The Regional Access Project Foundation, aka the RAP Foundation, works to “provide funding, oversight, technical assistance and guidance to nonprofit, community-based organizations or other collaborative groups which serve the populations of eastern Riverside County in the areas of health, mental health and juvenile intervention,” according to the nonprofit’s mission statement.
To put it more simply: The RAP Foundation, which was founded in 1992, aims to enhance the quality of life for all residents of eastern Riverside County by investing in and empowering nonprofit organizations to serve needs of the community.
Leticia De Lara, the CEO of the RAP Foundation, recently talked to the Independent about the RAP Foundation’s collaboration with the University of California, Riverside’s Palm Desert campus (UCR-PD) to build a nonprofit-management curriculum. The RAP Foundation is resuming a program that offers scholarships to the classes.
“In May, we will begin accepting applications to award up to 20 student scholarships into the nonprofit management program,” De Lara said. “Our scholarships will ensure that potential nonprofit leaders will only have to pay $500 of the program’s cost.”
The 35-week program consists of classes on a variety of topics including grant-writing, social-media marketing and fundraising, as well as a capstone course where students focus on real-world issues involving the day-to-day management and strategic planning of a nonprofit organization. The goal of the certificate program is to foster the next generation of nonprofit leaders.
This restart of the scholarship program is an extension of the RAP Foundation’s NPO Centric program. NPO Centric is a resource center dedicated to strengthening the capacity of nonprofits in Riverside County. This initiative is not just about providing resources, but about building a community, De Lara said.
“We have over 25 nonprofit organizations that rent office space from us, plus we offer four different meeting rooms for nonprofits to use.” De Lara said.
The RAP Foundation offers training and seminars on a variety of topics, such as volunteer management, grant-writing and leadership.
“We host at least eight different workshops per month, with 50 to 75 nonprofits participating,” De Lara said.
The RAP Foundation also makes grants to reflect its commitment to making a tangible impact in the community. With a focus on health, mental health and juvenile intervention, the grants are designed to support projects that offer significant benefits to the residents of Riverside County. These grants cover a broad spectrum of needs, from small grants of up to $10,000 for various projects, to education grants for school districts and sponsorship grants for public events. The nonprofit also makes grants through NPO Centric to nonprofits seeking technical assistance.
For more information about the RAP Foundation, or to learn how to support the organization’s mission, visit rapfoundation.org.
