EAST PROVIDENCE — Seven non-profit organizations either anchored in East Providence or with ties to the city were among those groups to share in $84 million in grants from the Rhode Island Foundation as recorded at the close of last year.

The Boys & Girls Club of East Providence, the East Bay Community Action Program, the Cape Verdean Cultural & Education Program, We Share Hope, Access To Recovery, Good Neighbors and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) received a total of $1.5 million in grants

The $84 million distributed by the R.I. Foundation was the second-largest total granted by the organization in its 107-year history, trailing only the $87 million that was awarded in 2020.

As an example, the RISPCA received $34,000 to support its Serving Animals in Need & Training Those Who Protect Them program, including providing illness and minor emergency care for pets of owners with low incomes, staging vaccination clinics for pets of owners with low incomes and training municipal animal control officers.

“Due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the people we serve are facing increased financial strain and housing uncertainty. This much needed assistance, which will allow us to increase the amount of low-cost veterinary care we provide for pet owners who cannot afford necessary veterinary care for their pets and to bring low-cost vaccination clinics into our neighborhoods, will allow more Rhode Islanders to keep and properly care for their pets during this difficult time,” said Wayne Kezirian, RISPCA president.

Many of the grants f the foundation awarded in 2022 aligned with its three strategic priorities: educational success, healthy lives and economic security. Nonprofits doing work in a wide variety of sectors, such as arts and culture, basic human needs, the environment and housing also received funding.

“Working with committed nonprofit partners and key community stakeholders, including elected officials and state officials, our support and leadership help reduce achievement gaps in education, address health disparities across all populations and promote real opportunity for economic security for all Rhode Islanders,” said Neil D. Steinberg, the Foundation’s outgoing president and CEO.

Steinberg is about to complete his 15-year tenure at the helm of the foundation. The foundation’s board of directors selected U.S. Congressman David Cicilline to succeed him as president and CEO after a thorough national search that included significant community input and generated an impressive pool of diverse candidates. Cicilline will begin his service to the foundation on June 1.

In its latest round of grants, the foundation is offering local libraries, neighborhood groups and nonprofit organizations grants of up to $10,000 to fund proposals that bring people together as a community. March 15 is the deadline to at https://rifoundation.org/grant/community-grants.

Proposals should spark community engagement at the local level, be easily accessible, create new or enhance existing partnerships, be relevant to the community, promote the role of shared public spaces as local anchors, be doable and demonstrate a meaningful impact.

As part of a previous round, Good Neighbors received $5,000 to support monthly community services activities.