Building Futures
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
BUILDING FUTURES' MISSION IS ACHIEVED THROUGH PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING AND SOCIAL SERVICE SUPPORTS FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING POVERTY WHO SEEK CAREERS IN THE BUILDING TRADES THROUGH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP; AND STRATEGIES TO INCREASE EMPLOYER USE OF APPRENTICES ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; AS WELL AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO NON-CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS WHO WISH TO DEVELOP, LAUNCH AND OPERATE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS IN OTHER HIGH GROWTH SECTORS.
- Income
- $5.2 million
- Spending
- $4.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 85%
- Reserves
- 2.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 62%
- Employees
- 28
- Volunteers
- 15
- Highest pay
- $204,198, president & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 70 out of 100. Higher than 42% of charities in its peer group (employment, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 7% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 21% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 1% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1585% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (employment, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (2)
- $2.3 million spent. BUILDING FUTURES -BUILDING FUTURES' MISSION IS ACHIEVED THROUGH PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING AND SOCIAL SERVICE SUPPORTS FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING POVERTY WHO SEEK CAREERS IN THE BUILDING TRADES THROUGH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP; STRATEGIES TO INCREASE EMPLOYER DEMAND FOR APPRENTICES ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; AS WELL AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO NON-CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS WHO WISH TO DEVELOP, LAUNCH, AND OPERATE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAMS IN OTHER HIGH-GROWTH SECTORS.BUILDING FUTURES' COMPREHENSIVE, NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM (BF200) PREPARES ADULTS FOR EMPLOYMENT IN ONE OF MANY BUILDING TRADE APPRENTICESHIPS, INCLUDING ELECTRICIANS, CARPENTERS, PLUMBERS, IRONWORKERS, PAINTERS, AND LABORERS, AMONG OTHERS. THIS 200-HOUR HANDS-ON PRE-APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING FOCUSES ON BASIC COMPETENCIES NEEDED ACROSS ALL CONSTRUCTION TRADES. WHILE ENROLLED FULL-TIME, PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE A TRAINING ALLOWANCE TO ENSURE RETENTION AND SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM COMPLETION. GRADUATES EARN MULTIPLE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CERTIFICATIONS THAT HELP ENSURE ENTRY INTO THEIR CHOSEN TRADE. ALL GRADUATES RECEIVE ASSISTANCE WHILE CHOOSING A TRADE OCCUPATION AND PREPARING FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM INTERVIEWS AND ENTRANCE EXAMS, AS WELL AS SUPPORT SERVICES DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF APPRENTICESHIP AND BEYOND.BUILDING FUTURES REMAINS THE ONLY STATE-REGISTERED CONSTRUCTION PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND. DIRECT ENTRY AGREEMENTS WITH THE RI BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL UNIONS ALLOW FOR PRIORITY ENTRANCE FOR OUR PROGRAM GRADUATES INTO THEIR PREFERRED TRADE. TO DATE, 607 PARTICIPANTS HAVE GRADUATED FROM BF200 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP, INCLUDING 58 IN FY25. IN FY25, WE OPERATED FOUR CYCLES OF BF200 IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO GROWING DEMAND FOR TRAINING.ELECTIVE TRAININGS SUPPLEMENT BF200 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP, FURTHER PREPARING GRADUATES FOR SUCCESS IN EMPLOYMENT. THE GRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING ("GSL") ELECTIVE ALLOWS GRADUATES TO PARTICIPATE IN A RANGE OF HANDS-ON, COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS. IN FY25, TRAINEES CONSTRUCTED A VULTURE HABITAT AT ROGER WILLIAMS PARK ZOO, AS WELL AS FIVE UTILITY SHEDS THAT WERE DISTRIBUTED TO SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, THE HMONG COMMUNITY FARM IN CRANSTON, THE CHARLES STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND OUR OWN TREE NURSERY.OUR CERTIFIED WELDING ELECTIVE TRAINING, HELD THREE TIMES PER YEAR, IS A THREE-WEEK COURSE IN INDUSTRIAL WELDING TAUGHT BY AN AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY-CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. THESE ELECTIVES AUGMENT THE CORE PRE-APPRENTICESHIP IN PREPARING GRADUATES FOR ENTRY AND SUCCESS IN REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS. IN FY25, 46 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN GSL, AND ANOTHER 18 COMPLETED WELDING CERTIFICATION TRAINING.AS OF THE END OF FY25, 476 PRE-APPRENTICESHIP GRADUATES HAVE ENTERED EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING 459 WHO ENTERED CONSTRUCTION THROUGH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. THIRTY-NINE GRADUATES ENTERED CONSTRUCTION REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS IN FY25 ALONE. OVER 90% OF BF200 GRADUATES ARE RETAINED IN THEIR APPRENTICESHIP AFTER ONE YEAR, AND 81% COMPLETE THEIR THREE-TO-FIVE-YEAR APPRENTICESHIPS. WITH EMPLOYER AND TRADE PARTNERS, BUILDING FUTURES CONTINUES TO REFINE AND EXPAND ITS PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND HAS BEEN NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR ITS BEST PRACTICES BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND OTHERS.RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, PLACEMENT, AND RETENTION OF