Search Through Capacity Building Grants for Nonprofits in Maine in the U.S.

The Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund

The Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund helps to build the capacity of existing preservation organizations and encourages collaboration among these organizations by providing grants for mentoring and other peer-to-peer and direct organizational development and learning opportunities. The purpose of these grants is to support the leadership and effectiveness of staff and board members of preservation organizations to fulfill their mission and to create a stronger, more effective preservation movement. By linking organizations with specific skills/programs to those seeking to develop similar abilities, the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund promotes individualized mentoring and the sharing of expertise. Valuable lessons can be learned from someone who has successfully navigated the same situation that an organization currently faces.

Grants from the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund support travel costs and mentor honoraria. We know that current circumstances may make travel impossible, but we still want you to have peer mentoring opportunities. We are open to innovative ideas for this program, and encourage you to reach out to the Grants office if you think you have a plan that could make this feasible and safe for you and your mentor.

What is the Process to Apply?

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis rather than in competitive rounds. Grant decisions will be made thoughtfully, but as expeditiously as possible. Once the grant funds have been expended for the current fiscal year, recommended applicants who did not receive funding will have priority for a Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund grant in the next fiscal year.

Please contact the grants office to describe the proposed application and to access to the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund application.

What We Support

The Rauch Foundation takes an entrepreneurial approach to promoting change by investing in areas where we can have a fundamental impact.

Our mission has two main priorities:

• To promote a healthy planet through research into global food systems.
• To promote the financial preparedness of rising generations of students by supporting schools in the delivery of financial literacy programs

Building on the Rauch Foundation’s long history of providing evidence-based research and data to inform policy, our work in food systems is centered on exploring the nexus between the food we consume and the systems involved in its financing, sourcing, production and delivery. Using the island of Poros, Greece and its efforts to stop the expansion of open net pen industrial fish farming as a case study, we have been laying out a case for how global, national, and regional actions can impact the health of a community, its economy, and the local environment.

Our school-based work in financial literacy acknowledges growing national support for a curriculum that helps young people develop the skills to navigate a successful future for themselves and their families.

Working for systemic change.

The Rauch Foundation invests in ideas and organizations that spark positive systemic change.

We are not afraid of controversial ideas, original approaches, or new ways to tackle old problems. However, we do look for sound data, leadership, other grant partners, strong management skills, and a focus on evidence-based outcomes. Once we invest in the work of an organization, our involvement may include a long-term partnership or assistance with capacity building and leadership.

We are committed to partnering with nonprofits and NGOs, the private sector, labor, research institutions, universities, the media, and other funders to help achieve shared goals and work through common issues.

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

About Us

The Skees Family Foundation, a 501(c)3 private charitable foundation, works with nonprofits (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) serving families in need around the world.

The Skees Family Foundation — family helping families — extends self-help to youth and families to end poverty worldwide. We support organizations in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Central and South America, India, and the Pacific to promote job creation and economic development. We value love in action to create equal opportunity for all. And as a diverse multigenerational group with limited time and funds, we believe that we — and you — can change the world for good.

Mission

Skees Family Foundation works to end global poverty by partnering with community-based organizations to create fulfilling jobs and build job readiness through vocational or entrepreneurial training.

Vision

Skees Family Foundation envisions a world in which every person has the opportunity to lead a self-determined, prosperous life.

Values

Equality. Respect. Trust. Solidarity. Boldness. Innovation. Hope.

Motivation

We wish to reach out in love and respect, to share our time and resources and to learn from other families’ resilience in the face of poverty and adversity. We hope, in whatever small and large ways we can, to advance the freedom, safety, health, and happiness of other families.

Goal

Opportunity for all.

Mission-Aligned Grantmaking

Our mission-aligned grants are focused on organizations whose primary work is outside of the United States. We do this for two reasons:

• Given our relatively small grantmaking budget, funding international programs allows each dollar to go further than it would in the U.S, enabling our foundation to have greater impact with our limited resources.
• We support organizations without geographic limitations through our discretionary board and family grants, both in the U.S. and abroad, that our family members are connected to and passionate about.

These grants are typically distributed every three years, and go out at the start of the new year.

