Neighbor News
RI Foundation offering $200,000 grants to seed big ideas
As many as three applicants could receive up to $200,000 to test and implement their innovative ideas for improving life in RI
Rhode Islanders with bold ideas for moving the state forward have until Dec. 19 to apply for $600,000 in seed grants through the Carter Fellowships for Entrepreneurial Innovation at the Rhode Island Foundation.
Designed to stimulate solutions to Rhode Island challenges, the initiative is made possible through the foresight and generosity of philanthropists Letitia and the late John Carter. As many as three applicants will be selected to receive up to $200,000 over four years to test and implement innovative ideas that could dramatically improve an area of life in Rhode Island.
“This program enhances our state’s reputation as a place of innovation and resourcefulness. We thank the Carter family for having the vision to inspire bold thinkers to bring their best ideas to life,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO.
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The Fellowship program is built around the spirit of entrepreneurship and seeks to achieve community impact by investing in an individual’s creativity and potential, and by providing freedom to apply fresh thinking to important challenges.
Proposals will be evaluated on whether there is a new, novel, or re-energized approach that has not been tried meaningfully in Rhode Island; the potential benefits to the state, and the degree to which the proposed outcome is achievable, among other factors.
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Only individuals are eligible. Applicants do not have to be residents of Rhode Island, but they must commit to living in Rhode Island during the four-year duration of the Fellowship if selected.
The applications will be reviewed by a panel of judges: Marie Langlois, retired managing director of Washington Trust Investors; Alan Litwin, KLR managing director; and Lou Mazzucchelli, coordinator of Bryant University’s Entrepreneurship Program. Judges will also meet with the Fellows every six months throughout the four-year duration of their Fellowship to measure progress and learning.
The one-page application is posted on the Foundation’s website. The Foundation expects to announce the recipients in April 2018.
The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. In 2016, the Foundation awarded a record $45 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities. Through leadership, fundraising, and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential.
