Deadline: Ongoing Opportunity
The Rhode Island Foundation is excited to announce the Responsive Grants to respond to the expressed needs of the community.
Nonprofit organizations that are interested in applying should be addressing urgent community need, emerging opportunity, testing new ideas, or supporting proven programs. This program is designed to support organizations across the nonprofit sector – regardless of the subject-matter or area of need that they focus on.
Funding Information
- Grant awards made through this program start at $10,000, and the grant term will generally be one year. The Foundation rarely commits to multi-year grant awards.
- Organizations can apply any time but are only eligible for one Responsive Grant award per calendar year.
What they Fund?
- Responsive Grants are awarded for charitable purposes primarily to nonprofit organizations or occasionally to public entities.
Eligibility Criteria
- Grants will not be made to organizations that owe the Foundation a grant report.
- They recognize there are meaningful efforts and entities without a 501(c)(3) IRS designation that align with their funding priorities. In these cases, they will consider grant applications from groups utilizing a fiscal sponsor that does have a 501(c)(3) IRS designation. As part of their review of applications from organizations that are using a fiscal sponsor they will:
- Assess the financial and organizational health of the sponsor as the potential (legally recognized) grantee.
- Review a signed agreement developed by the two groups outlining the terms and conditions of the sponsorship. Please include this agreement as part of your application.
Selection Criteria
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Organizational strength
- Your organization has demonstrated a clear mission and vision, sound financial health, capacity to learn from its work, strong board and staff leadership, and evidence of your connection with the community you serve.
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Potential for community impact
- Your proposal includes a well-defined problem or opportunity and is responsive to community need. You have provided evidence that your organization is well-positioned for the proposed work given experience, partnerships, and technical/content expertise. And, you have a path towards sustainability.
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Sound implementation plan
- You have provided a feasible and aligned project budget, demonstrate adequate capacity, and have a plan to track progress and outcomes.
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Other
- Alignment with available funds.
What they don't Fund?
- This program will not fund individuals, event sponsorships, or capital projects.
For more information, visit Rhode Island Foundation.
