PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — To support job training for Rhode Islanders aspiring to careers in early childhood education and the construction trades, Brown University has awarded $3 million in grants to the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and Building Futures.
 
The grants build on a track record of Brown support for local workforce development initiatives as part of the University’s service and community engagement mission. They also mark the first public step toward fulfilling a pledge to which Brown committed in its July 2025 voluntary resolution agreement with the federal government, which restored funding for federally sponsored medical and health sciences research at Brown.
 
As part of that agreement, Brown committed to provide $50 million over 10 years to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island. The University will award $1.5 million each to CCRI and Building Futures, with the funds disbursed to each organization over the course of three years.
 
Brown has also launched a process through which other organizations can express interest in future grant funding. As it fulfills the $50 million pledge over the next decade, Brown will offer “anchor grants” of up to $1.5 million for established workforce development initiatives in addition to “innovation grants” of up to $200,000 for new ideas and pioneering programs. Future grants will be awarded through a process led by Brown’s Office of Community Engagement in consultation with community stakeholders.
 
Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said the grants deepen Brown’s longstanding dedication to supporting local partners working to advance career development and economic mobility for Rhode Islanders.
 
“As an anchor institution in the Ocean State, Brown is committed to playing an important role in supporting successful lives and careers for local residents and strengthening Rhode Island’s economy,” Paxson said. “These investments will provide important funding for key workforce initiatives by helping to maximize their impact and empower more residents to build stable, meaningful careers that strengthen the state’s economic growth.”
 
Brown selected initiatives at CCRI and Building Futures for the inaugural grants after evaluating applications from the organizations. The selections build on longstanding partnerships with each organization and were based in part on their proven track records in training workers for in-demand fields in Rhode Island, where the education sector and building trades face growing demand for skilled workers.
 
CCRI is the state’s flagship community college, which prepares residents with skills needed for careers in early childhood education and other in-demand employment sectors. Building Futures is a Providence-based nonprofit apprenticeship program that helps low-income workers build skills and move into construction careers. The funding from Brown will support training initiatives designed to help Rhode Island employers fill evolving demand for tens of thousands of education and construction jobs over the next seven years, according to projections from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.
 
Strengthening Rhode Island’s teaching pipeline
 
Brown’s $1.5 million grant to CCRI will support the launch of a certificate program that aims to expand the number of early childhood educators in the Providence Public School District (PPSD) by as many as 180 teachers in the next three years through the city’s first bilingual credential program.
 
The grant will fund more than $1 million in scholarships and student support aimed at reducing barriers to program completion that low-income, multilingual and first-generation college students often face. This support includes bilingual tutoring, dedicated mentors, technology, transportation and meals. 

Mary Jo Callan, vice president for community engagement at Brown, said that by supporting CCRI’s early childhood program, the University funding will positively impact Rhode Island’s people, communities and economy for decades to come. 

“Early education lays the foundation for lifelong learning and success,” Callan said. “Investing in this sector is an investment in Rhode Island families, communities and our future workforce. Early learning centers give kids a strong start, and strengthen our local economy by enabling parents to work and experience long-term success.” 
 
CCRI currently enrolls more than 250 early childhood education students each year, but the demand for early childhood educators and teaching assistants exceeds the program’s capacity. The grant from Brown will enable CCRI to enroll five cohorts of students in the new certificate program over the next three years, helping new educators enter the field while also supporting current teachers as they work toward full teaching certification.

“This partnership with Brown University and the Providence Public School District represents an important advancement toward expanding clear, supported pathways to credential and career attainment in the high-demand field of bilingual early childhood education,” said CCRI President Rosemary A. Costigan. “We are grateful to Brown for launching this work with CCRI, and to our partners at PPSD and Mayor Smiley’s office for their collaboration as we build a program that responds to the needs of both our students and community. It is our hope that this work will continue to expand and have statewide impact.” 

As the state’s largest employer of early childhood educators, PPSD has committed to hiring graduates who complete the 24-credit CCRI certificate program. The program requires no prior college experience and will use a hybrid in-person/online model with evening and weekend classes.
 
The flexible structure was jointly developed by the district and the community college to enable current PPSD teaching assistants to advance into higher-level positions without interrupting their existing roles. And for those seeking full teacher licensure, the program offers a streamlined transfer pathway to a four-year degree from Rhode Island College or the University of Rhode Island through CCRI’s joint admission agreements.
 
