The Rice Family Foundation

The following is a sample of grants the Rice Family Foundation has awarded over the past several years, and we encourage you to visit the websites of our partners via the links listed to learn more about theses organizations dedicated to creating positive change:

The GUARDIAN OF DREAMS —www.guardianofdreams.org —helps provide a Catholic education and much needed resources to St. Pius and Holy Rosary Catholic Schools in Jacksonville, Florida regardless of religious preference or economic status. In 2001, the Rice Family Foundation approved of a multi-year grant to the Guardian of Dreams for $125,000 in support of scholarships at the two schools. As a result of the Guardian's commitment to early childhood education and the successes that have resulted, additional grants have been awarded to this entity:

In 2002 and 2003, $44,389 was distributed for the purchase of educational software that was utilized in the classrooms and in after school tutoring sessions, as well as for stipends for coordinators and teachers in the after school programs.
The Foundation pledged a matching grant of $80,000 in 2004 towards the funding of a new Director of Development position at the Guardian of Dreams.
A grant in the amount of $21,500 to the CUMMER MUSEUM OF ART & GARDENS — www.cummer.org —was made in 2005 for the implementation of the Start with the Arts Program at St. Pius and Holy Rosary Schools. The Cummer Museum's education department worked closely with the two schools to integrate Start with the Arts into their pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade curricula. This initiative was built on the notion that the arts are an essential part of language development leading to school readiness and expanded interest in learning. Through a combination of art, music, dance, drama and literature, the program promoted the development of language, inquiry and motor skills for young children. The Foundation approved of grant in the amount of $27,294 in 2006 to the Cummer Museum for the continuation of the Start with the Arts program as a result of its success in the 2005-2006 school year.
In 2006, the Foundation made an additional multi-year pledge of $100,000 to the Guardian of Dreams to be used in support of scholarships at the two schools.

In 2004, the Foundation distributed $5,100 to RIVERSIDE PRESBYTARIAN DAY SCHOOL — www.rpds.com —to fund professional development opportunities relating to reading instruction.

In 2004, the Foundation approved a $150,000 grant to the DUVAL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS — www.educationcentral.org —for the implementation of its Early Literacy Coaching Program. The funds were used to hire two early literacy coaches that worked with approximately 30 day care centers attended by some of Duval County's most at-risk children. The coaching concept provided promise for improving the overall quality of day care centers and for creating an educational environment in the centers.

The Foundation funded a Planning Grant in 2005 to the EARLY LEARNING COALITION OF DUVAL — www.elcofduval.org —in the amount of $50,000 for their Early Learning Workforce Stabilization Project. This Project is designed to improve the early education of young children by stabilizing the workforce and improving the business management of child care centers. The planning grant focuses on the following challenges:

Child care centers, especially those in low income neighborhoods, are often poorly run businesses;
Professional organizations have great potential to foster improved business practices and career identity. However, there is no professional organization in Duval County that represents the interests of all child care directors and teachers;
Stabilizing the workforce in child care centers is a serious problem that negatively contributes to child outcomes.

In 2006, funds were approved in the amount of $23,208 to the MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY — www.themosh.org —to provide a seven-part series of programs related to science, history and astronomy to four pre-Kindergarten classes at low-income schools in Jacksonville.

A grant of $12,750 to THEATREWORKS — www.theatreworksjax.com —was awarded in 2006 to fund a series of theater performances and workshops linked to literacy and reading aimed at children three to five years old. The grant enables programming to five day care centers serving low-income children in the Jacksonville area.

The Foundation distributed $23,900 to the GIRL SCOUTS OF GATEWAY COUNCIL — www.girlscouts-gateway.org —in support of its Reach Out with Reading summer camp program. The grant funded one-week long camps at three low-income housing developments as well as the training of Girl Scouts aged 14-17 to serve as reading camp counselors.

In 2006, the Foundation approved a grant of $30,000 to THE FAMILY NUTURING CENTER OF FLORIDA — www.fncflorida.org —in support of its Nuture Care Academy Program for day care workers. With the funding, the Family Nurturing Center agreed to offer the NutureCare Academy Program, an educational program utilizing the successful Nurturing Parenting Program curriculum, to childcare employees who care for children in low-income day care centers.