Annette Urso Rickel Foundation Celebrates Fifth Year Partnership with Proyecto Olga Iglesias Through $20,000 Grant

San Juan, Puerto Rico – The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation has awarded the Proyecto Olga Iglesias (OIP) a $20,000 grant for the fifth consecutive year, bringing its cumulative support since 2021 to $85,000 — OIP's most sustained source of philanthropic backing.

The partnership has grown year by year: $2,500 in 2021, $7,500 in 2022, $15,000 in 2023, $40,000 in 2024, and $20,000 in 2025. More than the figures, it is the steadiness that has mattered — it gave a young organization room to grow from its first recitals into a year-round presence in Puerto Rico's schools and concert halls.

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"Five years of steady support from the Annette Urso Rickel Foundation let us build something that lasts. What began as backing for a few artists has become a program that reaches schools across the island, sustains our Artist Residency, and keeps our heritage alive through work like La Batalla de los Clásicos. That consistency is what lets us plan for the long term."

Anthony Cheney Guzmán, Founder and Executive Director of OIP

The Foundation's support anchors the Olga Iglesias Artist Residency, which gives emerging Puerto Rican classical singers paid performances, mentorship, and professional development, while also sustaining OIP's school recitals and the commissioning of new educational work.

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"Five years of partnership has allowed us to witness the remarkable growth and impact of OIP's work. From supporting individual talented artists to creating educational programs that reach hundreds of students, this partnership exemplifies what sustained philanthropic investment can achieve. We're not just funding a program; we're investing in the cultural future of Puerto Rico."

Jay Rickel-Finnegan, President of the Annette Urso Rickel Foundation

The Foundation's early, consistent backing also helped OIP earn later support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fundación Ángel Ramos, and Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades — and gave it the stability to take on long-term work, including the 2026 orchestrated performances of La Batalla de los Clásicos and the continued preservation of the Olga Iglesias collection through the Digital Library of the Caribbean.

About the Annette Urso Rickel Foundation

The Annette Urso Rickel Foundation supports student education through scholarships and grants that fund specialized study and lasting classroom impact. Dedicated to STEAM education — where the arts stand alongside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — it favors sustained, multi-year investment over one-time gifts, focusing on initiatives that inspire students and strengthen the schools and nonprofits it supports.