R.I. Foundation launches statewide community grant program to celebrate centennial

RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg said that $4.5 million of the $10 million campaign to restore Roger Williams Park has already been raised.  / COURTESY STEW MILNE
RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg said that $4.5 million of the $10 million campaign to restore Roger Williams Park has already been raised. / COURTESY STEW MILNE

(Updated 11:31 a.m. and 12:58 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – To start celebrating its centennial next year, the Rhode Island Foundation announced a statewide community grant program Tuesday, along with details of its $10 million campaign to restore Roger Williams Park.
“Community is at the heart of what we do,” said Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s president and CEO, referring to the 435-acre park. “Community lives where people gather and a sense of belonging begins. It seems only fitting that we honor and support one of the state’s best-loved places to commemorate our centennial.”
At a press conference at the park museum that included Steinberg, Champlin Foundations Executive Director Keith Lang and Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, Steinberg announced that $4.5 million of the $10 million has been raised so far. Of the amount raised, the foundation is contributing $1.5 million “above and beyond our usual grants,” Steinberg said, plus $1.15 million from the Champlin Foundations and $1.9 million combined from two dozen other donors. Lang said $800,000 of its donation will go toward renovating the museum, while $350,000 with be used to restore the bandstand.
Elorza called the park an “underutilized gem” and said the mission the foundation has outlined is “compelling.”
“Raising this level of funds is no easy feat,” he said. “We will do our part on the city side to partner with the Rhode Island Foundation and Champlin Foundations and other stakeholders so the experience [at the park] can continue to be enjoyed.”
Among the dozens in the crowd, Cranston City Councilor Steven Stycos said he came to support the benefits for his city, since Cranston residents actively use the park.
“I wanted to hear what was being planned,” Stycos said. “[The park] is an asset for Cranston as well as Providence. We don’t pay the bills but we get the benefits.”

Steinberg had first announced the park improvements in mid-November, but detailed them more thoroughly Tuesday at the park’s Museum of Natural History. Work will include improvements to the park’s entrances, new signage, expanded walkways and bicycle paths and repairs to the museum, bandstand, casino and the Temple to Music, he said.
Founded in 1916 with a $10,000 gift from industrialist Jesse Metcalf, the foundation’s assets have grown to more than $800 million. In the past four years alone, the foundation has awarded more than $120 million in grants, the foundation said in a press release.
Among activities planned to mark the organization’s 100th birthday, the foundation will launch a Centennial Community Gifts program, awarding grants for community activities in every city and town next year. The grants will range from $5,000 to $15,000.
“We plan to celebrate each of Rhode Island’s unique 39 cities and towns by funding community-making projects throughout the state,” said Jessica David, the foundation’s senior vice president of strategy and community investments.
Potential grant uses include improvements to local parks, streetscapes and other public spaces; the creative use of art in public spaces; and staging programming that invites people to experience community in public spaces.
Nonprofit organizations, preservation societies and municipal governments or public agencies, such as libraries and schools, are among the potential eligible applicants. Feb. 12 is the deadline to apply. Visit www.rifoundation.org for details.

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