Search Through Grants for Education Nonprofits in Maine in the U.S.

About the Trust

For over 81 years, The Agnes M. Lindsay Trust has been providing financial assistance to nonprofit organizations that help those in need. The Trust's focus areas of giving include Health and Welfare, Dental/Oral Health, Recreational/Camperships (camp scholarships), Education and Homeless Shelters, our newest initiative. Our geographic giving areas include the states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Our Priorties

Health and Welfare

Impacting health and welfare organizations with grants that support capital projects for those with special needs, including the blind, deaf, learning disabled, elderly, youth and family service organizations, homeless shelters, and food banks to name a few.  

Dental Health

Expanding our reach to nonprofits that provide free dental clinics, and dental care to low income , needy populations to include children, families and the elderly through capital grants for dental equipment needs and program support.CampershipEnhancing children's lives through camp scholarships that provide a child with an opportunity for a summer camping experience/summer enrichment who would otherwise be unable to attend without this scholarship support.EducationAdvancing education through scholarship support to community colleges and preselected four-year colleges and universities to needy students from rural areas. Grants are awarded directly to the institutions who select recipients based on the Trust's criteria.  The Trust is not accepting any unsolicited requests from community colleges, 4-year colleges or universities at this time. Homeless SheltersResponding to the needs and demands placed on homeless shelters due to socioeconomic factors that impact individuals due to unemployment, addiction, behavioral disorders and other circumstances. We strive to work together to end homelessness. Capital and operating support grants are available.Food Banks/ Food PantryRecognizing the escalating need placed on food pantries and food banks due to inflation and the increased costs of food and basic necessities, we are committed to working with organizations to eliminate food insecurity and are dedicated to making a lasting impact by providing support through capital and operating grants.

Hannaford Charitable Foundation

We have a long history of supporting our communities through volunteerism, donations and community leadership. The Hannaford Charitable Foundation is one of many ways we support our communities.

The Foundation's mission is to invest in creating and sustaining healthy communities in our five-state region by providing financial support to nonprofit organizations and programs that focus on improvement of the root causes impacting the quality of life for our customers, associates and neighbors. Our areas of focus for financial support are food, education and health.

Focus Areas for support:

The Foundation supports organizations in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont that focus on one of the following core components of healthy communities:

• Food – We support programs with long-term solutions that will ensure safe, stable access to healthy food primarily through regional food banks in the markets we serve.
• Education – We help to deliver strong programs that prepare people through all stages of life for success in education and readiness to enter the workforce.
• Health – We support organizations that provide quality programs focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles and improved care.

In determining which organizations and programs to support, the Foundation considers

• the impact and outcomes to the community
• prior support from Hannaford Charitable Foundation
• relative uniqueness of the program versus others in the community.

Mission

Addressing social challenges & improving quality of life for present and future generations by funding innovative solutions through charitable grants.

The Harry A Merlo Foundation

The Harry A Merlo Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations in many different sectors to bring lasting and positive change to the world. We invite you to explore this site to learn more about who we help, grant opportunities and the application process. 

The Harry A. Merlo Foundation is a family foundation with a wide breadth of charitable interests, focusing on programs and investments that address social challenges with innovative solutions. We support funding in five main areas.

• Animal Welfare
• Arts
• Conservation
• Education
• Scientific and Medical Research/Care

The Harry A. Merlo Foundation funds grants to nonprofit organizations in two primary arenas as outlined below:

Program Innovation and Growth

The Merlo Foundation recognizes that innovation is required to best deliver on the mission of a nonprofit organization and keep it responsive to real time challenges. The Merlo Foundation will consider grants that help fund both innovative strategic initiatives and the expansion of existing programs. Grants may be used to cover start-up costs and/or related staff member additions. Evidence of the capacity to assume financial responsibility of a new fixed cost (permanent staff position, program operational costs, etc.) will need to be addressed in the grant application.

Scholarships

Scholarship grants are primarily directed to organizations that educate youth, inclusive of faith-based educational institutions, athletic camps, and music and performing arts. The scholarships must be directed to students that would not be able to access the program offered without financial assistance. Established scholarship programs with written application process/eligibility required. 

