There are three broad paths, depending on what fits your goals:

• Establish a Fund — Create an unrestricted fund, donor-advised fund, designated fund, or field-of-interest fund in alignment with the Foundation's community priorities or causes important to you.
• Support an Existing Fund — Contribute to the Fund for Rhode Island, the Civic Leadership Fund, or another established fund that aligns with your interests.
• Planned Giving — Include the Foundation in your will, donate securities, or explore options like charitable trusts and annuities. 

Anyone can give — individuals, families, and organizations of any means. No matter how much you give, you become part of a powerful, collective force for good. If you're not ready to establish your own named fund, you can contribute any amount to the Fund for Rhode Island, the Steinberg Civic Leadership Fund, or any of the Foundation's more than 2,000 existing funds.

We accept many kinds of assets, whether you give today or plan a gift for the future.

A named charitable endowment lets you create a lasting legacy for you, your family, or a loved one. Fund types include:

• Named unrestricted fund — Supports Foundation-directed grantmaking through the Fund for Rhode Island, our permanent unrestricted endowment, allowing the Foundation to direct resources to the state's most pressing needs as they evolve.
• Field of interest fund — Targets your giving toward a specific place or cause (for example, the environment, a particular city or town, or education) for generations to come.
• Donor advised fund (DAF) or corporate advised fund — Lets you actively participate in grantmaking by recommending grants from your fund, or work alongside our team to respond to vetted proposals aligned with your priorities.
• Designated fund — Supports one or more specific nonprofit organizations of your choice, in perpetuity.
• Organization endowment — For nonprofits: pools an organization's charitable assets with the Foundation's for greater growth potential, with regular grants made back to that nonprofit to ensure a secure funding stream.
• Scholarship fund – For students pursuing educational opportunities based on criteria you choose, such as field of study, school, geographic area, background, or other areas of interest. 

A donor-advised fund is a flexible giving vehicle for individuals, families, and organizations. You contribute to the fund, receive an immediate tax benefit, and then recommend grants from the fund to charitable organizations over time — working alongside our team who bring deep knowledge of Rhode Island's nonprofit organizations. Learn more about our Donor Advised Funds here.

The Fund for Rhode Island is the Foundation's unrestricted endowment. Gifts to it support the community priorities essential for a thriving state, letting the Foundation direct resources where they're needed most, including in moments of urgent or emerging need. Only together can we ensure local giving lasts lifetimes.

The Civic Leadership Fund supports the Foundation's work to meet emerging challenges in real time and elevate community needs through collaboration, convening, and advocacy. Since 2011, it has invested more than $5 million in systemic solutions across Rhode Island — for example, helping secure $120 million for affordable housing through the 2024 Housing Bond, and backing the Blue Ribbon Commission's work to modernize how the state funds public education. 

You don't need to establish a named fund to give. You can contribute, in any amount, to the Fund for Rhode Island, the Civic Leadership Fund, or any of the Foundation's more than 2,000 existing funds — and add your voice to shaping bolder solutions, together.

Yes. Planned giving options include naming the Foundation in your will, donating securities, and establishing charitable trusts or annuities. These options let you join generations of donors who have lifted Rhode Island together, while potentially realizing tax and income benefits during your lifetime. Our Development team can help you and your advisor find the approach that fits your goals.

Your charitable gift becomes part of one of the Foundation's diversified investment pools, where it is managed with a broad, long-term view to preserve and grow principal. A responsible portion of the investment proceeds is then used to make grants, award scholarships, and support the causes your fund is designed to serve — continuing in perpetuity.

Communities change over time, and we are built to change with them. If the organization you chose ceases to exist or changes its status as a charitable organization, or otherwise ceases to operate in accordance with its purpose and mission, the Foundation’s Board of Directors reserves the right through its variance power to redirect the application of those funds. In practice, this means that if a charity you’ve chosen closes, loses its charitable status, or moves away from its mission, the Board can redirect your gift to a use that stays true to what you set out to support. This safeguard ensures your gift keeps doing meaningful work for generations to come. 

We maintain three investment pools; which one is right for you depends on whether you have an interest in a specific mission-aligned strategy:

• Legacy Investment Pool — Our primary and longest-standing pool, broadly diversified across asset classes, investment styles, and economies to support long-term growth and minimize volatility.
• Climate Action Investment Pool — Launched in 2024, for donors who want their charitable contribution invested in a portfolio that factors environmental criteria into investment decisions.
• Socially Responsive Investment Pool — Initiated in 2004, for donors seeking investments with positive performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. 

Investments are managed by a committee of Foundation directors and community members with expertise in the field, supported by an investment consultant and our chief financial officer. The Investment Committee sets investment policy, selects managers, and monitors performance. Our scale provides access to some of the top-performing investment managers in the country, and our long-term endowment returns consistently rank in the top quartile among community foundation peers.

Our spending policy— between 5.5% and 5.75%, including our support fee, calculated over a sixteen-quarter trailing average — is designed to provide a predictable stream of grants to organizations serving the community while maintaining a prudent rate of endowment growth. The policy is reviewed annually by our board of directors.

Yes. We believe that effectively accessing and managing diverse talent — inclusive of varied backgrounds, age, experience, race, sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, and culture — leads to improved outcomes, and we expect our investment managers and other third-party providers to respect and reflect that priority.

Yes. We are a 501(c)(3) public charity as classified by the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions qualify for the maximum allowable deduction for income, gift, and estate tax purposes.

Yes. We are a nonpartisan public charity that accepts charitable gifts of all shapes and sizes from across the community.

You can give in many forms, from outright cash gifts and securities to planned gifts such as bequests, charitable trusts, and annuities.

Our team will work with you or your advisor to determine the simplest and most tax-advantageous way to structure your gift.