Deadline: Ongoing Opportunity
The Rhode Island Foundation is inviting applications for the Strategic Initiative Grants Program to support organizations and programs that align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities – economic security, educational success, and healthy lives.
For each priority, they have developed a set of impact targets and strategies that their available grant resources can most effectively address. To be sure your work aligns with them, please read more here:
- Economic Security
- Educational Success
- Healthy Lives
What they fund and what they won’t fund
- They make Strategic Initiative Grants for program support, organizational development and capacity building efforts, and advocacy or systems reform initiatives. They provide general operating support to organizations that are central to progress in one or more of the three strategic priorities described. They rarely commit to multi-year grant awards.
- Grants are awarded for charitable purposes primarily to nonprofit organizations or on occasion to public entities.
- The Foundation does not fund individuals, event sponsorships, or capital projects.
- Grants will not be made to organizations that owe the Foundation a grant report.
Support for non-501(c)(3) organizations
- 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
- Alignment
- Your proposal aligns well with their strategic priorities and the specific outcomes and strategies they’re focusing on.
- Potential impact
- You have articulated measurable outcomes and demonstrated an organizational commitment to learning.
- Implementation plan
- You have presented a convincing workplan, timeline, budget, and evaluation plan for implementation.
- Organizational strength
- They seek grantees who have a strong programmatic track record, good business model, strong leadership, sound financials, and solid evaluative and planning practices. They recognize that organizations may be in different phases of maturity, but they want to see evidence that you are mindful of your organizational health.
For more information, visit Strategic Initiative Grants.