Seed Grants

Seed Grants are two- to three-year grants with increasing amounts each year: $2,500 year one, $5,000 year two, and $7,500 year three, if the organization’s self-determined benchmarks are met after year one and year two. These partners are in their “start-up” phase. Eligibility for this seed funding is generally available only to organizations with an annual budget of $250,000 or less, in order to ensure that the funds have a significant effect on the budgets of selected organizations.

We encourage our Seed Grantees to use these grants for internal capacity building, but we do not place formal restrictions on the funding. By fostering the growth of small organizations that align with our mission, Seed Grants enable our foundation to support and work with social entrepreneurs building early-stage ventures.

Helping Build Better Futures

Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. For over four decades, our deep commitment to the principles of providing value and caring for others has helped define our culture. It extends beyond the walls of our stores, distribution centers, and offices, and into our local communities around the world. The intersection of these principles defines our global community mission:

Deliver great value to our communities by helping vulnerable families and children access the resources and opportunities they need to build a better future.

Our Social Impact Areas

We bring our community relations mission to life around the world by focusing our giving on four social impact areas where we believe we can have the most impact and are critical to helping families and children succeed and thrive.

Basic Needs

We are passionate about supporting nonprofit organizations that help fill critical basic needs such as a warm meal, clean clothing, and a safe place to sleep for vulnerable families.

Education & Training

Our efforts have focused on quality enrichment and extracurricular programs that provide skills, resources, and opportunities to support school and career success for children, teens, and young adults.

Patient Care & Research

We support organizations that deliver services to families and children facing health challenges and life-threatening illnesses.

Empowering Women

We support programs that provide services ranging from help for those fleeing domestic violence, to others that offer education, training, and job placement resources.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund supports projects in Coös County, NH and bordering communities in the United States and Canada that focus on community revitalization.

Championing the North Country

One of the largest permanent rural philanthropies in the U.S. is strengthening communities and spreading economic opportunity.

Grantmaking Goals

The vision of the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund is “to serve as a resource for the people of Coös County and neighboring communities in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and southern Québec to forge their own pathways to well-being and cultivate a region that thrives.” The Tillotson Fund serves as a stable and consistent source of support for the people of the region to:

• Create and enhance opportunity;
• Preserve and uplift the historical and cultural assets that make the region unique;
• Hold the confidence and capabilities to foster strong communities and healthy rural landscapes.

What We're Funding

Individual and family well-being

Goal: Support individuals and families to meet their essential needs and achieve well-being.

• Meet essential needs for individuals and families.
• Strengthen systems of care.Community resiliency

Healthy workforce ecosystem

Goal: Strengthen the capacity of local employers to maintain and/or grow their operations, build and retain a dynamic workforce, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, ensure business continuity and plan for the future.

• Attract and retain the workforce.
• Establish workforce housing solutions.
• Help companies and employees build skills and systems for sustained success.
• Link employers and employees to financial supports.
• Increase access to affordable quality childcare.

Environmental stewardship

Goal: Address the impacts of climate change by investing in mitigation and adaptation strategies, stewardship of natural resources, and efforts that foster human connection to the natural environment.

• Be good stewards of the land, air, forests, waterways and wildlife.
• Encourage/support responsible tourism and recreation.
• Build and enhance sustainable food systems.
• Promote, sustain and scale energy efficiency, clean energy and green building.
• Implement climate smart forestry solutions.

Resilient communities

Goal: Support initiatives that build trust, belonging and connection and lead to stronger, more resilient communities.

• Empower youth.
• Convene, collaborate, celebrate.
• Build skills, knowledge and approaches to advance equity.
• Support community builders and change agents.
• Revitalize population hubs and preserve cultural and historical assets.
• Improve civic health.
• Strengthen municipal capacity and leadership.

Grant amount

Local Grants Program applications may request up to $20,000 for one, two or three years.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive.

Our Mission

To conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.

Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund

To make the highest possible impact on the climate and biodiversity crises, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is committed to advancing solutions and supporting partners throughout the Appalachians to connect and conserve vital wildlife habitat, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and generate new job and recreation opportunities for communities.

