Rhode Island Foundation
Legal name: The Rhode Island Community Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 222604963
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, US
- Phone
- (401) 274-4564
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $147,291,921
- Expenses
- $95,208,024
- Assets
- $1,349,471,706
- Liabilities
- $4,495,470
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
25 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID CICILLINE (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- JENNIFER REID (VP OF FINANCE & CEO)
- SHARON COLLIER (VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID CICILLINE (PRESIDENT & CEO): $840,042 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER REID (VP OF FINANCE & CEO): $302,905 total reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER BIZZACCO (CHIEF OF STAFF): $287,446 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
As Rhode Island’s only community foundation, we mobilize generosity and motivate change that makes a difference.
What it reported doing in 2024
Core grantmaking programs: grantmaking focused primarily on civic and cultural life; climate action and sustainability; education and student success; healthy and strong communities; and housing and economic mobility; guided by inclusiveness, accessibility, compassion, mutual respect and humility. Additional grantmaking programs also support topic- and geography specific projects across Rhode Island, for the benefit of all rhode islanders and in alignment with donor intent.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 91
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 87
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 97.7%; rating input score 98; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 35.4%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.17; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $80.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $840K · 25 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.4M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 988 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 982 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.