The Bristol Female Charitable Society was founded in 1811 by 88 prominent Bristol women, and in 2003 the group established a permanent endowment fund at the Rhode Island Foundation to support charitable programs and services in the greater East Bay community, with a preference for Bristol, Rhode Island. Grants from the Fund generally range between $500 and $5,000.

Organizations may submit only one application per year to the Bristol Female Charitable Society Fund. However, application to this fund does not restrict an organization from applying to another grant program at the Foundation.

Application deadline

Applications must be submitted by 3:00 PM (EST) on August 10, 2026.

To apply

A complete application package includes:

• Completed application form, submitted through our online system. Please complete the Small Grant Programs application to apply for this grant;
• Completed budget form, also submitted through our online system;
• A proposal narrative, found within the application;
• A current list of the applying organization's board of directors attached to the application,

Applications are available six weeks prior to the deadline.

To complete an application that is already in progress, and to submit, please click here.