Funding

• Average amounts for one-time grants range from $5,000-$50,000
• Grants larger than $50,000 are usually structured as multiple year pledges.

Grant Guidelines and Focus AreasMission StatementThe Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to expand and improve opportunities and choices in all aspects of Jewish women and girls' lives through strategic and effective grantmaking. The Jewish Women's Foundation endeavors to empower women as leaders, funders, and decision makers.Overall Considerations

• JWF Chicago funds with a "gender lens" and a "Jewish lens". We are interested in projects that recognize Jewish women and girls have unique needs both because of their gender, and their religious and cultural heritage.
• JWF Chicago is committed to improving the overall status of Jewish women and girls, and funds projects that promote social change by addressing at least one of the indicators described below:
• JWF Chicago considers an organization's holistic support of women and girls, as well as the specific project or program for which you are seeking a grant. This includes the extent to which Jewish women and girls are included among your leadership and in key staff positions.
• JWF Chicago supports organizations through general operating and project specific funding. General operating support will only be awarded to organizations focusing exclusively on promoting social change for Jewish women and girls.

Grantmaking Focus Areas

JWF Chicago funds in four main areas. Prospective grantees are invited to submit project and program proposals that relate to these targeted areas.

Multiyear Grants

Three-year funding open to current JWF Chicago grantees and/or organizations previously funded by JWF Chicago in any of the past three grant cycles (since 2021).

JWF Chicago can award up to three new three-year grants per grant cycle.

JWF Chicago will award:

• up to $20,000 per grant in Year 1
• up to $20,000 per grant in Year 2
• and $10,000 per grant in Year 3

Funding in Year 2 and Year 3 will be contingent on applicant’s progress towards stated benchmarks.

How we decide who receives funds

To decide where funds should go, we consider the organization’s relevance to our Community Promise goals, how the service it offers impacts our community, other support the group receives in the private and public sector, and the community’s general need.

As many typical fundraising avenues disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been especially proactive in reaching out to partners as vital societal needs have only increased across communities.

We receive so many requests, and every category offers invaluable services and activities. Here’s a quick sample of the kinds of organizations that receive assistance.

Five categories of organizations

Our dedicated Social Responsibility team considers requests from five categories of organizations. We award grants and sponsorships on a rolling, year-round basis in support of the following causes:

Health and Wellness

Community organizations and programs that promote mind, body, and financial wellness align very strongly with our corporate and community values. We sponsor races, sports teams, and other wellness programs and initiatives.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Hospitals and Community Health Centers
• Nutrition Programs
• United Ways
• Community Action Agencies

Community & Economic Advancement

Community spaces that create access to resources for community members of all walks of life get our attention. We want to empower everyone in the community who has ideas that can help make it better.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Libraries
• Chambers of Commerce
• Affordable Housing
• Public Transportation

Arts & Culture

A vibrant art scene in our communities drives tourism and commerce and serves a higher purpose – fostering understanding, creating empathy, and moving a community forward. We want to support the arts whenever we can.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Visual and performing arts programs
• Museums
• Historical Societies
• Theaters

Education & Innovation

Investments in education and youth programs create the future of the community. As parents ourselves, we support youth programs that address food insecurity, technology, wellness, and trauma prevention to help children succeed beyond their dreams.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Education Foundations
• Literacy Programs
• Leadership Development
• Social Entrepreneurship

Environment & Animal Welfare

We all deserve a healthy environment to live in and enjoy, our furry friends included. We work with land trusts, animal shelters, animal agencies and more to make that happen.

Examples of groups who have received support from us include:

• Land Trusts
• Marine Resource Conservation
• Animal Welfare and Rescue

Monarch Watch is a nonprofit educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration.

Free Milkweeds for Restoration Projects

Free milkweeds are available for habitat restoration projects in the Eastern and Western breeding range of the monarch butterfly. Monarch Watch and our partner nurseries have distributed over 730,000 free milkweeds for monarch butterfly habitat restoration since the program began in 2015. Thank you to our funding sources and everyone who has worked so hard to plant and care for these milkweeds!

