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"Every one of you who has created a fund here deserves an award, but tonight there is one person we want to single out for special recognition."

Those words were spoken at a donor appreciation event in 2004, in honor of Herman Hillson Rose. He received the Rhode Island Foundation's Inspiring Partner Award that June evening - and more than two decades later, following his 2026 passing at the age of 93, Herman’s memory and generosity continue to inspire.

"Herman was an incredibly warm, humble man," shares Alison Jackson, Foundation Director of Development Operations. "When we heard, 'Herman is coming in,' so many of us would stop what we were doing to say hello. Everyone wanted to talk with him because you always walked away feeling better. It was just a joy to get to know him." 

His visits to the Foundation, most often dressed in khakis, blue blazer, and a Red Sox baseball cap, were unforgettable. So was the man himself. 

Herman grew up as the son of working parents. He became a land surveyor for the Army in Panama, earned a degree in civil engineering in 1955, and eventually made his way to Rhode Island in 1961, where he worked on key highway and planning projects that shaped the state. A move to the Department of Community Affairs deepened his belief in what he called "a fuller world,” one where the connections between people, place, and opportunity all mattered. 

That belief guided his philanthropy. Herman once described his approach in the language of his engineering roots: "I was going to provide the lubrication between two rough surfaces so people can get somewhere. I want to take a project that exists in somebody's mind and bring it to reality."

Herman established his first donor-advised fund with the Foundation in 1986. Over time, one fund became four, each reflecting another dimension of his values: the Herman H. Rose Civic, Cultural and Media Access Fund, focused on libraries and cultural institutions; the DeRabbanan Fund, strengthening Jewish community organizations; the Rhode Island Rose Award Fund, honoring individuals making meaningful community impact; and the Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland Fund, supporting agriculture, farmers, and farmland.

"Herman felt you had to give back," remembers Kathleen Malin, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Operations. "If you were blessed, you had a moral obligation to help."

Herman funded grants to organizations across Rhode Island and took that responsibility seriously, reading applications, and visiting nonprofits to understand the work firsthand. At the Tomaquag Museum, Indigenous photographs were archived. The Pawtucket Public Library digitized historical newspapers. Bristol gained tools to make town meetings accessible to all residents. Rhode Island Latino Arts documented the rich history of Latin Americans in Rhode Island, and immigrant gardeners in Providence received multilingual support. "His currency and richness were really his heart," recalls Anna Cano Morales, Vice President of Equity & Inclusion. "He was very adamant that things need to be preserved."

Herman told Foundation staff he had no intention of keeping his money — and he meant it. Over his lifetime, his generosity resulted in more than $1.5 million in grants distributed to communities and causes he believed in.

It was the personal investment of time, dedication, and enthusiasm, as well as financial support, that set him apart. "We weren't just his partner,” reflects Kelly Riley, Stewardship and Cultivation Officer. “He was our partner in this work." 

"I wanted to leave an imprint," Herman said. "In some places, it looks like a highway, in others it looks like a particular collection in a library … something concrete in the community that people are using every day." 

The imprint he left, with people and in places too numerous to name, continues to make a difference.

The Rhode Island Foundation is grateful for Herman's long-standing partnership and honored to steward his philanthropic legacy.