Approximately one-third of the U.S. population lives in or within 100 miles of the Appalachians, including an estimated 36 million people that rely on the region for sources of drinking water. The landscape contains the world's largest remaining expanses of temperate broadleaf mixed forest and provides habitat to a wide diversity of plants of animals, many of which are listed as rare, threatened, or endangered. Conserving this landscape is critical for nature and for the people that live and work there.

However as climate change drives ecosystem instability, plants and animals are shifting their ranges northward, and people are having to find ways to adapt to complex and intertwined challenges. TNC and many others have been working to conserve vital Appalachian habitats for decades. Now we must ramp up our efforts and coordinate with partners across the Appalachians for maximum impact.

To succeed in these efforts, TNC’s Connectivity, Climate, Communities Fund offers two grant programs for conservation and community organizations, municipalities, Federally Recognized Tribal Nations, and local and state agencies in the Appalachians who are working to protect and conserve this region:

• The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program
• The New York Climate Resilience Grant Program

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

The Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians.

Equitable Conservation and Community Benefits

Conservation organizations are increasingly acknowledging the importance of incorporating social equity in their missions, partnerships, and projects and evolving how they work to have better outcomes for people and nature.

TNC defines community benefits as the positive outcomes that directly result from or are included within conservation projects as experienced by local communities and people. This is particularly important for historically marginalized communities, communities with limited access to nature, communities experiencing heightened impacts of climate change due to systemic underinvestment and poor infrastructure, and Indigenous communities. 

RCA program funding will support projects that demonstrate meaningful community engagement, work with those historically excluded from conservation, and lead to a fairer distribution of benefits for people and communities.

Some examples of community benefits include improved and greater access to nature, protection of drinking water sources, recreational and resource-based economic opportunities, flood mitigation, engagement in cross-cultural initiatives, or protection of lands that will meet community-defined conservation needs. We encourage projects with meaningful community benefits that are integrated with the land protection goals.

Project Evaluation

Projects will be evaluated  according to their capacity to deliver land protection outcomes aligned with the program goals, including:

• Location:
  • the project is located within TNC’s Appalachians Program boundary and is in or near a mapped focal area.  Projects outside of focal areas will also be considered.
• Resilience:
  • the percentage of the total project area that is part of the Resilient and Connected Network.
• Connectivity:
  • adjacency to protected lands or other attributes that will lead to landscape connectivity over time (e.g., the project is a necessary acquisition for advancing a local or regional plan that aims to protect a critical conservation corridor).
• Collaboration:
  • evidence of engagement with other organizations, community groups, or local governments (including, but not limited to, shared funding).
• Community:
  • project elements that directly engage and or benefit people, especially vulnerable or marginalized communities.
• Timeline:
  • the project will close within 12 months from the start of the grant agreement term.
• Feasibility:
  • likelihood that the project will close and the costs seem reasonable.

Food Systems Grant Program

The Sewall Foundation is committed to working with our grantee and philanthropic partners to co-create a thriving, healthy, and just food system where local communities are guiding decisions about, and have abundant access to, the resources needed for collective well-being and the foods that remind us we belong.

Priorities

The Food Systems program will support efforts that are working in one or more of the follow areas in Maine:

• Food justice
• Food sovereignty
• Land and water sovereignty and access
• Nutrition equity 
• Food networks
• Food policy

Funding will be prioritized for efforts that: 

• Are led by, and/or serving, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, rural Mainers, and women that strengthen Maine’s local food system
• Are equity-driven, grassroots efforts guided by the expertise of those closest to the injustices of our current food system
• Contribute to the viability of healthy and just food systems (this may be through resourcing, technical assistance, capacity building, partnerships, etc.)
• Resource communities most affected by racial and socioeconomic inequity to build collective power and wealth
• Support both the immediate material conditions of those in need and the emergence of sovereign and just food systems 
• Are smaller and have barriers to accessing resources (e.g., historically marginalized groups, fiscally sponsored work, etc.)

