Rhode Island Foundation Grant to Help Newport Salvation Army

By Chris Barnett

Dozens of community organizations will share $385,000 in grants to fund neighborhood-based projects across the state. The work ranges from creating community gardens in Coventry and Newport to enhancing performance spaces in Cumberland and Richmond.

“Our grants will create places to gather, make friendships and launch new collaborations that will build community connections throughout Rhode Island,” said Jessica David, executive vice president of strategy and community investments.

The Foundation is funding 45 projects in 26 cities and towns. The maximum grant was $10,000. Most of the work is expected to be underway before the end of the year.

“We’re excited about these ideas for making community happen in more and better ways at the local level. Supporting community-building will improve shared places and quality of life, promote collaboration and increase community engagement,” said David. The Salvation Army of Newport received $10,000 to purchase a new full-sized wall-mounted projection screen and modernized audio-video system for its community center at 51 Memorial Boulevard. The updated video system is expected to strengthen the effectiveness of its programs and improve the quality of presentations made to program participants.

“We are thrilled to be awarded a Community Grant to provide much needed technological improvements to our audio-video system. The new equipment will greatly enhance our ability to reach out to more people and our technology will finally be on par with other nonprofits in the area,” said LeNissa Rivera, corps officer for Newport.

“We are excited for the opportunities that the sound system project funding will bring, most notably we already have plans to sponsor community movie nights and to run informational videos so clients see additional opportunities available to them with us and in the larger Newport community,” she said.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Working with generous and visionary donors, the Foundation raised $114 million and awarded $52 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities in 2018. Through leadership, fundraising and grantmaking activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential.