Our grantees
2021 Community impact and equity partners
Our 2021 Community Impact Fund Grantees
Three months after unveiling its LIVE UNITED 2025 strategic plan, United Way of Rhode Island is putting $4.5 million in grants to work in the community to create transformational change in the Ocean State. The funding, the first in a two-year grant cycle, was awarded to 72 organizations in support of programs targeting the root causes of the racial inequities that have held back Rhode Island’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities for generations.
Invested in our strategic plan
LIFT UNITED
Achieve United
Invest United
Advocate united
2021 Community Impact and Equity Partners
Thanks to our donors and partners, United Way of Rhode Island is supporting organizations that are on the front lines of building racial equity and opportunities for all Rhode Islanders. Grantees are organized by area of impact.
Lift United
• Beautiful Day
• DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality)
• Foster Forward
• Fuerza Laboral
• Genesis Center
• Higher Ground International
• House of Hope CDC
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Lucy’s Hearth
• Man Up, Inc.
• Mental Health Assoc. of Rhode Island
• Nonviolence Institute
• One Neighborhood Builders
• Providence Revolving Fund
• Refugee Dream Center
• Rhode Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Rhode Island Legal Services, Inc.
• Sojourner House
• The Rhode Island Center for Justice
• West Bay Collaborative
• Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation d/b/a NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley
• YouthBuild Preparatory Academy
Achieve United
• A Leadership Journey
• AS220
• Books Are Wings
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island
• Children and Youth Cabinet of RI at TSNE MissionWorks
• DownCity Design
• FabNewport / PVD Young Makers
• Festival Ballet Providence
• FRIENDS WAY, Inc.
• Fund for UCAP on behalf of The UCAP School
• Highlander Charter School
• Oasis International
• OCYL: The Mayor's Office of Children, Youth and Learning
• Providence After School Alliance, Inc.
• Providence ¡CityArts! for Youth
• Rhode Island Black Storytellers
• Rhode Island Parent Information Network
• Rhode Island Urban Debate League
• Riverzedge Arts
• Roger Williams Park Zoo
• The Learning Community
Advocate United / Lift United
• Center for Health and Justice Transformation at The Miriam Hospital
• Center For Southeast Asians
• Childhood Lead Action Project
• College Unbound
• Coyote RI
• Economic Progress Institute
• Generation Citizen
• Grow Smart RI
• Housing Network of Rhode Island
• HousingWorks RI at RWU
• Latino Policy Institute at RWU
• OpenDoors
• Parents Leading for Educational Equity (PLEE)
• Pawtucket Central Falls Development Corporation
• Progreso Latino, Inc.
• Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless
• Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty
• SISTA Fire /Project South
• West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation
• Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
Achieve United / Advocate United
• Movement Education Outdoors
• Young Voices
Achieve United / Lift United
• Federal Hill House
• New Urban Arts
• The Manton Avenue Project
Achieve United / Advocate United / Lift United
• Global Science Envirotech, Inc.
• Southside Community Land Trust
• Youth In Action
Featured 2021 Community Impact Fund grantees
Sistafire
In Rhode Island, women and non-binary people of color are the backbones of our families and our communities. As caregivers, frontline workers, educators and visionaries within our neighborhoods, we see what is possible and fight for justice. But despite the strength and vision we hold for our communities, we face the compounding challenges of structural racism and gender violence. At SISTA Fire, one of the areas we’re fighting to change is birth outcomes for Black women, women of color, and their children through a community accountability process.
– Alexa Barriga, Organizing Coordinator
Fuerza Laboral
We need businesses in our community to have more human capital, civic engagement, and stronger social ties and principles. Workers’ Cooperatives does that. This award from the United Way will allow us to continue our path of success and create a meaningful Economic and Social Impact.
