The City of Newport has announced that the van Beuren Charitable Foundation has awarded a grant in the amount of $537,500 to support the City of Newport’s Innovate Newport project at the former Sheffield School property on Broadway.
The Innovate Newport project repurposes the property into a resource where the area’s entrepreneurs and innovators can interact and collaborate to create future economic drivers for the region. The project seeks to leverage world-class human and technological assets into new commercial ventures in the disciplines of underwater technology, marine science, cybersecurity and environmental resiliency. This exciting economic development initiative has received strong funding support from the federal government, the State of Rhode Island and the City.
The grant from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation will be used to ensure a successful launch and growth of the Innovate Newport project. As stated on the Foundation’s website, their mission is “To invest in the quality of life and quality of place of Aquidneck Island and surrounding communities” (vbcfoundation.org). The Foundation’s grantmaking priorities focus on the impact they aspire to make in the community and are designed to recognize the connections between education, health, economic development, and place. Through partnerships with local organizations, the Foundation supports, among other things, projects that connect the improvement of buildings and landscapes to community aspirations and goals.
The City thanks the van Beuren Charitable Foundation for supporting this exciting collaboration to ensure that the Innovate Newport project will be a successful initiative in positioning Aquidneck Island as an economic development leader in the region and in the state. For additional information on the Innovate Newport project, please contact the City Manager’s office.
