Grants Office


Grants Office Update

On May 3, 2007, Amica Mutual Insurance Company announced that it has pledged $50,000 over a five-year period to CCRI’s Capital Campaign to upgrade its Allied Healthcare Education Laboratories and Equipment.

The CCRI Foundation launched this $1,000,000 Capital Campaign to upgrade the equipment that our students use and the laboratories they learn in on their pathway to a successful career in the healthcare industry. Funding will enable CCRI to replace outdated equipment, much of which dates back to 1990; modernize laboratory space; and establish an endowment that will provide scholarships to students pursuing a career in health care, and offer faculty professional development opportunities.

Amica has long been a friend of the Community College of Rhode Island, and CCRI is proud to be the beneficiary of Amica’s generosity for this worthy endeavor as well.

Recent Grants

February proved to be a very good month for the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). The Frank B. Hazard Fund notified CCRI on 2/9/2007 that our grant application had been approved in the amount of $8,000. The funds will be used to provide support services to complement the language lab at the Liston Campus for students who speak English as a second language.

The 51.3% minority enrollment at the South Providence Campus dramatically represents the community served there. Many of these students are new immigrants to the U.S., and require intense language remediation and advanced ESL instruction.

Due to the large number of ESL students who attend the Liston Campus and the small number of professional tutors, students currently have access primarily to peer tutors. The award money will be used to staff the new, state-of-the-art language lab with professional tutors who will provide direct services to students experiencing academic difficulty through proactive intervention.

The new language lab was made possible through a $101,700 gift from the Champlin Foundations in December 2006.


On February 12, the Governor’s Workforce Board RI notified CCRI that our Industry Partnership proposal for $100,626 was fully funded.

The goal of this project is to create a much-needed Partnership in Rhode Island’s construction industry where all voices will be heard. Initial partners will include The Center to Advance Minority Participation in the Construction Industry (The Center), The Black Contractors Association of RI (BCA), Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (RI Housing), Rhode Island Hispanic Contractors Association (HCA), and CCRI.

The Partnership will conduct forums to foster networking and mentoring opportunities, develop effective solutions to address industry issues, provide ongoing industry and employer outreach, increase awareness of the resources that are available to small and minority-owned businesses, and promote links between the RI Chapter of Associated Building Contractors, the RI Builders Association, and minority contractors in order to increase their opportunity to do business together.

This is a first step toward creating one state-wide association that will represent all members of the construction industry, and that will serve as the vehicle for developing effective solutions to enhance the industry’s competitiveness.


Grants Proposals in Progress -
Fiscal year July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007

Prospect Amount Requested Amount Received CCRI Contact Date
Proposal Submitted
Status Notes
RI Department of Motor Vehicles

Bus Driver Training
$50,582 $45,000 Meo Colantonio July 2006

Approved To train new bus drivers and provide an annual refresher course for current drivers.
The Cristina Foundation Product donation; type and amount to be determined. Meo Colantonio July 2006 Approved To update the equipment used to train incarcerated adults at the ACI in computer literacy skills. The request was for 20 laptop computers.
Newport Public School System

The Even Start Program
$31,564 $31,564 Leslie Gell July 2006
Approved To provide adult GED and ESL educational services.
Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island $100,626 $100,626 Robin Smith.

Partners include
The Center, BCA, RI Housing, and HCA.
September 22, 2006 Approved To create a much-needed partnership among RI minority contractors associations who currently are under-represented in the industry’s larger, existing trade associations, and to increase their visibility as a viable resource that the majority trade associations enjoy.
National Science Foundation $14,396 Phil Miller.

This project is a collaboration between CCRI and URI.
September 26, 2006 To develop a co-advising program that will increase transfer rates from CCRI to URI in engineering. CCRI will work with URI to develop and test a pilot program in the summer of 2007.
Rhode Island Child Care Apprentice Program (RICCAP) $462,366; $410,000 Leslie Gell;
Jerry Hatfield
October 2006 Approved RICCAP is currently serving its second cohort of students. Twenty-two apprentices are enrolled and scheduled to complete their training by June of 2007. CCRI partnered with 14 child care centers throughout the state to offer this unique combination of on-site training and college coursework. Continued funding will enable CCRI to serve a third cohort of students.
Hazard General Charity Fund $15,000 $8,000 Institutional Advancement November 30, 2006 Approved To provide professional tutors for the ESL language lab at the Liston Campus.
Providence Journal Charitable Fund $25,000   Allied Health Faculty 12/29/06 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs at the Flanagan Campus.
NSF—Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement $38,790   Karen Kortz 1/8/2007 Pending Collaboration between CCRI and the University of Akron to evaluate whether conceptests promote student learning in introductory geosciences courses.
Ocean State Charities Trust $20,000   Allied Health Faculty 1/30/2007 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.
Alletta McBean Charitable Trust $93,615   Chris Peterson;
Ruth Sullivan.
2/26/2007 Pending Install an electronic classroom and expand the library collection at the Newport Campus.
Textron Charitable Trust $25,000   Allied Health Faculty 2/28/2007 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.
Federal Appropriations Committee $250,000   Submitted at Senator Reed’s request. 2/28/2007 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.
Citizens Bank Foundation $50,000   Allied Health Faculty 3/6/2007 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.
Amica Mutual Insurance Co. $50,000 $50,000 pledged over five years. Allied Health Faculty March 15, 2007 Successful Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.
RIDE Adult Ed $1,844,276   Lifelong Learning; REACH. April 2, 2007 Pending Submitted several proposals in collaboration with Dorcas Place and RIRAL to improve delivery of Adult Ed in RI.
RI Council for the Humanities $5,000   Norm Grant; Tom Shaker. May 1, 2007 Pending “Rhode Island Jazz, Swing, and Blues.”  Musical history project that will result in a documentary film about RI musicians.
Rhode Island Foundation $50,000 Challenge Grant   Allied Health Faculty May 1, 2007 Pending Capital Campaign to Upgrade the Healthcare Education Labs.

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