Publication
2023 Annual Report
A year of transition, future planning, impressive growth, and impact
We're excited to share the 2023 Annual Report and hope that you find it to be a useful reflection on a year of transition, future planning, and impressive growth and impact.
As you’ll see throughout these pages, the team at the Foundation ably balanced effective grantmaking, inspiring philanthropy, and listening and learning from the Rhode Islanders we serve during a transformative time. Last year, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were pleased to award a record $89 million in grants to
approximately 2,500 nonprofit organizations; two-thirds of which were donor-directed, and one-third of which was directed through the Foundation’s community investments programs. On page 8 you will find an illustration of how those grant dollars were allocated by subject matter to meet need throughout the State, and you will see just how much alignment there is between the grants that our team is responsible for and those that our donors direct. Together, we are making an incredible impact.
Our team continues to focus on careful endowment stewardship, and we have weathered market fluctuations quite well. At the end of 2023, total assets stood at approximately $1.4 billion, and our total fund investment return for the year was 14.2 percent. In addition, we raised $46 million in gifts.
As we continue to assess the Foundation’s fundraising, grantmaking, and programmatic efforts, we have also focused on gathering input from the community to inform our future focus. We have gathered perspective through a series of research efforts, by crisscrossing the state to visit grantees and donors, hosting sector-specific convenings and open community conversations. Throughout, we have clearly heard the call to do more to address the state’s housing crisis, mitigate the persistent root causes of inequity, support climate action efforts, and help communities form stronger connections to civic life. All that we have learned also reinforces that we should continue to focus on strengthening our education system for children of all ages, improving health and wellbeing, and ensuring that economic success is a reality for all Rhode Islanders.
As we evolve, we recognize that our approach to inspiring philanthropy and service within the Rhode Island community must speak to the next generation of changemakers. For more than a century, we have been a trusted, stable community chest—but we must also be nimble, innovative, creative, and impact-driven.
Later this year, we will share more about all we’ve learned and about how we plan to intentionally put that into practice in our grantmaking, beyond-grantmaking, and development efforts to catalyze generosity and action across our state.
All the best,
David & Al
David N. Cicilline, President and CEO
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