This program focuses on distributing free milkweed plugs for large-scale habitat restoration projects throughout the breeding range of the eastern monarch butterfly population (east of the Rocky Mountains) and the western population in California. The focus is on the main migration routes.

Schools and Educational Non-Profits who demonstrate the following will be given priority for free milkweeds:

• Educational goals of garden clearly described
• A clear, long-term maintenance plan for the garden space
• Adequate space (at least 100 square feet) and light ( at least 6 hours per day)
• Spring/Summer/Fall nectar sources existing or to be added in addition to milkweed
• Administrative support
• – Provide a letter of support from your school or organization that landscape crews will not pull the plants or re-purpose the space in the foreseeable future.
• Commit to a follow-up survey in the Fall for photo submissions and garden evaluations.

Donation Requests

Radio Flyer receives a high volume of requests for donations, special pricing, and sponsorship from around the world - from a wide variety of worthy organizations and causes.  

Our mission is to bring smiles and create warm memories by creating products that foster outdoor active play. As part of this mission we focus our social responsibility efforts on organizations that are dedicated to these same goals.

 Currently our main commitments are:

• Charitable giving to national organizations to better centralize our philanthropic efforts – such as The Starlight Children’s Foundation whose mission is to improve the life and health of kids and families around the world. And, the Toy Industry Foundation whose mission is to bring joy, comfort, and learning to children in need through play. 
• Annually sponsoring & building playgrounds in our community for underprivileged kids, through our partnership with KaBOOM! - a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America's children. See the page for KaBOOM! grants here.
• We allocate the remainder of our giving to local non-profit entities in the Chicagoland area dedicated specifically to the education, health and well-being of children – age ranges from infants to 8 years old. See the page for Chicagoland grants here.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. Our mission is to support, promote, and enhance digital communication and broader communication science and technology, to promote amateur radio, scientific research, experimentation, education, development, open access, and innovation in information and communication technology.

Grantmaking Categories

• Support and growth of amateur radio. Grants in this category are core to our mission. We make grants to clubs for all types of projects, including licensing classes, continuing education, repeater infrastructure, and certain emergency communications projects that expand interest and access to amateur radio.
  • Examples:  Make Operating Radio Easier (MORE), CVARC Serves Its Community and Promotes Amateur Radio, Bridgerland ARC: Engaging and Educating Youth in Amateur Radio
• Education. Grants in this category include scholarships, as well as projects that aim to educate or mentor individuals, such as K-12 school programs and programs aimed at under-served groups. We are primarily interested in STEAM programs that are linked to amateur radio, wireless technology, or digital communications.
  • Examples:  West Bend Public Library, Walters State Community College (WSCC), South Eugene High School
• Research and development.  Projects in this category are projects that are advancing the state of the art in amateur radio and communication science and technology.
  • Examples: Rhizomatica: Digital HF Telecommunications for Civil and Amateur Uses, Tangerine SDR

Grantmaking Goals

ARDC makes grants to programs and organizations that aim to advance our mission and vision to create:

A thriving global community of learners, experimenters, and contributors advancing freedom with open source communication and information technology.

ARDC’s strategic approach to achieving this vision involves three main goals:

• Promoting learning: getting more people learning about amateur radio (AR) and digital communications (DC).
• Promoting experimenting: getting more people experimenting, innovating, and developing technology (in the context of AR and DC).
• Promoting doing: getting more people using new technology productively on more (and newer) bands, modes, and technologies (and other dimensions) within the context of AR and DC.

As we evaluate opportunities for our grantmaking and other program activities, we will be reviewing them based on their ability to meet the above objectives and, overall, help to manifest our vision.

Please review our vision and strategy pages for more detailed information.