Funding

• Available Funding: $1,870,000
• Generally, grant funding levels in this program area are:
  • Individual organizations/efforts: $10,000 to $60,000 (per year)
    • Increased funding amounts may be available to organizations that meet multiple program priority areas.
    • 1-5 year proposals will be considered.
  • Collaborations/efforts involving multiple organizations/groups: up to $200,000 (per year)
    • Occasionally, organizations may apply for both organizational and collaborative funds.
    • 1-5 year proposals will be considered.
  • Transformational opportunities: variable funding levels
    • The purpose of transformational opportunities is to address critical community priorities and create sustainable, systemic changes. These efforts should advance processes and approaches that heal, correct unjust conditions and structures, and create conditions for fair access to power, resources, and opportunities.
    • Generally, 1-2 year proposals will be considered.

Keystone Grant Program

The Keystone program prioritizes grassroots and community-led efforts to address environmental and racial justice, as a key strategy for equitable social change and community well-being. By funding efforts that use advocacy and community organizing, and strategic messaging and communications, and by funding organizations that provide essential capacity supports for grassroots and community-led efforts, we will contribute to building a robust civic engagement infrastructure to advance a just, sustainable, healthy Maine.

Priorities

Our focus is on supporting organizations and efforts that meet at least three of the following criteria:

• Demonstrate a clear commitment to environmental justice and racial justice
• Are grassroots or community-led. Sewall understands grassroots efforts to be inclusive community-led and -based efforts that include everyday people working to bring about a change through collective action. Grassroots efforts include and are led by people from the community that is primarily affected by the issue they are addressing
• Provide meaningful capacity and technical support to grassroots and community-led efforts in Maine
• Work to create conditions necessary for a just, healthy, sustainable future, with a primary focus on advocacy, community organizing, civic engagement, and/or field- and movement-building efforts
• Work statewide in Maine or regionally with clear impact in Maine

We prioritize applicants that: 

• Are led by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, rural Mainers, and women;
• Are working collaboratively across sectors; and/or
• Have an explicit commitment to environmental justice and/or racial justice

Funding

• Available Funding: $1,500,000
• Our normal grant range is $10,000-50,000 for individual organizations. Collaborative grants that will be shared with multiple partners may be up to $200,000.

Lewiston-Auburn Program Grant

Sewall Foundation, in partnership with other funders, supports organizations in Lewiston and Auburn (L-A) that are engaged in a broadly participatory, community-based, collaboration-building process. Sewall grants support organizations that are working together through L-A’s Systems Approach to strengthen collaboration, build sustainable capacity, and deepen equity, by centering leadership by youth and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Grants in the Lewiston-Auburn Program are allocated through L-A’s collaborative decision-making process.

Priorities

Our grants, convenings, and values-aligned investments, support collective work in L-A that addresses one or more of these four priority areas:

• Equitable Municipal Systems
• Workforce Access and Economic Development
• Community Health, Wellness and Food Systems
• Healthy, Affordable Housing

Funding

• Available Funding: $1,710,000
• Most of the available funding will support multi-year grants over 2 or 3 years.
• A modest portion of funding will be available to support emergent work, mostly through 1-year grants.
• Grant sizes will vary and will be determined by the participatory process prior to the grant deadline.
  • Normal operating grants are $10,000 per year per organization.
  • Larger grants may be made for collaborative efforts which include several non-profit partners.

What We Do

Founded in 1983, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. MaineCF’s investment expertise supports our donors’ effective and strategic giving. We offer a range of giving options tailored to fit each donor’s financial means and charitable objectives. Our staff provides personalized service, community leadership, and a deep understanding of local issues.

Background

For over 30 years, Hospice of Maine provided hospice volunteers and bereavement services to clinical hospice programs in southern Maine. Based on the changing environment and in an effort to strengthen and unify hospice services, in January 2006, the Board of Directors transferred Hospice of Maine’s direct service programs to VNA Home Health Care and Hospice of Southern Maine, which allowed these organizations to create and expand their full-service hospice programs. As part of this transition, Hospice of Maine decided to use its remaining assets to create this Hospice Fund in a manner consistent with the mission and philosophy of Hospice of Maine and the intention of its supporters.

Hospice Fund

The Hospice Fund supports hospice services, especially programs that support volunteer and bereavement services, in Cumberland and York counties.

Annual Grants are intended to support island organizations that enrich our community, but in different ways. 

