BankRI grants to help organizations addressing impacts of pandemic

Twenty-eight local nonprofits have been awarded a total of $117,000 in grants by Bank Rhode Island (BankRI) to aid their work on behalf of Rhode Islanders and to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding supports programs focusing on basic needs of food, housing, medical care and education, efforts that serve at-risk populations, and the arts. Grants range from $2,000 to $10,000. 

“We are living through an unprecedented crisis that has created tremendous need across our communities and for tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders,” said Mark J. Meiklejohn, President and CEO of BankRI. “Our nonprofit partners – each doing important work to help our neighbors – are facing challenges like never before. All of us at BankRI are grateful for their efforts and for our ability to support their missions.”

 Capital Good Fund and Clinica Esperanza are among the organizations awarded grants. Funding to Capital Good Fund helps its Crisis Relief Loan program to reach an additional 100 families and provide funds for expenses like rent, utilities, and food. For Clinica Esperanza, the grant supports a COVID-19 testing site.

 “The current global health crisis has hit our most vulnerable population the hardest,” said Morgan Leonard, Clinic Coordinator, Clinica Esperanza. “Funding from BankRI was integral in enabling us to establish our testing site and in advancing our commitment to providing this population high-quality, culturally attuned care at a time it’s needed more than ever.”

Other nonprofits to receive funding include Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation for meal delivery to immune compromised patients undergoing cancer treatment; RI Community Food Bank for food acquisition; Read to Succeed to support a summer reading college scholarship program; and FirstWorks to launch a new digital learning model to bring the arts to students in 13 school districts through the academic year and summer.

 “This grant represents both a commitment to low-income children in our state and a critical investment in ensuring urgently needed access to the arts through technology,” said Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director for FirstWorks. “BankRI has played a special role in our growth from the beginning and has been instrumental in our ability to offer students and teachers at over 40 schools virtual learning during this crisis.”