All Entries Tagged With: "Rhode Island Foundation"
Rhode Island Foundation Announces RI Students Can Apply for $1.5 Million in Scholarships
PROVIDENCE, RI – At the time of year when colleges are sending out financial aid packages, the Rhode Island Foundation is offering Rhode Island students and their families more than $1.5 million in scholarships.
Dozens of individual, family and organizational donors established scholarship funds at the Foundation to help students defray educational expenses such as tuition, room and board, fees and books.
“Each of these scholarships turns dreams into reality for our donors and the recipients,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “The effect of their generosity will ripple through our community for generations.”
In addition to general scholarship assistance, the Foundation offers a number of awards targeting students studying everything from social work or the arts to textile technology or film making.
The Albert and Florence Newton, Edward and Virginia Routhier, Willard and Marjorie Scheibe and Alan Edgar Wurdeman scholarship funds target students studying nursing.
“Receiving a scholarship motivates me to not only complete my degree, but to further my education. I look forward to be able to give back to my community once I begin my career in nursing,” said Meghan Rainville, a University of Rhode Island senior from Bristol who received a Routhier award for this academic year.
Some funds target students from specific cities or towns. The Brian Moretti Scholarship Fund and the Holly Charette Scholarship target Cranston residents while the Marissa Salabert Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Daniel Brian Cohen Scholarship go to Warwick residents.
The B. Jae Clanton Scholarship at the Urban League of R.I. and the RDW Group Minority Scholarship for Communications help students of color.
Others provide assistance based on gender, economic status or special circumstance. The Bruce and Marjorie Sundlun Scholarship is open to low-income single parents, while the Rhode Island Commission on Women/Freda Goldman Education Award is for women pursuing education or job training beyond high school who need assistance with transportation, child care, educational materials or other support services.
Kaitlin Bove is a senior at Salve Regina University who received assistance from the Sundlun and the Commission on Women/Freda Goldman Education funds.
“The scholarships allow me the opportunity to continue toward my goal of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in accounting,” said the Middletown mother. “Additionally, the awards provide me with the emotional validation that hard work pays off. My hope is to one day pay my good fortune forward by helping others receive a college education.”
The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2015, the Foundation awarded $41.5 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 applying for a scholarship, visit http://www.rifoundation.org/WorkingTogether/ForScholarshipSeekers/ScholarshipFellowshipOpportunities.aspx)..
Rhode Island Foundation’s Matching-grant Challenge Raises $111,000 for Streamlining State Government
PROVIDENCE, RI – Seven companies are joining with the Rhode Island Foundation to give the state more than $100,000 to streamline state government and eliminate waste. The money will support Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s Lean Government Initiative.
The companies contributed a total of $61,000 in response to a matching-grant challenge the Foundation issued earlier this year. Together with the maximum $50,000 match from the Foundation triggered by the donations, the state will receive $111,000.
Amica, Corning , Groov-Pin, Hope Global, TACO, Taylor Box and Toray Plastics are the companies that responded to the Foundation’s matching-grant challenge with contributions.
“We are committed to helping state government work better for all Rhode Islanders. Every one of these donors deserves our thanks for investing in creating a strong economy that will enable all Rhode Islanders to prosper,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO.
The Foundation issued the matching-grant challenge to support Gov. Raimondo’s work fostering innovation across state government and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
“The Lean Government Initiative give us the resources to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state government,” said Gov. Raimondo. “Rhode Islanders deserve a government that moves at the speed of business. By working together, we will develop better approaches, designed by our state employees, and provide dependable service to Rhode Islanders.”
The Lean Government Initiative is based on a proven methodology used by the manufacturing industry to eliminate waste, reduce wait and processing times, and realize greater efficiency and cost reductions.
Gov. Raimondo ordered process reviews for many key government services, including environmental permitting, professional licensing for healthcare workers and certification of minority-owned businesses. More than 350 state employees already have received Lean training and more than 20 agencies are participating in the effort. In addition, she has launched a mentorship program that teams private sector leaders with experience in Lean process improvement with members of her cabinet.
The first company to respond to the Foundation’s challenge with a $10,000 donation was Groov-Pin. The Smithfield company, which is a precision manufacturer of industrial pins and threaded inserts for high-tech, aerospace and industrial uses, instituted Lean principles in 2009.
“I know first-hand how effective Lean is. What used to take us 12 weeks to manufacture and ship to customers now takes just 20 days. Imagine the impact that applying Lean principles to state government will have on Rhode Island’s economy,” said Scot Jones, CEO of Groov-Pin.