Expanding access to opportunity through apprenticeship
 
The University’s $1.5 million grant to Building Futures will expand three programs over the next three years, enabling the organization to prepare and place more than 250 Rhode Islanders into local careers through registered apprenticeships across construction, health care, IT, education, manufacturing and other sectors.
 
Building Futures is nationally recognized for its pre-apprenticeship program. It has equipped hundreds of local residents — including many from low-income backgrounds or with histories of incarceration — with skills and pathways to careers in building and construction trades, plus career counseling and job placement support.
 
The grant funding from Brown will support a contractor incentive program; an apprenticeship readiness program for incarcerated individuals to support community reintegration and careers in the building trades; and partnerships with private employers to create new apprenticeship programs that expand the organization’s proven workforce development model into other sectors.
 
“Programs led by Building Futures not only empower Rhode Islanders to launch new careers, but also serve as a valuable bridge between skilled workers and the employers that need them,” Callan said. “With the grant support from Brown, Building Futures can build on that impact and expand program capacity, accelerate job placement and catalyze further growth across the state’s workforce in the building trades and beyond.”
 
Building Futures and Brown have enjoyed a long partnership, with more than 460 Building Futures graduates having benefited from Brown’s commitment to registered apprenticeships, and most spending some portion of their training on a Brown construction project. The partnership dates to 2012, when Brown became the first private institution in Rhode Island to commit to employing apprentices, requiring that at least 15% of labor hours on construction projects over $5 million be performed by apprentices. More than 10% of the 2.2 million apprentice hours tracked as part of Building Futures’ Apprentice Utilization Program were on Brown projects.
 
“For more than a decade, Brown has been an essential partner in ensuring industry demand for pre-apprenticeship program graduates,” said Andrew Cortés, president and CEO of Building Futures. “Brown’s commitment to registered apprenticeship utilization is a forward-thinking approach with a double impact: It leverages capital dollars to help adults experiencing poverty launch life-changing careers in the trades, and it builds the next generation of the construction workforce Rhode Island needs. We are incredibly grateful for this next chapter in Brown’s commitment, which allows us to expand opportunities for rewarding careers with family-supporting wages for residents of Providence and Rhode Island.”
 
Brown’s grant will support a program that provides contractors who hire Building Futures graduates with an incentive equivalent to 50% of an apprentice’s wages for up to 400 hours. With the support, Building Futures plans to support 120 apprentices in establishing careers with local building and construction trade unions over the next three years.
 
The funding will also support participation in one of the organization’s newest programs, Building Futures Inside. Offered in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, the initiative provides 120 hours of training to inmates in state correctional institutions. After release, participants transition to Building Futures’ community-based pre-apprenticeship program. Building Futures anticipates that the funding will enable the program to expand to 72 new participants over the next three years.
 
Additionally, funding from the University will help Building Futures expand its Apprenticeship Rhode Island initiative. Led in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, the program — adopted by nearly 200 Rhode Island employers across health care, information technology, manufacturing, agriculture, the marine trades and other fields — provides employers with technical assistance to create and implement registered apprenticeship programs in new industries and occupations. With support from Brown, Building Futures expects to work with employers to train 139 new apprentice entrants in non-trade occupations.
 
A call for workforce development grant proposals
 
Callan said that as part of its commitment to additional workforce development investments over the next 10 years, the University has launched a comprehensive application, review and selection process for future grants, starting with an invitation to submit letters of interest. The University will seek to fund initiatives that strengthen Rhode Island’s workforce by expanding high-quality training aligned with employer needs, particularly in high-demand sectors including health care, K-12 and early childhood education, advanced manufacturing and the construction trades.

Following the selection process for the first full funding cycle, Brown anticipates awarding up to three anchor grants and three innovation grants in 2027.

“These grants are designed to meet immediate labor gaps by strengthening support for proven initiatives while also catalyzing innovative programs that show immense promise,” Callan said. “Our goal is that these investments help build a stronger workforce for all of Rhode Island.”

Grant recipients must be nonprofit organizations based in Rhode Island, including the state’s public and private higher education institutions. Organizations may collaborate with government and K-12 agencies on initiatives funded by the grants. All organizations must operate in compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and will be subject to a compliance and assurance review. 
 
Local nonprofit leaders can learn more about the letter of interest process for the upcoming funding cycle on the University’s website. The submission deadline for letters of interest is March 6, 2026, and the University expects to issue final award notifications in Fall 2026.