The annual spring fundraiser for the Alliance of Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE) is still two months away. But Zoe Fuad is nervous.
“We usually will have a lot more sponsorships by now,” Fuad, communications organizer for the Providence nonprofit that empowers youth of color to fight for education justice and pursue career success, said on March 21.
Several corporate sponsors from past years have recently emailed ARISE to say they cannot help with this year’s Visibility Event on May 8 at The Guild in Pawtucket because of changing priorities in a new political climate, Fuad said.
It’s why there is a stronger sense of urgency for ARISE and other local nonprofit organizations that work to advance social justice as they gear up for 401Gives on Tuesday, April 1.
About 600 nonprofit organizations serving Rhode Islanders have registered for the 6th annual 401Gives, the day of online giving that takes its name from the state’s area code. About 90 participating nonprofits are led by people of color, said Nancy Wolanski, director of the Alliance for Nonprofit Impact at the United Way of Rhode Island, which organizes the annual event.
Even before President Donald Trump President Trump signed an executive order dismantling Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs on his first day back in the White House, companies were already scaling back their DEI initiatives. Corporate charitable giving may be following suit. One high-profile example: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, established by Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced in February that it was ending its “social advocacy funding,” which included racial and gender equality initiatives, to focus instead on biology and AI.
“I would definitely reaffirm that there are concerns in organizations working in DEI, organizations working in racial justice, and it’s the time for us to come together as a community to really support them,” Wolanski said. “Those organizations are seeing more difficulty in fundraising, just in general, from philanthropy, and from the federal government that has closed some funding streams.”
401Gives raised over $3.8 million last year from over 16,000 donors who supported a total of 597 different Ocean State nonprofits. ARISE raised $38,806 last year, exceeding its $35,000 goal, and engaging a total of 595 donations to win the “Most Unique Donors” award for the third year in a row.
This year, ARISE hopes to raise at least $45,000, Fuad said. Its 2025 401Gives talking points for donors will specifically highlight the organization’s work protecting civil liberties, such as testifying in favor of the Freedom to Read Act at the State House, and co-hosting “Know Your Rights” workshops around immigration, special education and bilingual education.
Fuad said past fundraising outreach largely focused on ARISE staff sharing stories about their work, personal development and political engagement, or ARISE youth talking about their positive feelings from participating in the organization’s leadership training and advocacy programs.
For the last three years, ARISE has won a prize for peer-to-peer fundraising for small organizations — those having annual budgets between $151,000 and $500,000 — for its success in enlisting the help of alumni, staff, volunteers and the youth who participate in its programs. They send texts, promote times when matching gifts are available and share updates on group chats throughout the day. This year, youth participants working as a team have been given a goal to raise $4,000, Fuad said.
Starting at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, the first $20,000 raised during 401Gives will be matched by the Papitto Opportunity Connection. The maximum match per donor, per nonprofit, is $500. Last year, the early morning match lasted for just under two minutes. ARISE’s entire board, staff members and other supporters set their alarms to be ready to make a donation to secure matching dollars before the threshold is reached, Fuad said.
Other matches are offered at noon and 4:01 p.m. on the first day. Online giving continues through 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2. The short fundraising window helps fuel “one big burst of collective energy,” Fuad said.
“It’s a really good energizer for us,” Fuad added. “We connect with our base, and it’s a reminder that this work is very community-led, that we really need individual donors to buy into our mission and buy into our work and buy into our programming.”
Likewise for Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS). The Providence nonprofit dedicated to performing and sharing stories from Black history and culture in school programs and public performances has participated in 401Gives since its inception in 2020. RIBS raised $10,528 last year from a total of 118 donors, more than doubling its goal of $5,000.
Funding operations too
This year, RIBS set a goal to raise $25,000, said RIBS Executive/Festival Director and founding member Valerie Tutson. The fact that the contributions are unrestricted and can go towards general operating expenses is a big deal, she added.
“The challenge is, since our programming has grown, how do we support the operation?” Tutson said. “That’s why for us 401Gives are so important.”
Just last week, a bank’s charitable foundation delivered disappointing news to RIBS on a $25,000 grant it had applied for.
“The response to us was, ‘We have changed our funding priorities,’” Tutson said. “That was the wording that came from them.”
RIBS received a $10,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts last year to support its Funda Fest, a 10-day Black storytelling celebration every January with performances at schools and public and private venues that takes its name from the Zulu word for “to speak/learn.”
“It was kind of an entry-level grant to help an organization like RIBS, which doesn’t have a full-time development person and might not have all the time and resources to navigate how a governmental grant proposal goes in,” Tutson said. “(They) eliminated that program and now all organizations have to go into the same pool.”
RIBS was founded in 1998. Before the rise of DEI, its community outreach emphasized multiculturalism and strengthening literacy education and now will continue to do so, Tutson said.
“We’ve always been the Rhode Island Black Storytellers,” Tutson said. “It’s only been the last few years that we’ve been able to say, ‘Hey, if you’re concerned about justice, then you can really support our work.’”
On its 401Gives profile page, the group says it does not just tell Black stories but wants to help others do the same. “RIBS knows it is important for Black communities to know their own history and culture, and for others to experience Black culture presented by Black people,” it reads.
This story was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
