$3 million earmarked to help nonprofits weather federal funding freeze cuts

The Rhode Island Foundation will award $3 million in grants to help Rhode Island nonprofits affected by the loss of federal funding due to recent actions in Washington.

“We understand the harm these policies may pose to the work of our nonprofit partners, and most importantly, to the thousands of Rhode Islanders they serve each day,” said David N. Cicilline, the Foundation’s president and CEO.

The Foundation will award $1 million in grants through its new Community Partner Resilience Fund (CPR Fund). Organizations that demonstrate potentially significant and long-term federal funding losses can apply for grants of up to $50,000. The application period opens April 7.

Seeded with $500,000 from Foundation’s own reserves, and matched through the support of generous donors, initial funding from this program may be used for scenario planning, financial planning, crisis communications, development consulting and other supportive professional services.

In addition, the Foundation is earmarking $2 million in funding across two rounds of its Community Priority and Capacity Building Grant Programs. Priority will be given to organizations impacted by federal funding cuts or freezes. The Round 1 application period opened in January and closed earlier this month. The Foundation is reviewing those applications to prioritize organizations that have been directly affected by recent federal actions. The application period for Round 2 opens Aug. 1.

If you’d like to offer support for organizations faced with federal funding loss, the Foundation welcomes contributions to the Community Partner Resilience Fund at rifoundation.org/resilience.

Learn more here about the Foundation’s responsive support for struggling nonprofits.