Ocean State Charities Trust
/OVERVIEW: The Ocean State Charities Trust supports Rhode Island nonprofits in the areas of housing, healthcare, education, and welfare.
FUNDING AREAS: Housing, healthcare, education, welfare
IP TAKE: Approach this foundation for program support for locally specific programs that benefit populations in Rhode Island.
PROFILE: Established in 1981, the Ocean State Charities Trust (OSCT) is based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This trust accepts donations from businesses, individuals, and foundations to help local nonprofit agencies. The trust aims to assist “agencies and organizations within the state of Rhode Island to enhance the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders.” Grantmaking priorities include housing, healthcare, education, and welfare.
OSCT provides housing grants to support shelter, homes, lodging, and boarding efforts. It funds healthcare groups in the areas of professional services and care for physical, mental, and emotional health. Education grants go towards instruction, tutoring, learning, and training. Finally, welfare grants are focused on overall wellbeing of Rhode Islanders, safety, benefits, and happiness. Across all categories, OSCT provides program and project support rather than funding for general operating expenses. The foundation often utilizes challenge grants to ensure that prospective grantees can also secure viable support from other donors in the community.
In addition to OSCT’s general grantmaking program, it also has a program called the Endowment Incubator. This is a program that provides investment opportunities to help nonprofits build their own endowment programs.
Foundation grants are limited to $20,000 per calendar year. Nonprofits can view a list of past grant recipients in the foundation’s grants database. Past grantees include the Normal Bird Sanctuary, Providence City Arts for Youth, the Cumberland Library Fund, and Bike Newport. Overall, the foundation restricts grantmaking to groups that are based in Rhode Island and that serve Rhode Islanders. The foundation reviews grant applications in May and November of each year, so the application deadlines are August 1 and February 1.
The grant application process for new grantseekers begins with an eligibility quiz. Returning applications shall simply log onto their online account to apply for an new OSCT grant online. Grantseekers can direct questions to the staff at 401-728-9008 or info@osct.org.
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