2026 Grant Recipients

May 28, 2026 – With excitement, anticipation, and a deep appreciation for the extraordinary work being done throughout Newport County, the 208 Founding members of Impact100 gathered this evening to cast their voted and award the first ever grants in or chapters history. After the inspiring presentations form our five outstanding non-profit finalists, members selected two organizations to each receive a transformational grant of $104,000.

Meet our grant recipients and the projects our grants will fund,

The Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District will use its grant to scale its student-led AgInnovation farm into an island-wide farm-to-school system serving public schools across Aquidneck Island — expanding farm production, embedding agricultural curriculum in classrooms, and creating reliable pathways for locally grown food to reach school cafeterias and food pantries. With 74% of Newport public school students coming from low-income families, the project addresses both food access and educational equity at a system level.

The James L. Maher Center will use its grant to launch Harvesting Ability, a paid employment program in which adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities grow and sell herbs and vegetables at farmers markets, restaurants, and school culinary programs across Aquidneck Island. The program addresses two urgent community needs simultaneously — the persistent employment gap facing people with disabilities and growing local food insecurity — while building a self-sustaining revenue model designed to outlast the grant.