Herb Kaplan

Alumni Service Award:

Criteria: An alumnus/a or non-alumnus/a who has made an important contribution to the College, by giving time, talent or resources; or an outstanding citizen who has made a contribution to the state or nation that refl ects ideals of service to humanity.

Since 1987, when Herb retired from business, he has devoted himself to the non-profit community, serving on over 30 boards. Family Service of R.I., Meeting Street Center, Providence Public Library, Youth in Action and Trinity Repertory are just a few of the non-profits that have benefited from his leadership. He is the founder and president of the New England Amateur Skating Foundation. Herb has provided countless hours of volunteer time to the Poverty Institute at RIC as a board member, lending his expertise in board governance, fundraising and strategic planning. He has written newspaper articles, spoken to policy makers, and engaged others in the effort to improve economic security for low-income Rhode Islanders. For Herb, serving others makes life enjoyable. His way of giving back to the community has often been as a mentor helping non-profits and development professionals serve their organizations more effectively. He has been honored by Meeting Street Center as an outstanding volunteer fundraiser and by the Association of Fundraising Professionals as an outstanding Philanthropic Citizen. Leadership R.I. and Youth in Action have both honored him for his mentoring activities.