PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- March 4, 2003 -- On Friday, February 26, Robert L. Carothers, president of the University of Rhode Island and John McCray, vice provost for Urban Programs, welcomed 60 members of local non-profit organizations to the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education at URI to recognize their participation in the $100,000 Regional Holiday Challenge sponsored by the Feinstein Foundation.

During the months of November and December, all non-profit agencies throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, were invited to use the Feinstein Challenge to enhance their fundraising efforts. By alerting their donors to the opportunity of receiving additional funding through the Feinstein challenge, 119 agencies as diverse as AIDS Care Ocean State and Forever Paws Animal Shelter raised $3.5 million and shared in the $100,000 offered by the Feinstein Foundation.

During the ceremony, Alan Shawn Feinstein of Cranston congratulated the participants and encouraged them to continue in their service to their organizations. Herb Kaplan, from the Executive Service Corp of New England, presented the audience with information on how small, non-profit agencies might make better advantage of the challenge grants, as well as improve their overall fundraising efforts. Kaplan, a recipient of the 2001 and 2002 Outstanding Philanthropic Citizen Award has served on more than 30 boards and development committees.

The event was organized by the URI Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America.