Open Access Requirement

Because ARDC works with and for the public, we require that the work of the projects we fund be freely available to everyone who can benefit and to everyone who can contribute. Thus, all technology, documentation, and other materials produced using ARDC funds must be made freely available to the public, ideally using one of the below open source licenses:

• Software: GPL licenses (esp. AGPLv3), MIT, BSD, LGPL
• Hardware: CERN Open Hardware License
• Media, writing, images etc.: Free Culture subset of the Creative Commons licenses, particularly CC-BY-SA, as well as CC-BY and CC0

About the Island Foundation

The Island Foundation was founded in 1979 by W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. and Mary H. Clark. They envisioned a family foundation that was capable not only of reacting to the needs of the community, but also providing leadership grants and taking chances other foundations might be unwilling to consider. Van Clark believed in solutions. He believed that the world could be managed for the better. He believed that bright people, dedicated to a common goal would inevitably achieve that goal. He was an activist who was willing to, in his own words, “Step up to the plate and make a good cut at the ball.” A restless and imaginative man, he fought for better outcomes in all of his endeavors. Over the years, the Island Foundation has alternately talked and listened, but always with the goal of motivating action and creative solutions. There is a challenge embedded in every opportunity.

Grantmaking Priorities

The Foundation supports projects in coastal areas of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and selected international locations.

For the last two decades, the Foundation has focused a significant portion of its financial resources on Southeastern Massachusetts, where its office is located. Here the Board seeks to understand how communities grow sustainably and equitably, how to increase educational opportunities, how rural and urban economies are intertwined, and how to best protect working landscapes and the people who rely upon these areas for their livelihoods. In funding in a few specific areas, the Board believes it will have the most impact. 

Womxn and Girls Grant

The Island Foundation works with organizations addressing root causes of inequality for womxn and girls in the United States. The Foundation works to strengthen and support the work of womxn- and girls-led and focused organizations across sectors and funding interests, particularly for womxn and girls of color. The Foundation supports intergenerational collaborations and organizations at the forefront of innovation and systems change for gender equity and inclusion.

About the Island Foundation

The Island Foundation was founded in 1979 by W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. and Mary H. Clark. They envisioned a family foundation that was capable not only of reacting to the needs of the community, but also providing leadership grants and taking chances other foundations might be unwilling to consider. Van Clark believed in solutions. He believed that the world could be managed for the better. He believed that bright people, dedicated to a common goal would inevitably achieve that goal. He was an activist who was willing to, in his own words, “Step up to the plate and make a good cut at the ball.” A restless and imaginative man, he fought for better outcomes in all of his endeavors. Over the years, the Island Foundation has alternately talked and listened, but always with the goal of motivating action and creative solutions. There is a challenge embedded in every opportunity.

Alternative Education Grants

The Island Foundation supports a limited number of experiential education programs, after-school programs, and alternative education schools. Drawing on its tradition of seeking alternative and unconventional approaches, the Island Foundation looks for informal and school-based programs that connect young people to their natural world, foster an appreciation for community service, and respect individuals with diverse backgrounds and learning styles. Maritime trades, hands-on marine education, and programs that increase access and opportunity for at-risk youth are of particular interest. 

The Foundation supports projects in coastal areas of Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and selected international locations.

For the last two decades, the Foundation has focused a significant portion of its financial resources on Southeastern Massachusetts, where its office is located. Here the Board seeks to understand how communities grow sustainably and equitably, how to increase educational opportunities, how rural and urban economies are intertwined, and how to best protect working landscapes and the people who rely upon these areas for their livelihoods. In funding in a few specific areas, the Board believes it will have the most impact.   

Environment

In Southeastern Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island, the Island Foundation promotes the conservation of marine and coastal resources. For many years, the Foundation has given priority to North Atlantic right whale research, protection of coastal waterbird habitat, and preservation of coastal lands.

More recently, the Board has been interested in new initiatives that:

• link climate change, renewable energy, and regional planning and support those most impacted by climate change;
• support working landscapes (sustainable agriculture and community-based fisheries) and the people who rely on them for their livelihoods;
• help local conservation organizations strengthen their own capacity;
• connect community health, quality of life, and environmental conservation; and
• promote environmental justice and seek to include the voices of those most affected by environmental harms.