What we fund

Peaks Island Fund gives priority to projects or organizations that enrich the island community by:

• Reducing economic barriers to living on the island
• Supporting services that enhance medical and social needs of islanders
• Providing enhanced access to educational and enrichment programs
• Preserving and protecting the island environment 

Types of funding include:

• Capacity-building grants for activities designed to make an organization stronger, more successful, or more efficient such as improving financial management and development, acquiring technology to improve or expand services, strategic planning focused on achieving a specific goal, and training board, staff, or volunteers.
• General support grants for the operation of organizations
• Project grants for new or expanding projects.
• Equipment or renovation support needed to meet an organization’s mission. These renovations or equipment cannot be related to or part of a capital campaign.

Arts Program Strategies

The Onion Foundation recognizes the arts’ important roles in creativity and sharing of culture and different perspectives. The arts are essential for the development of our intellect, our capacity for joy and compassion, and our feelings of connection to one another. We seek to connect Maine residents to arts experiences as audience members and as makers in order to offer opportunities for expression, learning, and inspiration.

Three strategies guide our arts program:

Strategy I: Increase Access To Arts Education In Maine

The Onion Foundation supports programs that incorporate learning goals and that are led by skilled staff and teachers working from detailed plans, rather than programs that only offer casual arts activities. We hope our grantees thoughtfully include a diverse set of students and incorporate equity-based, low-barrier participation opportunities rather than limited scholarship discounts. We encourage applicants to seek support for programs led by and serving historically under-resourced communities, and to offer curricula that are multicultural and do not engage in cultural appropriation.

Strategy II: Support Public Engagement In Maine Arts Programs

The Arts Program primarily supports arts-mission nonprofit organizations that offer ongoing events, in particular those that provide Maine residents free or low cost experiences. We give priority to programs with strong public engagement and that show meaningful consideration of the communities where they take place. When assessing proposals, we look for arts programming that includes underrepresented artists and stories, attention to marginalized audiences, and geographic diversity. We also look for concrete plans that are guided by a curatorial or programmatic vision and led by experienced staff who are, in turn, supported by their organizations through training and other resources.

Strategy III: Build The Capacity Of Maine’s Arts Sector (Invited Proposals Only)

The Arts Program recognizes that strong programs come from a healthy and connected sector engaged in intersectional practices and invested in its workers. The Arts Program will work closely with organizations to identify capacity needs and priorities, which include, but are not limited to, organizational development, financial stability, worker skills, governance, communications and marketing strategies, networking and collaboration, and advocacy.

We know that some arts organizations and programs offer both arts education and ongoing events, relating to both our Strategy I and our Strategy II. We therefore have not structured our grant cycles by strategy. Rather, the Arts Program arranges grant cycles by grant size.

Applicants may request either general operating or project grants:

General operating grants offer unrestricted funds for your organization. If all of your organization’s activities align with one or both of these strategies, you may request general operating support. General operating proposals may request multi-year grants of up to three years. We will consider awarding:

• up to $20,000 per year (up to $60,000 total over three years) for organizations with annual budgets over $50,000.
• up to $7,500 per year (up to $22,500 total over three years) for organizations with annual budgets under $50,000.

Project support grants offer funding for specific activities or programs, such as an ongoing concert series or an arts education department that’s part of a larger organization. If your organization’s work extends beyond our grantmaking strategies, you should request project support. All fiscally sponsored grants are project grants. Project proposals may request multi-year grants of up to three years. We will consider awarding:

• up to $20,000 per year (up to $60,000 total over three years) for projects with budgets over $50,000.
• up to $7,500 per year (up to $22,500 total over three years) for projects with budgets up to $50,000.

Requests should be aligned with the following Arts Program Strategies:

• Strategy One: Increase Access to Arts Education in Maine
• Strategy Two: Support Public Engagement in Maine Arts Program
• Strategy Three: Build the Capacity of Maine’s Arts Sector

Arts Education and Public Engagement 

We award Arts Program grants that align with either our arts education or public engagement strategies (Strategies I and II). The proposed work must be based in Maine and focused on benefiting Maine’s people.

Types of Grants

General operating grants offer unrestricted funds for your organization. If all of your organization’s activities align with Strategy I, Strategy II, or both, you may request general operating support.

Project support grants offer funding for specific activities or programs, such as an ongoing concert series or an arts education department that’s part of a larger organization. If your organization’s work extends beyond our grantmaking strategies, you should request project support. All fiscally sponsored grants are project grants.

