May 24, 2024 – Thanks to an allocation from the State of Rhode Island, RI Humanities is excited to announce $90,000 in general operating support funds through the THRIVE grantmaking program to 18 organizations. The awards were announced at an event at the Rhode Island State House on Thursday, May 23, 2024, which included remarks from Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi, RI Humanities Executive Director Elizabeth Francis, and Cheryl Faria of the East Providence Historical Society representing the group of grant recipients.
Photos: Cat Laine.
THRIVE provides funding for small cultural heritage organizations and local historical and preservation societies that support and strengthen Rhode Island’s many diverse, dynamic communities. Each organization receives $5,000 in operating support funds.
The program received over 40 applications for just 18 available awards. Recipients represent 15 towns and cities across the state.
RI Humanities Executive Director Elizabeth Francis notes, “For 50 years, Rhode Island Humanities has supported engagement with the humanities through grants for projects as well as through partnerships and initiatives. Now, through the THRIVE program, we are thrilled to award these inaugural general operating support grants to small organizations that preserve and activate our many cultures, heritages, places, and stories in rural and urban communities across the state. We’re grateful to the State of Rhode Island for seeing the value in this program and partnering with RI Humanities as a trusted grantmaker to ensure that humanities organizations by and for all Rhode Islanders can thrive.”
Rhode Island Humanities’ THRIVE grant reviewers included members of our Board of Directors and community reviewers, who are all Rhode Island-based humanities professionals. Reviewers represented a diversity of identities, locations, subject matter expertises, and professional backgrounds. Reviewer recommendations for the THRIVE Operating Support Grants were approved by the Grants Policy Committee.
The list of recipients includes:
Blackstone River Watershed Council – a local historical and preservation society dedicated to restoring, enhancing and preserving the physical, historical and cultural integrity of the Blackstone River, its watershed and its ecosystem.
Centro Cultural Andino – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of the Andean countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela, and Argentina) in Rhode Island communities.
Cultural Society – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage and building healthy communities in Rhode Island.
East Providence Historical Society – a local historical and preservation society dedicated to enriching and educating the citizens of East Providence and surrounding communities about the history of the town.
Foster Preservation Society – a local historical and preservation society dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings, rural character, colonial heritage and the orderly growth and development of the town of Foster, RI.
Friends of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse – a local historical and preservation society dedicated to ensuring the historic restoration and preservation of Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in East Providence and to improving public awareness, appreciation and access to Pomham Rocks Lighthouse.
Friends of the Pokanoket Tribe – a cultural heritage organization and local historical and preservation society dedicated to serving the Pokanoket people, an Indigenous group in present-day Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and supporting the people and lands that fall within the traditional territories that the Pokanoket call Sowams.
India Association of Rhode Island – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to strengthening the unity of Rhode Island’s Indian community and encouraging, protecting, and celebrating India’s rich social, cultural, and educational heritage in Rhode Island.
Jamestown Historical Society – a local historical and preservation society dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing with others the heritage of Jamestown, RI, through properties, collections, programs, exhibits, and publications.
Museum of Newport Irish History – a cultural heritage organization and local historical and preservation society dedicated to telling the story of Irish immigrants and their descendants in Newport County, RI, and the surrounding area from the colonial era to the present; to preserving artifacts relating to their experiences; and to facilitating research on Irish history and heritage.
Newport Middle Passage Port Marker Project – a cultural heritage organization and local historical and preservation society dedicated to honoring the lives of the captive Africans who perished in the Middle Passage journey and the slave trade, and to celebrate the economic and cultural contributions of the survivors and their descendants who helped build Newport and America. *Part of the National Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Marker Project.
Newport Pride – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to supporting and working with the LGBTQ+ community and its allies in the Newport, RI, area to provide resources and education that expand community understanding, support diverse LGBTQ+ identities and history, and produce events for people to connect, learn, and celebrate.
Puerto Rican Institute for Arts & Advocacy – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to promoting and facilitating civic and cultural awareness of the Puerto Rican culture, as well as other Latino/a/x heritages, through performance, workshops, visual art, literature, crafts, and the Afro-ancestral arts.
Rhode Island Black Film Festival – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to showcasing films that showcase the historical and cultural contributions of people of African, African-American, and Afro-Latin descent. RIBFF gives voice to diverse cultures, features emerging filmmakers of color, and seeks to increase participation of youth of color in Rhode Island’s film production industry.
RI Kung Fu & Lion Dance Club – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to promoting the cultural and martial arts of Chinese lion dance and kung fu, and fostering cross-cultural community understanding and learning by sharing these arts through performances and programming.
South County Museum – a local historical and preservation society in Narragansett, RI, dedicated to preserving rural and coastal Southern Rhode Island’s material culture for education and inspiration; telling the diverse stories and histories that have shaped South County; and empowering individuals with the knowledge, skills, and creativity needed to master traditional craft disciplines.
Sowams Heritage Area Project – a cultural heritage organization and local historical and preservation society led by a regional coalition of town planners, tourism entities, historical societies, environmentalists, tribal leaders, and other volunteers from the nine towns and cities that today comprise Sowams, along the northeastern shore of Narragansett Bay.
Wanderground Lesbian Archive/Library – a cultural heritage organization dedicated to collecting and providing access to a broad selection of New England-based publications, artifacts, and personal memorabilia from the period 1950-2000 in an effort to reclaim Lesbian visibility and lived experience; and offering gathering spaces in order to preserve the vibrant past of local Lesbians, encourage present-day learning and discovery, and cultivate a future of thriving Lesbian communities.
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Rhode Island Humanities seeds, supports, and strengthens public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement by and for all Rhode Islanders. As the only dedicated source of funding for public humanities in Rhode Island, we are proud to support museums, libraries, historic sites, schools, preservation and historical societies, community and cultural organizations, individual researchers and documentary filmmakers to bring Rhode Island’s stories to life and to amplify the state’s many diverse voices. A private nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, RI Humanities is supported by federal funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as by individuals, corporations, and foundations. Visit www.rihumanities.org for more information.
