The Community Partner Resilience Grant program provides funding for nonprofits directly impacted by federal funding freezes, reductions, and eliminations, contract terminations, and policy changes impacting nonprofit partners and the communities they serve.

Funding from this program may be used for scenario planning, financial planning, crisis communications, development consulting, other supportive professional services, and, on a limited basis, for general operating support.

Community Partner Resilience Grants are awarded to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations based in Rhode Island.

This program will not fund individuals, for-profit entities, event sponsorships, or capital projects.

It may be helpful to review the Community Partner Resilience Grant application here to get a better sense of whether your organization may be eligible for funding through this program. 

We recognize there are entities and efforts without a 501(c)(3) IRS designation that align with our funding priorities. In these cases, we may consider grant applications from groups using a fiscal sponsor with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation.

If an organization is serving as a fiscal agent for another entity, they may also be eligible for a separate Community Partner Resilience grant to support their own organization.

We anticipate that Community Partner Resilience Grants may range from $5,000 to $50,000.

Applications will be accepted via the Foundation's online grants portal and reviewed on a rolling basis. This grant opportunity will remain open until all available funds are awarded.

Organizations are eligible to be awarded one Community Partner Resilience Grant at this time. Organizations that have applied for other Foundation grant programs, including Community Priority, Capacity Building, Catalyst, and other topic and geography-specific grant programs, are eligible to apply for funding through the Community Partner Resilience Grant.

The application for the Community Partner Resilience Grant program may be previewed by clicking here.

Grantees may be asked about the progress of efforts supported through a Community Partner Resilience Grant and to submit a final report describing the outcome of efforts supported through grant funds.

The Foundation will award at least $1 million in grants through its new Community Partner Resilience Fund (CPR Fund) and invites the public to contribute to the CPR Fund at rifoundation.org/resilience.  

 

In addition, the Foundation is earmarking $2 million in funding across two rounds of its Community Priority and Capacity Building grant programs. Priority will be given to organizations impacted by federal funding cuts or freezes. The Round 1 application period opened in January and closed earlier this month. The Foundation is reviewing those applications to prioritize organizations that have been directly affected by recent federal actions. The application period for Round 2 opens August 1.  

 

Beyond the $3 million in grants, the Foundation is also committing $200,000 from its Civic Leadership Fund to help fund legal assistance, training and information sharing to support nonprofits impacted by federal actions, and data collection and research to obtain a better understanding of the impact of federal actions on nonprofits and the communities they serve.  

Given the various grant programs and capacity building resources available through the Rhode Island Foundation, organizations are encouraged to connect with a member of our Grants and Community Investments team to discuss the best options to consider while navigating these challenging and uncertain times. Please check out our other grant opportunities by visiting the Rhode Island Foundation website, and if you have further questions regarding eligibility for our grant programs, please contact Helen Morales from our Grants & Community Investments team at hmorales@rifoundation.org or (401) 427-4013.