22 Rhode Island Nonprofits to Help Support on #GivingTuesday
Donate to one, or donate to all: here are just some of the local nonprofits and organizations that need your help today and every day.
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Tuesday, December 3, is Giving Tuesday! Giving Tuesday is meant to inspire people to improve and take part in meaningful giving to communities, while counteracting the consumer madness that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here are some local charities that could use your help this holiday season and all year long. Please note, these are just a handful of local nonprofits in alphabetical order, but you can find a full list here by searching “Rhode Island.”
1. AIDS Project Rhode Island provides compassionate, non-judgmental assistance to people who have, are affected by and are at-risk of HIV/AIDS. It is a division of Family Service of Rhode Island and provides programs and care for many who are affected by HIV/AIDS. It offers HIV testing, education on HIV and HIV prevention and funding services for those who are HIV positive and fall under the poverty line. Donations can be made here. You can also look ahead and register for their annual Run/Walk for Life in May here.
2. The Avenue Concept: Help fund public art in Providence. The murals and installations were an especially bright light during the coronavirus pandemic. From public art walking tours and painting boarded-up windows after damage downtown to illuminated nighttime displays (one is coming up this Friday, Dec. 6), this organization is helping Providence uphold its reputation as the Creative Capital. Donations can be made here.
3. Books Are Wings: Give the gift of reading this holiday season. Founded in 1998, Books are Wings aims to bring the joy of reading to low-income children through collecting and distributing used books to those in need, funding a number of book parties and activities at local libraries and more. You can make monetary donations here and/or donate gently used children’s books here.
4. Child and Family has two primary core beliefs: people and communities function best when they are supported by strong families, and communities are at their best when they take responsibility for their members. Child and Family tries to make those beliefs part of Rhode Island communities by offering a variety of services to the public such as substance abuse counseling, home health services, child care and overnight housing. Donations of any amount directly support the services Child and Family provide to more than 6,000 people each year. Find more ways to give here.
5. Children’s Wishes is a Rhode Island-based organization committed to providing life-enhancing experiences to children facing significant medical challenges. Their Wish Granting approach involves the entire family to build lasting relationships along the way, and they strive to make sure each child who qualifies for a wish is able to experience the joy of having that wish come true. Donations can be made here.
6. Crossroads helps the people they serve as they work toward achieving stable housing. Crossroads offers emergency shelter, housing, basic needs assistance, case management and education and employment training. The nonprofit provides homeless neighbors with the tools to end homelessness and repair their lives. Crossroads is also matching up to $25,000 in donations on Giving Tuesday. You can make a monetary donation here and/or learn more about donations-in-kind here.
7. Farm Fresh Rhode Island is determined to create a strong local food system that preserves Rhode Island farmland, delivers healthier options for a healthier community and helps small businesses flourish. Some goals of Farm Fresh Rhode Island are to increase public access to fresher foods and improve the impact food production and distribution has on our environment. Donations help those goals go the extra mile. This year’s Giving Tuesday donation goal is $25,000 — help them reach it here.
8. Genesis Center in Providence provides education, job training and support services to those who need help getting a solid foot in society. What once began as a way to help refugees from Southeast Asia settle into Providence, the center has evolved and become a multi-service organization that assists immigrants, refugees and low-income families from many different cultures. Genesis Center is funded by grants, but donations allow the center the flexibility to deal with unforeseen challenges and make advancements. Find ways to give here.
9. Girls on the Run‘s mission is to inspire girls to be healthy, confident and happy as they embrace the world. Using a running-based curriculum for ten weeks, girls in third through eighth grades are encouraged to get to know themselves, establish hopes and dreams, see their potential and make a difference in the world. Donations are always welcome to keep the program going. Help them reach their Give Confidence Campaign goal of $7,500 here.
10. Higher Ground International is a social-impact nonprofit organization founded in Providence and dedicated to advocating for, empowering and providing life-changing services to Liberians and West African immigrants, refugees, and other marginalized communities. By giving a gift to Higher Ground International, donators help to ensure that refugees and immigrants receive the support—including social, cultural and transformational services—they need to thrive. Learn more about ways you can give here.
11. Hope and Main is Rhode Island’s first culinary business incubator. Not only does it help locals jumpstart early-stage food companies but it aims to educate the public about healthy eating through classes and workshops during the year. Many of the programs are provided free or at low cost so everyone has a chance to be educated on healthier cooking and eating. Donations to Hope and Main will help continue the education mission and keep classes running. In 2025, they plan to open a new, affordable, shared use kitchen facility called West End Kitchens. Learn more about how you can get involved here.
