Grants Awarded: 2006  

In September 2006, the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island awarded its fifth round of grants to help level the playing field for women and girls in the state. With $75,000 to give away against $168,925 in total requests, it was a challenge to select from many worthy projects. After a thorough review by the Grants Review Team of the Women’s Fund, seven proposals totaling $74,925 were selected as projects that best reflect its grantmaking criteria.

AS220: A $13,000 grant to launch the Rossi House Debate Program. The project will engage young women in the Rhode Island Training School in a debate program that teaches them public speaking skills in order to advocate on their own behalf as well as for broader social causes.

Center for Women & Enterprise: A $14,000 grant to implement the complete three-module Community Entrepreneurs’ Program (CEP) in Rhode Island. CEP aims to help disadvantaged women gain economic control in their lives through entrepreneurship.

George Wiley Center: A $7,500 grant to support the training of fifteen low-income women negatively impacted by the policies of energy companies and state bureaucracies with fifteen women interested in becoming advocates for economic justice.

Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island: A $13,425 grant to initiate the Planned Parenthood Get Out The Vote Rhode Island Campaign (GOTV-RI). The project will increase the number of women registering to vote and to increase the number of women voters between the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund: A $10,000 grant to develop the Latina Leadership Institute (LLI). The institute provides an eight week leadership development and training program to teach Latinas about community organizing, leadership skills, team building, public policy, political involvement, advocacy, as well as race, class and gender issues.

The Poverty Institute: A $7,000 grant to the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College to support RI Parents for Progress Community Organizing. The leadership development program will continue to engage low-income women in policy advocacy for investments and improvements in adult education and training, work support and safety net programs.

We Learn: A $10,000 grant to launch Women Leading Through Reading (WLTR) Circles in adult basic education agencies in Rhode Island. The WLTR Circles are community-based action projects which provide reading and discussion materials focused on the needs and issues of women to women with limited literacy.