Foundation Experience
Rick first joined the grantmaking world in 1987. He began as senior staff with the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and the Humanities, at the time the nation's second largest state arts funder. From 1993-2006, Rick helped build one of the country’s leading community foundations, The Rhode Island Foundation.
As a consultant, Rick has worked with community foundations from Abilene, Texas, to Oxford, England; with 'alternative' foundations such as the Haymarket People's Fund and RESIST; and with the Council on Foundations, regional associations of grantmakers, and other affinity groups of funders.
In 2008, he was also the editor of the New England Philanthropy Digest, a one-year project that sent news about the region's charitable foundations to nearly 1,000 media outlets in six states.
"I value so very much your intellect, ethics, creativity, humanity, and perhaps as much as anything else, your critical eye. You have consistently asked the tough questions that need to be raised if we are to meet our objectives and create programs, products and services that are meaningful to our constituents. It is exceedingly easy to argue that your accomplishments in the area of communications are inextricably linked to the rise in the Foundation’s fortunes during the past decade."Ronald V. Gallo, past president and CEO, The Rhode Island Foundation
Vice President for Communications,
The Rhode Island Foundation
- senior staff member for the 90-year-old, $500 million community foundation
- helped grow the Foundation from $150 million in assets to $500 million
- established and maintained its first communications department
- helped create its first development department
- initiated the statewide grantmakers association
- coordinated the Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund, the philanthropic response to one of Rhode Island's worst human disasters
- conducted comprehensive interviews of more than 300 large-gift ($10,000 or more) donors
- monitored creation of the state’s first National Public Radio station
- provided hands-on strategies and public relations support to foundation grantees
- won five Wilmer Shields Rich awards for newsletters, website, and annual and special reports
- served as National Standards reviewer, member of the national marketing initiative, and panelist and presenter for the Council on Foundations
- named a German M as arshall Fund Transatlantic Fellow, guest speaker to Portuguese community foundation movement, and conference attendee in Athens, Budapest, and Brussels
Director of Public Information, Mass. Council on the Arts and Humanities
- senior staff member of a nationally-renowned state arts agency that distributed more than $20 million in grants annually
- shaped policy recommendations to its gubernatorially-appointed board of directors
- designed and executed all community-based and statewide media efforts
- communicated the agency’s agenda to more than 1,500 nonprofit cultural organizations and several thousand artists and humanists
Government Experience
From 1982 through 1986, Rick served the Massachusetts Senate Human Services Committee, becoming co-director of a professional staff examining and proposing policy for every aspect of human services: welfare, social services, mental health, corrections, the elderly, disabilities, and juvenile justice.
"The Station Nightclub fire relief effort was both complex and highly scrutinized by the public. The difficult issues raised were successfully negotiated because Rick was able to help our committee consider the ramifications of each decision and adopt policies that had integrity and served the immediate needs of those who were in crisis. I think it fair to say that without Rick’s support and vision, our effort to assist the families would not have been nearly as successful as they proved to be."
John E. Holt, Chair, Station Nightclub Fire Relief Fund
Staff Director, Massachusetts Senate Human Services Committee, Boston
- organized advocacy campaigns prohibiting placement of children on adult wards of mental hospitals
- fought to raise welfare benefits up to nationally-established poverty guidelines
- uncovered and led investigation into suspicious deaths in state health facilities, resulting in change to seclusion and restraint laws
- initiated and staffed legislative commission investigating federal abuse of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) system
- developed major report on children’s mental health services in Massachusetts
- analyzed, proposed, and filed human services legislation
Nonprofit Consulting
From 1988-1995, Rick "was" Communications, a multifaceted public relations operation that was the forerunner for Rick Schwartz/StraightTalk.
“Thank you for all your great work this past year to help nurture the Coalition for Water Security. We’re grateful for all your helpful advice and insight (and your patience as we struggled to find out the mission). Our environmental community is already stronger for the effort.”
Sheila Dormody, Director, Clean Water Action
- designed and produced publications for such organizations as Educators for Social Responsibility, ACCION International, the Haymarket People’s Fund, and the Committee for Responsible Genetics
- provided media consulting for such clients as the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the Boston Association for the Education of Young Children, and the New England Foundation for the Arts
- led seminars in publications design and production for the Tufts University Social Policy Institute, the MIT mini-semester, and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Journalism/Publications
Armed with a degree in journalism from Penn State University, Rick worked for newspapers and a national magazine.
"I was in my 'can't see the forest for the trees' period. Rick spent days reorganizing my first draft so it would make more sense. He acted as the readers' surrogate and advocate, and as the author's friend. His clear thinking about structure guided me to a hugely improved second draft."
Acknowledgements, "Raising More Money with Newsletters than You Ever Thought Possible," by Tom Ahern
Editor, Beacon Hill Update, Boston
- co-edited biweekly journal monitoring political issues affecting low-income people, reporting on public health, juvenile justice, day care, social services, and mental health topics, including a four-part feature on de-institutionalization, a series on volunteer citizen boards, and an analysis of class action suits against the Departments of Social Services and Mental Health
- lectured extensively and conducted seminars on the legislative process and social issues
Previous Positions
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC
- Broadcasting magazine, Washington, DC
- Wyoming Valley Observer, Wilkes-Barre, PA
- Countryman’s Press, South Bend, IN
Honors
- Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Special Report, 2009
- Governor's Citation, Rhode Island, 2008
- Oasis International Outstanding Community Service Award, 2007
- Mayoral Citation, Providence, 2007
- Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Newsletters, 2003
- German Marshall Fund TransAtlantic Community Foundation Fellowship, 2001
- Wilmer Shields Rich Awards for Web Site, 2000 and 2001
- Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Annual Reports, 1994
- Governor's Citation, Massachusetts, 1990
- Senate Citation, Massachusetts, 1986
