Jonnycake Center for Hope

What Jonnycake Center for Hope does

Jonnycake Center for Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1974 in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, providing free food, housing, youth, and family services to residents of South Kingstown, Narragansett, Block Island, and Jamestown in Washington County, RI. The organization operates a three-pillar service model branded as Nourish (food pantry and nutrition programs including twice-monthly Jonnycake Market visits and homebound deliveries), House (10 owned affordable housing units in Peace Dale and Shannock Villages with priority for families with children in local schools), and Thrive (the Jonnycake Youth Center opened in 2025, free VITA tax preparation, emergency financial assistance, and benefits enrollment). All services are provided at no charge to eligible members who can document residence in the four served towns.

The organization operates from two facilities in Peace Dale: its 2022 headquarters at 22 Kersey Road housing the food pantry, administrative offices, and community room, and the Jonnycake Youth Center at 1231 Kingstown Road. Programs are augmented through strategic partnerships with Wood River Health (WIC, Baby Café), Thundermist (mobile health), URI College of Pharmacy (Wellness Table), URI College of Education (Language and Literacy Academy), and Foster Forward (Works Wonders career/paid-internship program).

The revenue model is entirely donation- and grant-based, accepting individual one-time and recurring gifts, stock, IRA qualified charitable distributions, legacy gifts, and grants from foundations (Rhode Island Foundation, United Way of RI, Bank of America, Murray Family Charitable Foundation, Westerly Community Credit Union). A new Wavemaker initiative launched in July 2026 secures multi-year $5,000+ annual commitments specifically for the Youth Center. There is no technology platform, no app, and no API surface — service delivery is in-person and human-staff intensive, with leadership under CEO Kate Brewster and Board Chair Lou Giancola.

Name

Jonnycake Center for Hope

Legal name

Jonnycake Center for Hope, Inc.

Website

https://jonnycakecenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jonnycake Center for Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1974 in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, providing free food pantry, affordable housing, and youth development services to residents of four South County towns in Washington County, RI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210), Community Housing Services (62422), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

Keywords

• Food pantry services
• Affordable housing assistance
• Youth development programs
• Community social services
• Nonprofit family support

Headquarters

HQ city

Peace Dale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: The organization relies on financial donations from individuals, grants from foundations, and legislative grants. They accept one-time and recurring donations, stocks, IRA qualified charitable distributions, and legacy gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Jonnycake Center for Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free basic-need services — a twice-monthly food pantry, affordable housing, youth development programs, free tax preparation (VITA), emergency financial assistance, nutrition education, and on-site health services — to eligible residents of South Kingstown, Narragansett, Block Island, and Jamestown in Washington County, Rhode Island. All services are provided free of charge and supported by donations, grants, and volunteer efforts.

Product overview

Jonnycake Center for Hope is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of community support services organized under three core pillars: Nourish, House, and Thrive. The primary programs include the Jonnycake Market Food Pantry for food assistance, Jonnycake Homes for affordable housing, and the Jonnycake Youth Center (JYC) for youth development. Additional services encompass nutrition programs (WIC, Baby Café, Healthy Cooking classes), financial assistance (VITA tax prep, emergency funds), health workshops (Wellness Table in partnership with URI College of Pharmacy), and specialized youth programs (Apple Seeds, Language and Literacy Academy, Works Wonders internship). The organization also operates a donor program called Wavemakers for sustained youth center funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jonnycake Market Food Pantry

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,000 food pantry visits annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Foster Forward's Works Wonders ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Career development and employment engagement program providing skills-based training, career coaching, and paid work-based learning opportunities. The JYC Youth Center pilots the partnership, recruiting youth for work readiness training and paid internship placements.
• URI College of PharmacycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Monthly health workshops on topics including heart health, brain health, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and vitamins/supplements. Faculty provide nutrition education and wellness programming at the Center.
• Thundermist Mobile Health CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMobile medical unit visits the Jonnycake Center every Wednesday 11AM-1PM providing checkups, sick visits, counseling, screenings, referrals, and follow-up care. Open to anyone, no appointment needed.
• Wood River Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutrition program on site, serving eligible families across Washington County with nutrition support for pregnant women, infants, and children up to age 5.
• League of Women VotersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts voter registration drives at the Jonnycake Center lobby, helping community members register to vote and answering questions about voting.
• University of Rhode Island College of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Alison Bateson-Toupin leads the Summer Language and Literacy Academy for children with learning differences. The program brings evidence-based literacy instruction to students who may struggle in traditional learning environments.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boys & Girls Club of Newport: Youth development nonprofit serving Newport County with after-school, mentoring, and teen programs. Directly comparable to Jonnycake Youth Center in mission and youth programming model.
• Rhode Island Community Food Bank: Statewide food distribution network serving member agencies across Rhode Island. Directly comparable as a food-security nonprofit serving overlapping geographies and populations, with similar reliance on donations and grants.
• Crossroads Rhode Island: Largest homeless-services and housing nonprofit in Rhode Island, providing emergency shelter, housing, and outreach. Comparable to Jonnycake's House pillar and whole-person services model.
• Catholic Charities Rhode Island: Multi-service nonprofit offering food, housing, refugee, and family services across Rhode Island. Comparable integrated service model and donation-based funding structure.
• Wood River Health Services: Federally Qualified Health Center delivering WIC, primary care, and community health services in Washington County. Comparable to Jonnycake's health-partner role and overlapping member base.

Regional players

• Thundermist Health Center: Federally Qualified Health Center operating a mobile health unit that visits the Jonnycake Center weekly. Comparable as a community health partner serving the same low-income populations in Rhode Island.
• South County Health: Community hospital and health system serving South County, RI. Comparable as a regional anchor institution whose former executive chairs the Jonnycake board, reflecting overlapping service populations.

Emerging players

• Foster Forward: Rhode Island nonprofit supporting youth aging out of foster care. Directly comparable as a partner of Jonnycake via the Works Wonders internship program serving transition-age youth.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill of Southern New England: Regional nonprofit offering workforce development, training, and supportive services. Comparable on the workforce-readiness axis (Works Wonders-style programming) and multi-pillar nonprofit structure.
• United Way of Rhode Island: Major statewide funder and convener that supports Jonnycake directly. Comparable as a community-impact intermediary but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic remit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/JonnycakeCenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/jonnycakecenter
• Xx.com/JonnycakeCtr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jonnycake-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jonnycake Center for Hope