeking to serve the unmet needs and advance the rights of Latinos. As a former colleague and founding member of this fund, I am pleased that the Rhode Island Foundation continues to manage the fund, and encourage organizations serving Latinos in RI apply,” said Martínez. “I also encourage individuals everywhere to support the only fund serving the Spanish-speaking community in our state by making a donation today.”

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island.  In 2014, the Foundation awarded $34.8 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information about the Juanita Sanchez Community Fund, visit www.rifoundation.org.

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