Investing in education, health and economic growth

In Fiscal Year 2024, scholarships for Providence residents were one of Brown’s most impactful community contributions, with $6.3 million awarded to support 476 local students. The funding not only supported Providence residents enrolled in Brown undergraduate, graduate and medical programs, but also enabled nearly 170 Providence high school students to participate in Brown’s Pre-College Programs. The increase in local enrollment, which jumped by more than 20% compared to FY23, was driven by a new financial model that provides full scholarships to every PPSD student admitted to a Pre-College Program.

Separately, the Brown Collegiate Scholars Program launched during the year as a new initiative at Brown designed to boost college readiness, enrollment and success for Providence Public School District students. Brown’s total financial commitment for Pre-College Program access for Providence students and the Brown Collegiate Scholars Program totaled $1.1 million, the data noted, and the University’s financial investments will increase in the years ahead as new cohorts of students engage in these programs each year.

In addition to scholarships, Brown’s support for K-12 schools in Providence is reflected across many of the 11 categories for community contributions established in the MOU with the city and detailed in the data. In total, Brown provided approximately $1.6 million in financial and in-kind support for Providence schools and students, including $205,930 in direct financial contributions. As part of disbursements from the University’s Fund for the Education of the Children of Providence, for example, seven Providence Public School District high schools were able to renovate their library spaces and add new books, furniture, curriculum and programming. Additionally, the fund enabled a participatory budgeting exercise held with Nathanael Greene Middle School, in which students elected to spend funds on hands-on learning initiatives, including a trip by all seventh and eighth graders in the district to the Boston Science Museum.

Another significant way Brown brought to life its commitment to Providence was through the volunteer efforts of faculty, staff and students. As volunteers, hundreds of Brown community members worked with Providence-area nonprofits, offering after-school programs, tutoring and mentoring children, supporting refugees and those experiencing homelessness, providing health care, contributing to arts and cultural events, and more.

In FY24, Brown community members dedicated more than 30,000 volunteer hours — valued at $1.1 million — to the Providence community. To improve health care access for Providence residents, students from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School and School of Public Health, for example, dedicated more than 2,200 hours to partnering with organizations like Clínica Esperanza and the Rhode Island Free Clinic to provide free, high-quality care to city residents. Separately, the Brown Tutoring Corps deployed 100 undergraduates to tutor Providence students. The group aims to help close gaps in English language arts, math and science proficiency in PPSD, and the tutors provided approximately 3,600 hours of one-on-one instruction to hundreds of K-12 kids.

Brown also strengthened the city through community partnerships, contributing $566,890 in financial and in-kind donations to public-serving nonprofits, including City Year, Family Service of Rhode Island and Sojourner House. Those contributions came in the form of direct sponsorship of programs and events, funding for important community initiatives and the donation of space to host events held by nonprofits focused on solving community challenges.

Vice President for Community Engagement Mary Jo Callan said Brown’s community contributions are built on strong partnerships and shared goals with Providence organizations, leaders and residents.

“At Brown, we know that making a meaningful impact in Providence depends on working closely with the city and our community partners,” Callan said. “These relationships allow us to build on local strengths and contribute to addressing the challenges our community faces. By working collaboratively, we not only support local needs but also deepen our understanding and impact as an institution.”

Strengthening communities through in-kind support

In addition to direct financial contributions and volunteer support, Brown provided significant in-kind donations of services, goods, physical space and other resources that directly benefited the city and its residents. In FY24, the value of Brown’s in-kind contributions totaled $163,303, supporting new workforce development programs, initiatives to support local K-12 students, opportunities for Providence families, donations of food, clothes, and books to local charitable organizations, and more.

College Day at Brown, which marked its third year this past spring is one example of in-kind support offered by the University. The college access program was created in 2022 to give Providence-area high school students a glimpse into everyday life as a college undergraduate. In April 2024, hundreds of local teens representing 17 Providence-area high schools explored Brown’s campus, joining classes, athletic programs and community engagement opportunities. Participants took campus tours, interacted one-on-one with Brown students, staff and faculty, engaged in hands-on learning experiences, enjoyed lunch and listened to panel discussions on topics including the admissions process.

From scholarships for local students to partnerships with K-12 schools to support for public infrastructure and city-serving nonprofits, the “Community Contributions on the City of Providence” report published by Brown highlighted some of the key ways in which the University’s community contributions supported the city in FY24, breaking down Brown’s $11.9 million in community contributions according to the 11 categories established in the MOU between the city and the four colleges and universities.

Among other contributions, Brown also paid $3.2 million in municipal property taxes, contributed $183,575 to support the revitalization of parks, sidewalks and shared green spaces, and provided $67,167 to local district management authorities.

“What this report does not detail is the even greater economic impact the University has based on its role as an anchor institution,” the report stated. “For example, Brown’s payroll for employees who live in Providence alone totals $190 million over the same period, reflecting its role as a top employer of local and state residents. The University also injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy each year through research spending, visitors to campus, investments in new building projects, entrepreneurial startups and spin-offs based on Brown academic work — important impacts that benefit the city, yet ones that are distinct from the University’s direct payments and contributions.

“Ultimately, the report offers a look at one important way in which Brown contributes to the city it calls home, among a much greater set of overall positive impacts.”