Kudos to the Rhode Island Foundation for stepping up to the plate with help for local nonprofits. In light of the current administration’s irrational funding cuts, the Foundation will be awarding $3 million in grants so Rhode Island nonprofits continue with their missions. Many organizers are already feeling the pain and the uncertainty makes it impossible to plan.
Foundation president and CEO, David N. Cicilline, issued this statement:
Many nonprofit organizations tell us they are already struggling with interruptions in the payment of federal grants or outright elimination of federal funding and contracts, which threaten to undermine their work to improve the lives of Rhode Islanders.
Imagine empty shelves at local food pantries, the end of job training programs, small business assistance drying up, Head Start programs going dark, or children going hungry.
One example is the estimable Southside Community Land Trust where they are already feeling the effects. The nonprofit has lost $600,000 due to federal funding freezes and contract cancellations. The organization helped feed an estimated 25,000 Rhode Islanders through food pantries and community meal sites last year and supported nearly three dozen small, family farm businesses.
WPRI spoke with the SCLT. They manage 21 community gardens and while supplying various organizations and businesses with fresh fruits and vegetables.
“This isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet—it’s about real people who depend on our programs every day,” the Trust’s Executive Director Margaret DeVos explained. “We’re now forced to make difficult decisions about staffing and program capacity that will directly impact the communities we serve.”
The Foundation invites the public to contribute to the Community Partner Resilience Fund. CPR . . . nice.
Former Congressman Ciclline is probably the exact right person to be navigating this dreadful situation.
Go to the Rhode Island Foundation website for further information.