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The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded $1.2 million in grants to help Rhode Islanders weather the impact of Washington’s funding cuts on nonprofits that help with health care, housing and hunger among other services.

The emergency funding is going to 27 nonprofits affected by the loss of federal funding, including Family Service of Rhode Island, Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley in Woonsocket, the Pawtucket Central Falls Development Corporation, Progreso Latino, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and the Women’s Resource Center in Newport.

“Many of our community partners are struggling with disruptions in the payment of federal grants or outright elimination of federal funding and contracts, which threaten to diminish their capacity to deliver services Rhode Islanders depend on,” said David N. Cicilline, the Foundation’s president and CEO.

The grants are from the new Community Partner Resilience Fund, which the Foundation opened last month to provide emergency funding for nonprofits directly impacted by federal funding cuts or changes in federal policy.  The full list of grant recipients is posted here.

“Washington’s recent actions harm the work of our nonprofit partners, and most importantly, the thousands of Rhode Islanders they serve each day,” said Cicilline. “Picture bare shelves at food pantries, the end of job training programs, small business assistance drying up, Head Start programs going dark or children going hungry.”

The nonprofits that applied report losing or standing to lose millions of dollars in federal funding to support their work in health care, housing, hunger relief, job training and more. In addition, nearly 90 percent say they have or will have to cut services to Rhode Islanders.

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island is already preparing for the potential impact of federal funding cutbacks. The organization, which delivers nutritious meals and daily wellness checks to thousands of older and disabled adults across the state, will use a $50,000 grant to strengthen its volunteer program. This is a strategic investment in the future of its Home-Delivered Meal Program and long-term stability of services.

“The uncertainty surrounding key federal funding streams led us to seek emergency support through the CPR Fund,” said Meghan Grady, executive director of Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island. “We are continually monitoring the federal landscape and doing everything we can to prepare. Most of our clients would have nowhere else to turn if service is disrupted, so we are taking proactive steps to protect those who rely on us.”

The grants are just one aspect of the Foundation’s $3 million response to the cuts coming from Washington.

The Foundation also earmarked $2 million in funding across two rounds of its Community Priority and Capacity Building Grant Programs. The Foundation is reviewing the first round of applications to prioritize organizations that have been directly affected by federal actions. The application period for Round 2 will open Aug. 1.

Along with the $3 million in grants, the Foundation has committed $200,000 from its Civic Leadership Fund to help fund legal assistance, training and information sharing to support nonprofits impacted by Washington’s cuts as well as data collection and research to obtain a better understanding of their effect on nonprofits and the people they serve.

“The breadth of these federal cuts and the resulting elimination of crucial services to Rhode Islanders would create a funding challenge that philanthropy alone cannot address,” said Cicilline “Even so, we are working strategically to leverage our resources and collaborate with partners, donors and policymakers to respond to the demands of these uncertain times.”

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Through civic leadership, fundraising and grant-making activities, together with neighbors and partners, the Foundation is helping to create progress that lasts.