12. Leadership Rhode Island is a nationally recognized community leadership development organization based in Providence that has been creating and supporting a legacy of leaders since 1981. The local nonprofit’s mission is to engage and connect people through shared experiences that positively transform individuals, organizations and communities. It aims to help Rhode Island flourish economically, civically and culturally. Donations to support the organization can be made here.
13. NewportFILM, a year-round documentary film series in Newport, enables established and emerging filmmakers alike to reach the screen each year. Due to donations, the series can run almost completely free and an assortment of documentaries from established and emerging filmmakers curated from film festivals around the world can be viewed in public locations. Donations can be made here.
14. New Urban Arts is a welcoming community of high school students and adult mentors in Providence sharing space, skills and resources to inspire creative expression. NUA’s student-led approach to learning enables young people to discover their power and develop agency. Regular donations help New Urban Arts sustain free art programs, resources and mentorship. Learn more here.
15. The Pawtucket Slaterettes have been giving girls and women in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts the chance to play baseball in an all-female league for more than fifty years — in fact, they claim to be the oldest running all female baseball league in the country. In 2023, the entirely volunteer-ran league saw 183 girls and women take the field, with three teams competing in regional and national competitive tournaments. Finances should never be a reason to keep a player off of the field, and so every donation to the nonprofit goes directly to offset rising costs of equipment, umpires, operation costs, tournament fees and scholarships. Learn more and donate here.
16. Providence Haiti Outreach has fed and educated more than 8,000 children by opening the St. Dominque School. The country has been plagued by earthquakes, cholera and political unrest and this organization has stepped up to help Haitian children have a fighting chance. You can make a one-time donation or help support a child through a Student Sponsor Program for $20 per month, which provides tuition and meals for one child. Learn more about sponsoring a child and other donation opportunities here.
17. Providence Rescue Mission has been operating for twenty-five years and is open 24/7, giving the homeless a safe shelter in place. Especially now as the cold sets in, the organization provides the homeless with a place where they will be welcomed like family with a warm meal, hot shower and a place to stay. Learn more about how you can support their Giving Tuesday goal of raising $10,000 here.
18. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank provides food for people in need each year and intends to effectively end the problem of hunger by promoting long-term solutions. Through more than 143 agency food pograms, the Rhode Island Food Bank delivers millions of pounds of donated food to keep the less fortunate fed. A donation supports the food bank’s nutritious food purchases to send out to thousands of local households. the board has also committed to matching up to $125,000 this Giving Tuesday. Monetary donations can be made here. Find all the other ways you can give here.
19. Save One Soul Animal Rescue League is a volunteer-driven dog rescue organization based in Rhode Island and serving southern New England. The league is dedicated to rescuing and re-homing neglected, abandoned and otherwise at-risk dogs that have found themselves in distress. Their dogs primarily come from overcrowded high-kill shelters in the South and/or our extensive foster home network in the Southern US. SOS aims to promote and support life-saving initiatives that enable responsible pet guardianship while treating each animal and adopter as an individual. You can support them in their endeavor here.
20. Trinity Repertory Company in Providence is well-known for reinventing the public square with dramatic art that stimulates, educates, and engages Rhode Island’s diverse community in a continuing dialogue. But what visitors may not know is that the plays and programs at Trinity Rep rely on donations from its patrons to keep their mission of engaging the community with dramatic art alive. You can make gift to Trinity Rep here. Additionally, the Rhode Island Foundation is matching every donation made to Trinity Rep with an equal grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, up to a total of $75,000.
21. The Tomorrow Fund provides financial and emotional support to children with cancer and their families that stay in the Tomorrow Fund clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. The nonprofit goes the extra mile and offers a ton of services to families. For instance, it provides parking passes for the duration of treatments, financial aid for home expenses, daily stipends for in-patient families, bone marrow transplant expenses, support groups, research and much more. The fund relies heavily on donations to not only continue to provide resources, but also reach as many people as it can. Just one gift of $15 covers a one-day stipend for an inpatient hospital stay. A gift of $50 defrays one days’ cost of travel for required treatments in other locations. A gift of $100 or more can help a family keep a roof over their heads, lights on in their home or the heat on while parents focus on their child’s treatment. Donations can be made here.
22. During the pandemic, Rhode Islanders truly saw the necessity of Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island, which went above and beyond its usual ways of delivering meals to homebound seniors. While so many people were isolated and unable to leave their homes for simple household tasks like grocery shopping, Meals on Wheels found ways to rally volunteers to make sure at-risk adults got the nourishment they needed. Now it’s time to pay it forward with a donation or in-kind gift here.