–Heiny Maldonado, Executive Director
FabNewport
We are working in partnership to build an ecosystem of learning using the Providence libraries as hubs for youth to launch their lives. The addition of two coaches focused on building relationships will allow us to connect with more students. Relationships are at the heart of good learning. If our youth feel safe, and they feel like they belong, anything is possible.
Our goal is for students to develop the skills, confidence and commitment so they can make a positive impact on their communities and make their lives.
–Steve Heath, Executive Director
Youth in action
We understand the need and effectiveness of having youth in decision-making positions of power, representing themselves in all of the places that impact them. This funding allows us to expand the team to create more equitable workloads, maintain and expand youth team salaries, and increase equity in the pay of our adult leadership, who are representative of the populations we serve. This will allow us to go deeper and reach new communities that we didn't have the capacity to do before, expanding youth leadership throughout Rhode Island.
–Elliot A. Rivera, Executive Director
Form Symbiotic Nonprofit Relationships
Forbes Nonprofit Council
"If not done carefully, a business relationship has the potential to hinder rather than help the work being done by both organizations. To prevent collaborations that hinder nonprofit work, 11 members of Forbes Nonprofit Council, including Cortney Nicolato, United Way of Rhode Island's president and CEO, share how nonprofit leaders can form mutually beneficial relationships with a partner or another organization."
Nonprofit Center Design Team Announced
GoLocalProv
"United Way of Rhode Island announced on Tuesday the... members of a 'Design Team' that will be tasked with co-creating a vision and plan for... a Nonprofit Resource Center... 'We had a strong application response, and [these] individuals particularly stood out for their collection of unique insights and commitment to collaboration,' said Cortney Nicolato, president and CEO of United Way."
401Gives raises $3.09M for 507 nonprofits
Providence Business News
"This year's 401Gives Day raised the bar, once again, in supporting the state's nonprofit sector. As of Monday afternoon, the annual online fundraising initiative raised $3.09M, breaking last year's record total by close to a million dollars. It also saw a record number of donors – 12,850 in total as of 2:15 p.m. Monday – and number of organizations supported at 507, exceeding last year's mark by 87."
Seeking Input for Nonprofit Resource Center
“The Design Team working with United Way of Rhode Island to create a vision and plan for a statewide Nonprofit Resource Center is seeking input from the community to help guide what the center could offer. The first virtual session will look at current nonprofit capacity, followed by a number of visioning sessions focused on brainstorming strategies to strengthen nonprofits.”
Olneyville Community Fund RFP Released
“Continuing its commitment to strengthening the neighborhood it calls home, United Way of Rhode Island has released a request for proposal (RFP) for funding from its Olneyville Community Fund. More than $100,000 in grants is being made available to nonprofits located in Olneyville and those whose work specifically serves the Olneyville community.”
11 Leaders Selected for Design Team
“Work to create a Nonprofit Resource Center to support Rhode Island organizations is picking up steam with the selection of the members of the Design Team that will be tasked with cocreating a vision and plan for what the effort will look like. United Way of Rhode Island… has named 11 nonprofit leaders to the team.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
Visioning Session: Capacity Building Effort
United Way of Rhode Island is partnering with local nonprofit leaders to design a nonprofit resource hub for organizations across the state. Join us for a virtual, 90-minute visioning session to brainstorm strategies to address the needs of Rhode Island nonprofits and structural inequities in the sector. There will be five sessions — choose the one that best fits your schedule.
Day of Action
Join United Way of Rhode Island for Day of Action on Saturday, June 4 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m at United Way in Providence. We'll be sorting, labeling, and preparing books collected during our Children's Book Drive 2022 for distribution to kids in afterschool and summer learning programs. Three shifts are available — 9 - 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., and 2 - 4 p.m. This is a family friendly volunteer opportunity.
The Night Is Young
Don't miss the largest young professionals event of the year! Join United Way's Young Leaders Circle for The Night Is Young on Saturday, June 18 from 7 - 11 p.m. at Skyline at Waterplace. Register now to get early bird tickets for $45.