New initiatives with eye to maximizing resources

FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS: Jessica David’s career rests on her ability to generate ideas to help solve major problems in Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS: Jessica David’s career rests on her ability to generate ideas to help solve major problems in Rhode Island. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Jessica David, vice president for strategy, planning and special projects at The Rhode Island Foundation, has been making things happen since the day she launched her career.
In 2003, while working for housing authorities in Woonsocket and East Greenwich, she used her grant-writing skills to bring in millions of dollars to assist people living in public housing. The federal funds were used to provide vocational and educational programs, such as classes in literacy and personal money management. Taxpayers reaped benefits as well, as the training helped people find jobs and eventually move away from public assistance.
While some who work in social services become discouraged by the fight, she greets every new challenge with energy and creativity. “I’ve always been interested in the public-service sector,” she said. “The Rhode Island Foundation is a good fit for me. It offers a big-picture focus and it’s at that intersection where the nonprofit sector, the public sector and the private sector meet.”
A native of Seekonk, she moved to the Ocean State shortly after graduating from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2001. Five years later she was helping to run a high-profile political campaign for HousingWorks RI, a coalition of groups working to help families cope with the high cost of housing. The organization had a question on that year’s ballot, asking voters to approve a $50 million bond to create more affordable housing.
David’s team developed an innovative media drive that told the stories of 50 Rhode Island families struggling to pay for a place to live. Thanks in part to their effort, the bond question passed with 66 percent of the statewide vote. Later that year, David joined The Rhode Island Foundation as special-projects officer. Three years ago she co-led a strategic-planning process aimed at making the foundation run more efficiently. The effort included broad participation by the organization’s staff.
“The foundation had no organizational strategy to govern what their priorities would be over the next five years,” she said of the project. “We have limited resources, and we want to maximize the impact of every dollar we spend.”
She also led a recent staff reorganization with the goal of making the foundation stronger and more proactive during difficult economic times. “We’re making sure we use our people in a way that supports our mission,” she said. “We want to be engaging them, motivating them and developing them.”
Now she’s getting attention for helping to design a new program aimed at the state’s job crisis and lagging economic development. The Innovation Fellowship awards grant money – $300,000 over three years – to launch new projects that have the potential to improve life in Rhode Island. Two winners will be chosen each year.
Recently the foundation announced the recipients of the first grants: Soren Ryherd and Allan Tear, chosen from a pool of 438 applicants. Ryherd hopes to help would-be store owners achieve success by first creating online ventures before they set up on Main Street. Tear plans to boost new ventures by teaching entrepreneurs the strategies used by successful high-tech companies.
“Rhode Island has a lot of people with ideas,” David said. “We’re giving them a start. The funds are unrestricted. They can use them however they wish. It’s about experimenting. &#8226”

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