Newport Restoration Foundation Receives $71K Grant for Building Trades Apprenticeship Program

Newport Restoration Foundation Receives $71K Grant for Building Trades Apprenticeship Program

The Newport Restoration Foundation has been awarded $71,212 from The 1772 Foundation for the planning of a historic building trades apprenticeship program.

The 1772 Foundation, based in Pomfret, Connecticut, plays a leading role in promoting historic property redevelopment programs. At its quarterly meeting, its trustees awarded HPRP grants totaling $1,169,162 to 16 recipients. Individual grants ranged in amounts from $15,000 to $105,000.

The 1772 Foundation's President Margaret Waldock said, "The 1772 Foundation approved over $1.5 million in grants at its first quarterly meeting of 2021. This is the largest single grant round in our foundation's thirty-five-year history, a demonstration of our commitment to increasing our grantmaking to help alleviate the stress of this pandemic on nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve, and to advancing social justice and environmental sustainability.”

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Mark Thompson, NRF’s Executive Director, stated, “According to the Associated General Contractors of America, roughly 75% of construction firms in New England report having difficulty filling skilled craft positions. At the same time, we know that the youth unemployment rate in Rhode Island is high. By training young people in the historic trades, we hope to address two community concerns with one program. We are extremely grateful for the support of The 1772 Foundation in helping us to initiate this effort.”

The grant will support the hiring of an individual for one year to examine other programs around the country, establish a framework, work out the details of the program, and initiate the necessary partnerships. NRF plans to begin the development of the program in the spring of this year.

NRF is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 by Doris Duke to preserve, maintain, and interpret Newport, Rhode Island's 18th- and early 19th-century architectural heritage. In addition to a collection of more than 75 historic houses, now rented to tenant-stewards, NRF operates three museum properties: Rough Point, Doris Duke's Newport mansion, which is home to a significant collection of European and Asian fine and decorative arts; Whitehorne House Museum, featuring a collection of 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts; and Prescott Farm, a public park and historic site in Middletown, Rhode Island, with gardens maintained by the University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners program.