This is the Foundation’s third investment in streamlining state government. Through its Make It Happen economic development initiative, the Foundation also has awarded $50,000 to the state Office of Regulatory Reform to create a statewide electronic building and fire permitting system and $47,000 to the state Dept. of Environmental Management to create a permitting assistance center.
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, visit http://www.rifoundation.org
Rhode Island Foundation Now Accepting Applications for $300,000 Innovation Fellowships
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Foundation is now accepting applications for $300,000 grants to develop, test and implement innovative ideas that have the potential to dramatically improve any area of life in Rhode Island.
An annual initiative to stimulate proposals that can move Rhode Island forward, the Rhode Island Innovation Fellowships are made possible through the vision and generosity of philanthropists Letitia and John Carter.
“This program enhances Rhode Island’s reputation as a place of innovation and ingenuity. We thank Letitia and John Carter for having the vision to encourage bold thinkers to bring their best ideas to life,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO.
Preference will be given to proposals that promise the greatest good for the greatest number of Rhode Islanders, a small idea that has big potential to be built to scale or new approaches to long-standing, intractable challenges.
“Letitia and I believe strongly in the promise of our state and the importance of innovation. We hope this program will continue to generate creative proposals with the potential to lead to great things,” said John Carter
Several improvements have been made to the program this year to clarify eligibility and intent. For example, teams of applicants are ineligible for the first time. All the eligibility requirements are posted on the Foundation’s website at rifoundation.org.
Most of the program’s requirements have not changed. Although applicants do not have to be residents of Rhode Island when they apply, they must commit to living in Rhode Island during the term of the Fellowship if selected.
The deadline to apply is Fri., Dec. 11. The one-page, initial application asks applicants to summarize their proposed innovation in no more than 150 words and to describe how it would benefit Rhode Islanders.
In February 2016, the selection panel will ask a group of semi-finalists to submit a more detailed application and a short video. The Foundation expects to announce the winners in April.
Steinberg will chair the selection committee. The other members are Victor Capellan, superintendent of schools in Central Falls; Janet Coit, director of the state Department of Environmental Management; Patricia Flanagan, professor of pediatrics and chief of clinical affairs at Hasbro Children’s Hospital; Theresa Moore, president of T-Time Productions; Aidan Petrie, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Ximedica; and Dan Shedd, president of Taylor Box Company.
This will be the fifth round of funding. Previous rounds generated more than 1,250 applications. The 2015 recipients are John Haley and the husband and wife team of Daniel Kamil and Emily Steffian.
Haley is working on a plan to stimulate the state’s shellfish industry by creating a more reliable method of obtaining blue mussel seed stock fixed to a growth/cultivation substrate. He will manufacture a Blue Mussel Spat Attachment Cord, pre-loaded with blue shell mussel larva — called “spat” – made available to shellfish cultivators year-round.
Kamil and Steffian are working on the Providence Cinematheque, Rhode Island’s only multi-screen exhibition space and educational facility focusing on first-run, independent film programming; repertory series, and a curriculum in film history and media literacy. They have launched the first annual Providence Art and Design Film Festival and you can see their progress at:http://www.providencecinematheque.com/.
The 2014 Fellows are Amy Bernhardt and David Dadekian.
Amy Bernhardt’s project “Colorfast,” is a digitally printed textile facility that also houses an extensive original and vintage print collection art directed by Zoe Latta of Prince Ruth.
Dadekian is launching the “Eat Drink Rhode Island Central Market,” which will house a number of food- and drink-related businesses, including a public market, commercial production and processing facilities, and an educational component.
The 2013 Fellows are Adrienne Gagnon and Dr. Lynn Taylor.
Gagnon’s “Innovation by Design” project is fostering the next generation of Rhode Island innovators with the creation of the Change Agent, a Design Thinking toolkit for the classroom. Gagnon offers free professional development workshops for RI educators and also engages students throughout RI in designing positive change for their communities through her free Mobile Design Lab residencies.
Taylor has launched the “Rhode Island Defeats Hep C” campaign, which aims to make Rhode Island the first state to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus infection using a comprehensive approach that includes increasing awareness, testing to cure, building infrastructure for a sustainable model and evaluation.
Soren Ryherd and Allan Tear received the inaugural Fellowships in 2012.
Ryherd’s “The Retail Project” runs three e-commerce stores with the goal of opening brick and mortar stores in Rhode Island neighborhoods.
Tear‘s RallyRI project built platforms to help entrepreneurs launch start-ups in sectors such as art and design, food and beverage and advanced manufacturing. The work continues in initiatives such as DesignxRI, EdTechRI and the Founders League.
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, visit rifoundation.org.
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.
