NEW: Rhode Island Foundation Gives Record-Setting $29.2 Million in 2010

NEW: Rhode Island Foundation Gives Record-Setting $29.2 Million in 2010

The Rhode Island Foundation announced a record-setting $29.2 million in grants in 2010, via its Annual Report, now available online. The annual report provides information on the Foundation’s grantmaking, funds, and financial performance during 2010. Despite a grim economic climate, the Foundation granted a record $29.2 million last year, the largest annual amount in the community foundation’s 95-year history. The Foundation, the largest and most comprehensive funder of Rhode Island’s nonprofit organizations, works in partnership with donors and nonprofit organizations to meet the needs of the people of Rhode Island.  

Milestone year for Rhode Island

“Last year was a milestone year for the Foundation and we are pleased to share our 2010 annual report showcasing the impact that our donors’ funds have through the Foundation’s grants to local nonprofits,” said Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of the Foundation. “The stories of our newest fundholders are compelling and clearly demonstrate that Rhode Islanders want to give back, help their neighbors, and invest in our state’s future.”

“For those who may not have heard of us or worked with us, the annual report provides an opportunity to better understand the scope of our work across the state and the collective impact the Foundation and our donors have on addressing Rhode Island’s most challenging issues,” Steinberg added.

New funds

Thirty-eight new funds were established in 2010. They include:

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·         an endowment named for Mark P. Malkovich III to support the Newport Music Festival;

·         the Starkweather & Shepley Charitable Fund to support local nonprofits;

·         a scholarship fund for Cumberland students, quietly bequeathed by a former Pawtucket-based textile worker;

·         a memorial fund for a young man who survived the Station Night Club Fire but unexpectedly passed away before the settlement funds were released;

·         a fund to benefit Special Olympics RI;

·         a fund established by a retired Providence School teacher who remains an active reading volunteer in the schools;

·         a fund bequeathed by the late RI-artist Maxwell Mays to help maintain the 295-acre property he donated to the Audubon Society;

·         and a memorial scholarship named for Joseph P. Ferrucci, Esq. to benefit students within URI’s Talent Development Program.

Keeping it green

While the annual report has been available online for several years, for the first time this year, the Foundation mailed postcards to the majority of previous recipients, asking if they preferred to view the report online in lieu of receiving a hard copy, helping to cut printing costs and enabling people to choose their preferred method of viewing. For more information about the Foundation, visit our website at www.rifoundation.org.