WOMEN IN THE TRADES IS PART OF BUILDING FUTURES' ONGOING EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY AND NUMBER OF QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR TRADE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. BUILDING FUTURES' ALUMNAE LEADERSHIP WORKING GROUP ASSISTS WITH OUTREACH AND RECRUITMENT. BUILDING FUTURES SUPPORTS ITS ALUMNAE IN DEVELOPING THEIR LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND WORKING WITHIN THEIR UNIONS TO SUPPORT WOMEN'S RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS, INCLUDING PARTICIPATION IN THE ANNUAL NORTH AMERICA'S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS CONFERENCE, TRADESWOMEN BUILD NATIONS. BUILDING FUTURES SPONSORED 13 GRADUATES WHO TRAVELED TO NEW ORLEANS FOR THE FALL 2024 TRADESWOMEN BUILD NATIONS CONFERENCE.IN FY24, BUILDING FUTURES PILOTED A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLASS TAILORED FOR BF200 GRADUATES WHO HAVE ADVANCED IN THEIR TRADE AND ARE SEEKING TO BEGIN THEIR OWN BUSINESSES AS CONTRACTORS. BUILDING FUTURES ENGAGED A CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS LEADER TO PROVIDE INSTRUCTION AND COUNSELING SERVICES FOR GRADUATES. THE PROGRAM'S INTENSIVE CURRICULUM COVERS BUSINESS REGISTRATION, BASIC OPERATIONS, REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO BECOME A CONTRACTOR, MANAGING CASH FLOW, AND RAISING CAPITAL FOR A GROWING CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS.EXPERT PRESENTERS AND COACHES OFFER INSIGHTS FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE AND ENCOURAGE DISCUSSION AND CRITICAL THINKING. IN FY24, NINE BUILDING FUTURES GRADUATES AND SEVERAL OF THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS COMPLETED THE PROGRAM, AND MANY WENT ON TO PURSUE MBE/WBE CERTIFICATION. IN FY25, BUILDING FUTURES WORKED TO DEVELOP THE PILOT MATERIALS INTO A FORMAL SYLLABUS, CURRICULUM, AND LESSON PLANS, WHILE OUR INSTRUCTOR CONTINUED COACHING GRADUATES. WE ARE NOW READY TO LAUNCH THE SECOND ITERATION OF THE PROGRAM.BUILDING FUTURES IS THE STATEWIDE MULTI-CRAFT CORE CURRICULUM (MC3) INTERMEDIARY FOR THE RHODE ISLAND BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL. MC3 IS A NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP READINESS CURRICULUM DEVELOPED BY NORTH AMERICA'S BUILDING TRADES UNIONS AND TRADESFUTURES. THIS CURRICULUM OFFERS AN INDUSTRY CREDENTIAL AND EXPOSURE TO BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADE OPTIONS THAT BEGIN WITH REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP. ALL BUILDING FUTURES PRE-APPRENTICESHIP AND BUILDING FUTURES INSIDE APPRENTICESHIP READINESS PARTICIPANTS EARN THE MC3 ALONG WITH OTHER CREDENTIALS. BUILDING FUTURES ALSO ADMINISTERS MC3 WITH PARTNER HIGH SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RI. IN FY25, 28 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM PROVIDENCE CAREER AND TECHNICAL ACADEMY AND 30 CCRI STUDENTS EARNED MC3 CERTIFICATION. TWO PCTA GRADUATES AND ONE CCRI STUDENT WHO EARNED MC3 ENTERED REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP. TO DATE, 189 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE EARNED THE CERTIFICATION, WITH 43 ENTERING REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS.BUILDING G
- $1.2 million spent. APPRENTICESHIP RI INITIATIVE -APPRENTICESHIP RHODE ISLAND (ARI), AN INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RI DLT, IS AN EFFORT TO EXPAND REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP IN HIGH-GROWTH, NON-CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS AND INDUSTRIES. BUILDING FUTURES SERVES AS THE STATE'S APPRENTICESHIP INTERMEDIARY, PROVIDING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RESOURCES TO EMPLOYERS TO DESIGN, LAUNCH, AND OPERATE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS (RAPS) FOR OCCUPATIONS IN A RANGE OF DIVERSE INDUSTRIES. ARI HAS WORKED WITH 276 EMPLOYERS, SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPING RAPS THAT HAVE EMPLOYED AND TRAINED 2,462 APPRENTICES. NEW RAP DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES IN THE AREAS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, SPECIAL EDUCATION, SCHOOLTEACHER LICENSURE, AND MANUFACTURING. ARI ALSO PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF THE STATE'S APPRENTICESHIP OFFICE, ALIGNING MULTIPLE SYSTEMS TO CONNECT MORE PEOPLE TO REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP. THESE ACTIVITIES REFLECT A NATURAL EXPANSION OF BUILDING FUTURES' WORK TO BETTER ACHIEVE ITS MISSION WHILE REPLICATING ITS EFFECTIVE WORK IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.IN 2020, ARI WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION AS ONE OF THE TOP 10 MOST EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY. TO EXPAND UPON ITS IMPACT IN THE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM, BUILDING FUTURES WAS AWARDED A NEW FOUR-YEAR U.S. DOL APPRENTICESHIP BUILDING AMERICA GRANT TO ESTABLISH THE ORGANIZATION AS THE REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP HUB FOR RHODE ISLAND, SUPPORTING NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO EXPAND RAPS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, EDUCATION, AND CLEAN ENERGY INDUSTRIES. AS RHODE ISLAND'S APPRENTICESHIP HUB, BUILDING FUTURES HAS HELPED COORDINATE THE LAUNCH OF THE STATE'S FIRST K12 TEACHER APPRENTICESHIP, EXPAND REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP TO NEW CHILDCARE EMPLOYERS, AND ENHANCE CONSTRUCTION REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIPS WITH TRAININGS AND CERTIFICATIONS FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT CONSTRUCTION.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 2016.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.