Tri-Town Receives $525,000 from United Way

JOHNSTON – Tri-Town Community Action Agency has been awarded two grants by United Way of Rhode Island for a total of $525,000 over the next three years to support Tri-Town’s food bank expansion and Job Ready Financial Literacy programs.

The grants were awarded by United Way its new 2016-2019 competitive grant cycle, with a focus on funding efforts that help kids fall in love with learning, help adults reach new career goals, and help families meet their basic needs. In total, United Way has awarded $3.1 million in grants among the $12 million it has committed through 2019 to help change the lives of 250,000 Rhode Islanders by 2020, the overarching goal of its new strategic plan, “Live United 2020.”

As outlined in its applications for the grants, Tri-Town will use one grant for $300,000 to cover expenses related to moving its food bank from 33 Maple Ave. to 11 Emanuel St. in North Providence, providing more space for the food distribution program and making more parking available at the Maple Avenue Community Center for Health Center patients and other program participants.

The other grant of $225,000 will fund Tri-Town’s ongoing financial literacy classes for participants in the Job Ready program, which includes budgeting, banking basics, credit and lenders, debt consolidation, consumer protection and fraud, home ownership and retirement planning.

“On behalf of everyone at Tri-Town, and most especially the clients we serve every day, I thank United Way for their generous support of our agency’s mission to help people and change lives,” said President and CEO Joseph DeSantis. “These two grants will ensure that we can continue to provide local families with nutritious food, and help job seekers learn how to manage their money effectively and get the most out of their paychecks.”

Tri-Town Community Action submitted its funding application in response to United Way’s request for proposals last fall. The submission was one of 224 proposals received by United Way. Funding proposals were put through a vigorous review process by a diverse group of 75 United Way community volunteers, who spent nearly six months reviewing proposals before delivering their funding recommendations to the United Way Community Investment Advisory Committee for approval. Volunteers received more than ten hours of training to become reviewers, and were tasked with taking a total of $16.5 million in funding requests to allocate the $3.1 million made available by United Way.

“While our goal of changing 250,000 lives by 2020 is ambitious, the innovative ideas of the funding proposals we received really captured the forward thinking we need to make the vision a reality,” said Anthony Maione, President and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “We know that when families have access to stable housing, children receive the opportunities they need to succeed in the classroom, and adults get the support they need to advance in the workforce, there’s no limit to how strong our communities can become—and that helps everyone."