2023 -- S 0271
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LC000804
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N
MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF $1,000,000 TO THE RHODE ISLAND COUNCIL FOR
THE HUMANITIES FOR DIRECT GRANT FUNDING TO COMMUNITY CULTURA L
ORGANIZATIONS THROUG HOUT RHODE ISLAND
Introduced By: Senator Samuel D. Zurier
Date Introduced: February 16, 2023
Referred To: Senate Finance
WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Humanities Council is a highly respected grantmaking, 1
infrastructure and strategic partnership organization founded in 1973 as the State’s designee of 2
the National Endowment for the Humanities; and 3
WHEREAS, Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell authored the 1965 federal law creating 4
the National Endowment for the Humanities, which provides support to the Rhode Island 5
Humanities Council for competitive grants that provide the only designated support for 6
humanities research, education, and programs to individuals and organizations making up the 7
state’s “Main Street” Creative and Cultural Economy; and 8
WHEREAS, Recipients of grants from the Rhode Island Humanities Council include 9
elementary and secondary schools, libraries, museums, preservation and historical societies, 10
historic sites, cultural centers, writers, film makers, researchers, archivists and community-based 11
nonprofits, all of whom craft the stories of Rhode Island’s rich and diverse culture; and 12
WHEREAS, During the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the Rhode Island 13
Humanities Council distributed $915,646 in emergency CARES Act grants and RI CHARG 14
grants to 136 local organizations reaching 1,114,262 people in 33 of 39 Rhode Island 15
municipalities; and 16
WHEREAS, The emergency grants distributed by the Rhode Island Humanities Council 17
were a lifeline to local organizations that suffered devastating COVID-related financial reversals, 18
and the Council’s support ensured the survival of 136 community nonprofits and allowed for the 19
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retention or creation of 302 jobs in the State; and 1
WHEREAS, Ninety-five percent of RI CHARG grants were made to small to mid-sized 2
organizations (budgets under $500,000) and to organizations led by or centered on the 3
experiences of BIPOC communities; and 4
WHEREAS, Emergency CARES Act grants and RI CHARG grants were made possible 5
by one-time COVID relief funds, and the National Endowment for the Humanities funding level 6
for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities no longer enables the Council to continue to 7
provide the same level of extensive outreach to local organizations that was made during 2020 8
and 2021; and 9
WHEREAS, Thirty-three states provide direct budgetary support to their Humanities 10
Councils, including nearby Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont; and 11
WHEREAS, Annual funding from the National Endowment for Humanities requires the 12
Rhode Island Humanities Council to match one local dollar for each federal dollar received, 13
creating the opportunity for our local council to leverage additional federal support if local 14
appropriation funding is secured; now, therefore be it 15
RESOLVED, That there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not 16
otherwise appropriated for the fiscal year 2023-2024, the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) 17
to the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities to support direct grant funding to community 18
cultural organizations throughout Rhode Island; and the state controller is hereby authorized and 19
directed to draw his orders upon the general treasurer for the payment of said sum, or so much 20
thereof as may be from time to time required, upon receipt of properly authenticated vouchers. 21
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N
MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF $1,000,000 TO THE RHODE ISLAND COUNCIL FOR
THE HUMANITIES FOR DIRECT GRANT FUNDING TO COMMUNITY CULTURA L
ORGANIZATIONS THROUG HOUT RHODE ISLAND
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This resolution would authorize the appropriation of the sum of $1,000,000 to the Rhode 1
Island Council for the Humanities to continue efforts to support local cultural organizations 2
throughout the State. 3
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