Champlin Foundation’s $9.6 Million awards to RI nonprofits includes three for $1 Million

Champlin Foundation Awards $9.6 Million to Nonprofits Statewide, Including Three $1 Million Grant Recipients 

The Champlin Foundation announced today more than $9.6 million in capital funding, including three exciting $1 million grants awarded to the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum, Crossroads Rhode Island, and the Boys and Girls Club of Providence.   

The 87 nonprofit organizations receiving funding in this cycle serve Rhode Islanders of all ages across youth services, healthcare, arts and culture, and beyond. Among the recipients are 12 first-time grantees.  “While our lives return to normal in many ways, the impact of the pandemic can still be felt, especially in our nonprofit community. In organizations across the state, workforce shortages continue to leave nonprofits doing more with less, and inflation and supply chain disruptions have a significant impact on capital projects,” said Nina Stack, executive director of The Champlin Foundation. “We seek to ease some of that burden for community-based organizations delivering critical services and advancing the physical, mental, and economic health and vibrancy of our state. We are proud to support this latest round of grantees, representing transformational work that is anchored in the needs, priorities, and aspirations of our communities.”   

The Champlin Foundation specifically supports capital improvements across nine areas of focus: arts and culture, conservation and parks, education, healthcare, historic preservation and heritage, libraries, social services, youth services, and welfare of animals. Every area is represented in this round of funding.

Total giving by the Foundation will be supplemented with a second round of grants in fall 2022. Applications for the fall cycle open today.  The trio of $1 million awards in a single cycle is unusual for Champlin but speaks to both the tremendous need in the nonprofit community and the leadership and commitment of grantees.   

The Tomaquag Museum is one of that trio. The organization is preparing to build a comprehensive, four-building campus on 18 acres of rural University of Rhode Island land in South Kingstown that honors the region’s Indigenous history with a new museum, robust archives, a maker’s space, as well as a building for educational programming.  “Rhode Island is home to one of the most important and vibrant Indigenous histories in the country. Having a beautiful, expansive campus will allow Tomaquag to better honor and share the gifts of our cultures—past, present, and future,” said Executive Director Lorén M. Spears. “Support and enthusiasm for our campaign continues to grow, and this gift from Champlin further underscores the momentum we have for elevating the stories of Indigenous people and engaging more Rhode Islanders in exploring, understanding, and honoring that legacy.”   “Lorén, her staff, and the board, with perseverance and a sound, diligent approach, presented a well-conceived, transformational vision. To see it fully realized it will require many more donors, but the Foundation is proud to be a major contributor,” Stack added. 

In the face of an urgent statewide affordable housing crisis, Champlin awards a $1 million grant to Crossroads Rhode Island, the leading provider of homeless services. The organization’s main headquarters, which is the epicenter of service and support for the more than 1,100 Rhode Islanders who face housing insecurity on any given day, is in need of significant exterior restoration and repair.   “At Crossroads, we know that housing is the only true solution to homelessness,” said Karen Santilli, Crossroads CEO. “We serve some of the most vulnerable people in our state, and by reinvesting in our headquarters, we can continue that work for many years to come.”  

The third and final $1 million grant in this cycle is going to the Boys and Girls Club of Providence, which plans to renovate and expand its Wanskuck Clubhouse. The branch opened in 1927 and has been providing recreational activities and educational programming to the young people of the city’s North End ever since. The Boys and Girls Club of Providence is also a longstanding grantee, having received the first of what has been an annual grant from The Champlin Foundation in 1958.  “The Wanskuck Clubhouse has been serving the community for close to a century, however the facility has not kept pace with the emerging needs of children and families. We are honored to receive this $1 million grant from The Champlin Foundation which will greatly assist in the Clubhouse’s transformation and expansion. BGCP will be able to serve even more individuals and grow our services including academic intervention, career readiness, and social and emotional support,” said CEO Nicole R. Dufresne.  

In addition to the three mentioned, grants supporting other transformational projects were awarded to Teatro ECAS, which is building out a larger theater in the Valley Arts District; Save the Bay, which is moving its Newport aquarium to a greatly expanded new Downtown space; and Revive the Roots in Smithfield, which is acquiring land and the historic Mowry house; and a grant to CCRI will completely update the Dental Hygiene program’s equipment at the Lincoln campus.   

The full list of grantees and their awards is available on the Champlin website. The second round of applications for 2022 grants opens today and will close on July 1, 2022.  

About The Champlin Foundation: Since 1932, The Champlin Foundation has awarded more than $620 million to fund capital projects for Rhode Island nonprofit organizations. Its nine areas of focus cover Arts & Culture, Conservation & Parks, Education, Health, Historic Preservation, Libraries, Social Services, Welfare of Animals, and Youth Services. For more information, visit www.ChamplinFoundation.org.