Arts Program

We recognize the important role the arts play in enabling people to express creativity, share their culture, perspectives and lived experiences, and learn about others’. The arts are essential for the development of our intellect, our capacity for joy and compassion, and our feelings of connection to one another. We seek to increase Maine residents’ access to arts experiences as audience members and as makers to expand opportunities for expression, learning, and inspiration. Our arts program supports our commitment to leveraging our resources to reduce systemic inequities so all people in Maine can fully realize their potential.

Three strategies guide our Arts Program:

We support programs that incorporate learning goals and are led by skilled staff and teachers working from detailed plans, rather than programs that only offer casual arts activities.

We primarily support arts-mission nonprofit organizations that offer ongoing events, particularly those that provide Maine residents free or low-cost experiences. We focus on programs with strong public engagement and that show meaningful consideration of the communities in which they take place.

Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund

The Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund supports immigrant flourishing in Maine. We fund and strengthen the ecosystem of nonprofit, community-based organizations led by and serving Maine’s immigrants, refugees, asylees, migrant farm workers, and those who are undocumented.

Amount

The ten (10) organizations selected for the 2024 ILO Fund cohort will receive unrestricted, general operating grants of $45,000 paid out over three (3) years, $15,000 per year.

In addition, these organizations are invited to participate in a series of peer learning, training, capacity-building, and community outreach activities over the course of their 3-year grant period, from August 2024 through August 2027.

What We Do

Founded in 1983, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. MaineCF’s investment expertise supports our donors’ effective and strategic giving. We offer a range of giving options tailored to fit each donor’s financial means and charitable objectives. Our staff provides personalized service, community leadership, and a deep understanding of local issues.

Background

The Equity Fund was established in 1996. Originally funded with a two-year matching grant to the Maine Community Foundation from the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership, the Equity Fund became a permanent fund of the foundation in December 2000. A community assessment and forum were conducted in 2003 to clarify the criteria and priorities of the Equity Fund.

Purpose

The Equity Fund's mission is to strengthen lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) organizations in Maine and support community-based initiatives.

Types of Funding

This program provides:

• General support grants for LGBTQ+ organizations for ongoing programming, operational needs, and capacity-building.
• To apply for a general support grant, an organization must have previously received a project grant.
• Project grants for new or expanded projects.
  • Projects are activities with a clear start and end date, with goals and objectives related to but not the same as the organization’s mission.
  • Project grants will support staff time dedicated to supporting proposed activities.
  • They may also include administrative or indirect costs in their request as a line item in their budget.
  • These funds may be used at the discretion of the organization to cover overhead or indirect costs but must be limited to 20% of the total amount requested.

Grant funds can be used to support:

• Staff time dedicated to the proposed project
• New equipment or materials that are necessary to achieve the goals or outcomes of the proposed activities
• Training for staff, volunteers, or board members
• Administrative overhead (up to 20% of the requested funding).

Interest Areas

• Civil Rights
• Social Action
• Advocacy;
• Health Care

Vision

Maine is a vibrant and equitable place where people and communities thrive.

Mission

The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine.

Background The Maine Theater Fund was established in 2005 by an anonymous couple who love live theater and recognize the connection between vibrant communities and support for the arts.Maine Theater The Maine Theater Fund grant program supports nonprofit professional and community theaters in the production and presentation of live theater.

Our Mission

The Hansen Family Foundation provides opportunities to domestic, international, secular, and non-secular organizations that support the American way of life, which is defined by the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

Causes

Children

The Hansen Family Foundation supports causes dedicated to helping children both home as well as abroad. Learn More

Education

The Hansen Family Foundation believes that a decent education should be made available to everyone, young or old, the world over. Learn More

Animals

The Hansen Family Foundation believes in helping those who cannot speak on their own behalf. Learn More

Environmental

The Hansen Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the world we all share. Learn More

Humanitarian

The Hansen Family Foundation views the plight of our fellow man as an opportunity to actively engage and effect change. Learn More

Arts & Culture

The Hansen Family Foundation supports all forms of artistic and cultural endeavors. Learn More

Volunteer Maine (The Maine Commission for Community Service)

Volunteer Maine is the state government partner for the federal AmeriCorps agency. It builds capacity and sustainability in Maine’s volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing volunteer managers, fostering adoption of high-quality volunteer management practices, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy.

