Portsmouth Nonprofits get RI Foundation Funding Boost

Two Portsmouth nonprofit organizations are among 30 Newport County groups that received $166,666 in grants from the Rhode Island Foundation.

The grants, through the Foundation’s Newport County Fund (NCF), will underwrite a host of activities ranging from job readiness training and after-school activities to farming and domestic violence prevention.

“From enriching arts and educational opportunities for young people to underwriting critical health and environmental programs, we are proud to work with partners that are improving lives here,” said Neil Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “We are grateful to the donors who make this assistance possible and the local men and women who keep us closely connected to the community.” 

The Methodist Community Gardens of Portsmouth received $5,000 to obtain a second 2,200-square-foot high-tunnel greenhouse to increase the production of fresh food for needy residents of Newport County. (The garden itself is located in Middletown).

The Prudence Island School Foundation received $1,799 to buy equipment for its students' annual Filmmaking Project.  Students complete every creative and technical aspect of making and screening a feature film including the screenplay, costumes, storyboarding, non-linear film editing, art design, special effects and lighting. 

A third grant of $5,000 to the Nature Conservancy, will be used to evaluate the benefits of creating artificial reefs in Narragansett Bay off Portsmouth as a habitat for marine life.

Portsmouth residents are served by many of the other organizations receiving grants including Child and Family Services of Newport County, Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Newport County Community Mental Health Center and the Visiting Nurses Services of Newport and Bristol Counties.

The NCF offered grants of up $10,000 in seven key funding areas: arts and culture, basic human needs, children and families, economic security, the environment, healthy lives and housing.

The Foundation worked with an advisory committee comprised of Newport County residents Elizabeth Finn, Kristen Humphrey, Victoria Johnson, Leland Merrill Jr., John Murphy and John Trifero in making the funding decisions.

Since 2002, the NCF has invested more than $2.6 million in funding programs and services for residents of Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth and Tiverton. The NCF is one of one of several committee-advised funds at the Foundation established to fulfill the desire of donors and serving specific issues or geographic areas.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in the state. In 2013, the Foundation made grants of more than $31 million to organizations addressing Rhode Island’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. For more information, visit www.rifoundation.org.