401Gives: 36 hours to make a difference and help nonprofits stay the course
There was no signature attached to the emails from the feds that Family Service of Rhode Island received the night of Jan. 13, but there was bad news.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said it was terminating a number of discretionary grants nationwide to align the federal mental health agency’s spending with the priorities of President Donald Trump’s administration. Among the apparently fallen: Four multi-year grants totaling $2.1 million that funded Family Service of Rhode Island’s trauma treatment for children, provider training, and services for uninsured or underinsured clients.
“The first thing on our mind was, ‘What are we going to do for these clients, and how can we pivot to continue to support them and give them the services that they need?’” Sarah Kelly-Palmer, chief of behavioral health for Family Service, recalled in a recent interview.
Then about 36 hours later, on the afternoon of Jan 14, all was seemingly well again. Family Service staff received another round of emails, this time stating the revocation of funds was no longer happening.
Predictability is important for Family Services, which provides behavioral health care, housing support and other services to keep children and families stable, secure and well. That’s why 401Gives, now in its seventh year, matters to Family Service and other nonprofit community-based providers. 401Gives is the Ocean State’s statewide day of online giving organized by the United Way of Rhode Island with a donation platform and outreach that elevates the visibility and work of nonprofits — a sector that accounts for 18% of the state’s total workforce.
The inaugural 401Gives, on April 1, 2020, raised $1.3 million for 366 nonprofits across the state. Every year since then, the event has increased the total dollars raised, the number of individual donors and the number of participating nonprofits. Last year’s 401Gives took in $4.9 million from more than 19,000 donors for a total of 644 participating nonprofits.
Coincidentally, this year’s 401Gives also lasts 36 hours, beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, March 31, and ending at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1. The United Way bumped the traditional April 1 start to honor Passover.
Over 700 participating organizations have signed up to participate this year, a new record.