Established in 1994, the agency was known as the Maine Commission for Community Service, the statutory name. In 2002, the Commission launched Volunteer Maine as its outreach to volunteer programs that were not part of National Service. In 2019, the two identities were merged, and Volunteer Maine became the Commission’s primary identity. The mission has not changed. Volunteer Maine fosters and inspires community service and volunteerism to address critical needs in the State of Maine.

As the State of Maine partner for the federal agency, AmeriCorps, Volunteer Maine has several very specific legal responsibilities related to AmeriCorps and National Service. These include:

• providing training and technical assistance to local nonprofit organizations and other entities that want to plan and apply for funding to implement national service programs;
• selecting programs to be funded under the National and Community Service Act;
• pre-selecting programs to compete for funding under AmeriCorps State Competitive;
• providing training and technical assistance to National Service programs in Maine;
• evaluating, monitoring, and administering grant programs.

All Commission activities -- those related to the wider volunteer sector as well as National Service -- and its funding priorities flow from its Strategic Plan. To learn more about the Commission, visit VolunteerMaine.gov

AmeriCorps, the federal agency

In 2020, the federal agency rebranded itself from the Corporation for National and Community Service to AmeriCorps. The federal agency was established in 1994 and among the grant programs it manages are

• Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Companion Program; and
• AmeriCorps VISTA, the National Civilian Community Corps programs, and AmeriCorps State/National (the crew program).

The federal agency mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities and fortify the civic health of the United States.

To accomplish these goals, AmeriCorps provides grants as well as training and technical assistance to volunteer organizations. It explores, develops, and models effective approaches for using volunteers to meet the nation's human needs and conducts and disseminates research that helps develop and cultivate knowledge that will enhance the overall effectiveness of national and community service programs.

About Us

Old places are where our lives, memories, and stories began. They connect us to the past, anchor us to the present, and lead us into the future. These places inspire us to create a stronger nation, because they belong to all of us.

For more than 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has led the movement to save America’s historic places. A privately funded nonprofit organization, we work to save America's historic sites; tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation's future.

Moe Family Fund for Statewide and Local Partners

The Moe Family Fund for Statewide and Local Partners supports current dues-paying members of the National Preservation Partners Network (NPPN) with grants focused on strengthening preservation organizations and addressing pressing issues in the preservation field. This year, grant-funded projects will fall in one of three categories:

• Advocacy
• Capacity Building
• Climate Change

While recognizing there are interconnections between these categories, applicants must select one main category for the project. Applicants can describe overlapping aspects with a second category in the application.

Applicants are encouraged to embark on projects and activities outside the existing scope of their work, but the Fund also will support initiatives that take existing programs to a new level. Projects may stand alone or be part of a larger initiative.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will select grant recipients by considering, among other factors, the following criteria:

• Degree to which the proposed project will address one of the three identified categories
• Creativity and innovation above and beyond the organization’s existing programs, or the extent to which an existing program is being taken to a new level
• Evidence that the activity or project would probably not be undertaken without this seed money
• The projected outcome of the project and the potential for catalytic effect
• Potential for demonstrable short-term and long-term impact
• Replicability and transferability, i.e., potential for the project or activity to be a model for other Partner organizations
• The project’s budget and the applicant’s proven ability to secure a match
• Potential to leverage additional funds for the project
• Realistic timeline for the project
• Qualifications of the key personnel, including consultants
• Demonstrated ability of the applicant to complete preservation projects

Funding

Through the Fund, a maximum of $50,000 will be awarded with a limit of $10,000 per grant award.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC), with To Be Done Studio, are excited to announce the Request for Applications to the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design (CIRD). Rural communities are invited to submit applications to receive design support and technical assistance to host a virtual and on-site local Design Workshop (if local public health guidelines allow) or participate in the Design Learning Cohort.

About CIRD

The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council. Focusing on communities with populations of 50,000 or less, CIRD’s goal is to enhance the quality of life and economic viability of rural America through planning, design, and creative placemaking.

CIRD is intended to empower local citizens to capitalize on unique local and regional assets in order to guide the civic development and future design of their own communities. The CIRD program goals include:

• Building design capacity in rural communities to plan comprehensive revitalization strategies;
• Introducing creative placemaking, arts, culture, and design strategies as drivers of economic development in rural America;
• Facilitating a network of rural communities for design idea exchanges and peer learning; and
• Preparing communities to be ready and competitive for arts- and design-related state and federal funding opportunities.

Since 1991, the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) has provided design assistance to more than 100 rural communities in all regions of the United States, empowering residents to leverage local and regional assets in order to guide the civic development and future design of their own communities. 

The CIRD program consists of two different opportunities via a single application:

Opportunity 1) Local Design Workshops

Up to four (4) communities will be selected to participate in an on-site rural Design Workshop. (Based on timing and in accordance with local health guidance, this workshop may be a hybrid virtual and in-person program.) With support from a wide range of design, planning, and creative placemaking professionals, the workshops bring together local residents and local leaders from non-profits, community organizations, and government to develop actionable solutions to a specific design challenge. Examples of potential design challenges include but are not limited to:

• Historic preservation and adaptive reuse of community buildings
• Designing quality affordable housing that supports livable and equitable communities; including housing and other amenities that support young people, families, and/or the elderly and aging in place
• Creating public or civic spaces that support and integrate cultural expression and local identity and/or play and active recreation
• Developing recreational trails for mobility, active transportation, and economic development
• Redesigning Main Street as a local street versus state highway/thruway
• Designing spaces and places that improve access to healthy food and local food systems
• Leveraging Main Street or local businesses for economic development, including branding, wayfinding, façade improvements, and streetscape design
• Integrating cultural identity into the built environment to drive heritage tourism.

Selected communities will receive additional support including customized follow-up support leading up to and after the workshop as well as access to and web-based resources, webinars, and peer learning through the Design Learning Cohort.

Opportunity 2) Design Learning Cohort

Up to fifteen (15) rural communities will be selected to participate in a Design Learning Cohort. Rural community leaders from government, non-profits, local business, and civic organizations are invited to:

• Participate in virtual trainings and sessions on design, planning, community engagement, facilitation and fundraising techniques;
• Connect and exchange design ideas with peers from other rural communities in the cohort
• Receive technical assistance and coaching from experienced design professionals tailored to their particular community design challenge; and
• Receive support in navigating funding opportunities to make their community’s vision a reality;
• Applicant organizations can indicate on their application if they only want to participate in the Design Learning Cohort (and not be considered for the hybrid local Design Workshop opportunity).

Both opportunities within the CIRD program connect rural residents and community leaders with resources and ideas for developing locally driven solutions to community design challenges.

PARTICIPATION BENEFITS 

Local Design Workshop Communities

• Four(4) communities will be selected to do a deep dive into a pressing design challenge that is impacting their community. Each workshop includes:
  • $6,000 stipend to the host community for workshop staff time and related expenses
  • A tailored virtual design process working with a dedicated resource team, including goal setting, and online sessions with design experts to assist with project visioning and advancement toward implementation
  • Potential site visit from a local/regional designer, if local public health guidelines allow.
  • A Design Book and action plan following the workshop, with project-specific design and planning recommendations, created by the CIRD resource team
  • Ongoing technical assistance related to project 
  • Design Workshop communities will have access to all events and opportunities offered to the Design Learning Cohort.

Design Learning Cohort

Up to 15 communities from the applicant pool will be invited to participate in the Design Learning Cohort. The opportunity allows up to four (4) leaders from each selected community to participate in virtual training in design, planning, community engagement, and facilitation techniques; engage with peers from rural communities; and receive support in navigating funding opportunities to make their vision a reality. The Design Learning Cohort opportunity includes roughly a dozen engagements, specifically:

• A series of online learning sessions led by nationally recognized field experts, tailored to engage cohort members and activate peer learning
• A series of public webinars and private breakout sessions that connect cohort members to design experts
• Technical assistance through office hours, one-on-one coaching, optional in-person convenings, and online resources
• Additional opportunities to socialize and share best practices and experiences with rural peers from around the country.