In 2025, a year when federal funding cuts and rising costs strained nonprofits across Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Foundation distributed $93 million in grants. Many of the grants, which were publicly announced two weeks ago, went toward supporting health care, food services and housing across the state.
Founded in 1916, the Rhode Island Foundation is the state’s only community foundation and one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. The organization manages an endowment funded by donors and distributes grants to nonprofits working across Rhode Island.
“We’re the largest funder of nonprofits in the state,” said David Cicilline ’83, president and CEO of the foundation. “Our mission really is to improve the lives of Rhode Islanders.” Cicilline also serves as a trustee on the Brown Corporation, the University’s highest governing body…