- Toby Pydych
Request for Proposal: Fund For Civic Activities
Have you ever stopped to smell the flowers hanging in the streets of downtown Bristol? Ever found peace in the Bristol Art Museum? Taken in a little bit of nature at Mt. Hope Farm? These luxuries that make Bristol such a special community are thanks, in part, to the Fund For Civic Activities.

The time is now to submit your proposal for the Fund for Civic Activities! The deadline is October 15th and you do not want to miss out!
To apply for the Fund for Civic Activities, click here for an online application, apply over email with engage@rwu.edu, or mail in this application to Community Engagement at Roger Williams University, addressed to 1 Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 02809.
The Fund for Civic Activities originated from the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) pact, an agreement reached between Roger Williams University (RWU) and the Town of Bristol in the Fall of 2007. In short, the Fund for Civic Activities is part of the PILOT pact in which RWU annually allocates $25,000 to local programs in Bristol. Through a careful review process, a cooperative committee of 12 members (six from the university, six from the Town of Bristol) consider all proposals and submit their recommendation to President Ioannis Miaoulis of RWU and the Bristol Town Administrator, Steven Contente, for final approval.
All proposals must be from Bristol groups or individuals. Previous recipients of the fund include Bristol Blooms for the hanging flower baskets in downtown Bristol, scout troops, scholarship programs, Linden Place, Bristol schools, and many more. Since its birth in 2007, the Fund for Civic Activities has given over $300,000 to the Bristol community.
The fund speaks to the heart of Community Engagement at RWU. The university and the Town of Bristol saw a need and the PILOT program filled it. Community Engagement’s goal is to seamlessly work with the local community to fulfill the expectations that come with being a productive community member. What better way to be a neighbor than to give the creative minds of Bristol residents and non-profits the opportunity to decide what growth they see in their community?
For more information on the submitting your proposal for the Fund for Civic Activities, contact KC Ferrara at kferrara@rwu.edu, or check out the section of our website dedicated to it here.