Grant Application Guidelines
Applying for grants takes time and resources. Please read these guidelines carefully to determine if it is a wise use of your time and resources to apply.

Type and size of grants
The Women's Fund of Rhode Island (WFRI) has $45,000 available to grant in this cycle. WFRI plans to award multiple renewal grants, ranging between $2,500 and $10,000. WFRI will provide funds for project specific support, general operating support, planning, or start-up support. WFRI will fund advocacy activities. All funding will support political participation and economic autonomy programs.

The application process and due dates
Invited organizations or projects must submit a formal application. Only those that have been invited to submit a formal application may do so.

March 28, 2008 at 4pm* (for invited organizations only)
Proposal due date

May - June 2008
Site Visits (as needed)

August 5, 2008
Grant Notification

November 2008
Fall Celebration - Grantee Recognition

* Not postmarked but due at the office of The Rhode Island Foundation - One Union Station, Providence, RI 02903 - on the due dates, clearly marked "Women's Fund of Rhode Island" on the outside envelope.

About the Women's Fund of Rhode Island

For women and girls in Rhode Island, the playing field isn't level yet. Consider these few statistics:

• On average, RI women earn 76.5% of what men earn. In 1999, median weekly earnings for women in RI were $488, compared to $628 for men.
• Women and children comprise the fastest-growing segment of the homeless.
• 1/3 of women-led single-parent households in RI live in poverty.
• RI women have among the lowest levels of elected representation in state and national offices in the U.S.
• The birth rate for teenage girls is soaring among the Hispanic and Asian teen populations, up almost 50% from a decade ago.

Many of society's problems have a greater impact on women and girls. There is an undeniable correlation between poverty, low self-esteem, poor health and inadequate healthcare, job access and wages, domestic violence, sexual assault - and being female.

The Women's Fund of Rhode Island is part of a global movement to help level the playing field for women and girls. The Women's Fund of Rhode Island is committed to social change grantmaking that focuses on long-term solutions to societal problems. WFRI empowers women, convenes community leaders, and advocates for change.

WFRI does all its work "through a gender lens" - and only funds projects and organizations that reflect a gender lens. WFRI funds projects that focus on the unique needs of women and girls, provide gender-specific solutions to problems facing women and girls, and allow these unique needs to set the pace and determine the content and delivery of projects. (Click here to see information about gender lens and grantmaking).

The Women's Fund is a field of interest fund located at The Rhode Island Foundation. An independent Advisory Council provides leadership and guidance to the Fund. The Rhode Island Foundation provides management and financial support.