Program Areas

The Sam L. Cohen Foundation is a private, grantmaking foundation based in South Portland, Maine.  The Foundation funds in five program areas:

Arts and Culture

Enriching community life with music, dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing.

We invest in organizations and programs that stimulate imagination, provide access to the arts and arts education, and foster community through the arts. We are especially interested in educational programming for low-income and underserved youth audiences that celebrates creativity and provides meaningful experiences with the arts. We support organizations that create and present performances and programs in southern Maine.

Civic and Community

Strengthening the social and economic fabric of underserved communities.

We are committed to supporting and improving the quality of life in southern Maine by ensuring individuals have access to opportunities to engage in civic life. To promote economic security and well-being, the Foundation invests in organizations that are working toward systemic change through public policy for social benefit. We are currently involved in and support the Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative.

Education

Because education is the single most important investment a community can make.

We believe that access to educational opportunities is the key to a successful life. Our grantmaking spans the entire continuum of pre-K through college and adulthood, as we focus on providing opportunities for underserved populations in the areas of youth development, leadership, and enrichment. We collaborate with other funders, advocates, and experts in efforts that address school readiness and attendance, grade-level proficiency, high school graduation rates, and post-secondary enrollment and completion. We participate in or support several collaborative initiatives including: Portland ConnectED, The Campaign for Grade Level Reading, Count ME In, Maine Early Childhood Funders Group, Summer Learning Initiative, Right from the Start, and the Maine Resilience Building Network.Health and Human Services

Helping organizations expand access to help vulnerable and low-income people.

We believe providing support to historically and systemically disadvantaged individuals and communities is a compelling focus. Today’s social, economic, and political challenges require it. Our goal is to assist in increasing the number of people who are self-sufficient and lead healthy, productive lives. Our giving consistently targets access to healthcare, including prevention services, health support services, and ensuring food security. We currently are involved in and support the Maine Oral Health Funders Group.

Jewish Culture and Traditions

"Tzedekah"- the act of giving help to others

We participate in the Jewish community in southern Maine through support of institutions and programs that provide and preserve Jewish education, tradition, and culture. We partner with organizations that celebrate and promote Jewish art and creativity as well as agencies and synagogues who serve the vulnerable members of the Jewish community.

Funding

The Sam L. Cohen Foundation will consider responsive grant requests for amounts up to $50,000; however, the average grants size awarded is less than $15,000.

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

We must matter more in our communities.

We contribute to the strength and health of our communities through the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation and Corporate Giving. Together the Bank and its Foundation invested more than $2 million into the community in the form of nonprofit sponsorships, grants and partnership initiatives last year.

Making a significant and meaningful difference:

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation's role is to focus philanthropic efforts on initiatives that will make our communities more prosperous, more livable, and more vibrant. With a growing endowment and strong support from the Bank, the Foundation is poised to truly impact its focus areas in workforce and economic development.

Grant Guidelines

The Foundation considers applications for grants ranging from $2,000 up to $25,000. For all proposals received, we have a preference to support projects and initiatives that do the following:

• Include a strategy for leveraging other resources and support.
• Produce cost-effective results which can be measured and evaluated.
• Provide incentive for the private and public sectors to work together in community problem solving.
• Encourage coordination with other efforts and do not duplicate programs in the community.
• Advance innovative and long-term strategies that will address recognized needs.
• Demonstrate an ability to obtain future funding if it will be needed.

Areas of Giving

Priority Giving

The Foundation focuses its philanthropic efforts on improving the vitality of Northern New England's regional and statewide economies through economic and workforce development in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

Additional Areas of Giving

While our primary outreach and resources will be dedicated to the priority areas listed above, in recognition of the many needs in our communities, the Foundation will continue to lend support to applications in the following areas:

• Education
• Initiatives that raise student readiness, academic success, achievement and aspirations at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels, including but not limited to STEM education initiatives.  
• Social and Civic Services
• Activities directed at improving quality of life in the communities we serve.
• Culture and Arts
• Initiatives supporting organizations that meet community needs, expand arts and cultural programming, or provide education.
• Health and Wellness
• Programs essential to the underlying medical care of a community, including initiatives focusing on physical and mental health and wellness for people of all ages. 

The Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust was established to benefit nonprofit organizations located, operating and serving within the State of Maine. 

The Trust, in responding to the needs of the Maine communities it serves,  is dedicated to funding five (5) significant program areas of interest within the following general annual distribution and allocation percentages:

• Community/Social Services 30% 
• Medical  20%
• Educational  20%
• Arts/Culture  20% 
• Environment 10% 

About MainStreet Foundation

The MainStreet Foundation awards grants for projects that impact the essentials like food, security, shelter and education for at-risk children.

Who We Are

The MainStreet Foundation’s board is comprised of Androscoggin Bank employees, members of the Bank’s Board of Directors, Bank Corporators and community members. The MainStreet Board is made up of individuals who care about our community and who understand the importance of creating a stable childhood in the development of Maine as a place to live and work.

History of Giving

The MainStreet Foundation was started by an investment from Androscoggin Bank in 1997, and issued its first grants in 1998. The Foundation works separately from Androscoggin Bank, but uses resources and in-kind support provided by the Bank.

MainStreet Foundation Quarterly Grant

Our mission is simple and focused: Provide the necessities to at-risk kids in Maine. The MainStreet Foundation awards grants for projects that impact the essentials, like food, security, shelter and education. We strive to positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable youth so they may have a supportive and safe environment.

Four times a year, these grants are awarded and vary based on the need in amounts up to $5,000.

Find Your Light Foundation

The work of FYL centers around 4 main pillars:

• Support
  • We provide direct support to organizations that provide an arts education to kids in under served communities.
• Education
  • Find Your Light is consistently working to improve the way arts education is integrated in the classroom through the organizations we fund and the content we provide.
• Outreach
  • Through our website, events, social media, e-newsletter, and more, Find Your Light is continually reaching more kids in need and spreading the importance of our mission.
• Advocacy
  • Under the leadership of Josh Groban, Find Your Light uses all resources available to push the importance of an arts education for our next generation.

Grant Information

The Find Your Light Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to experience a quality arts education. We believe that is best achieved through direct support of exceptional arts programs combined with education, advocacy and outreach. We focus support where the need is greatest to educate and inspire others to recognize arts education as a critical component of a young person’s development.

Find Your Light Foundation grants are awarded to arts education based programs in low-income areas across North America. Awards are issued in the Summer and Winter of each year, and generally range between $5,000 and $15,000.

The Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) Program

The program provides planning assistance to small towns and rural communities to help them boost their outdoor recreation economy and revitalize their main streets. The program is a partnership between EPA's Office of Community Revitalization, the USDA Forest Service, the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Denali Commission.

Selected communities will work alongside federal agency partners and consultants to participate in a planning process that helps identify the community's vision, goals and actions they wish to take to boost outdoor recreation, revitalize their main streets and promote equitable access to the outdoors for residents and visitors alike.

Past RERC projects have included:

• Improving access to trails and nearby natural attractions.
• Promoting outdoor-oriented businesses.
• Expanding lodging and other services for visitors.
• Supporting economic growth and amenities in downtowns.
• Ensuring that residents and visitors from all backgrounds can access and benefit from outdoor recreation opportunities.

Mission

The Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation was established in 1973. The Foundation's 3 primary focus areas reflect Mr. Balfour's strong affinity for the employees of the Balfour Company, his commitment to the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, and his lifelong interest in education. Specifically, the Balfour Foundation supports:

• Educational scholarships to employees of the Balfour Company, as well as to their children and grandchildren
• Organizations serving the people of Attleboro, with special consideration given to those organizations that provide educational, human services and health care programming for underserved populations
• Educational organizations that serve New England

Focus Area

Educational Organizations

The Foundation's educational funding is generally focused on organizations or programs that provide support for underserved or under-represented populations to prepare for, access and succeed in higher education, including 2-year and 4-year institutions.

It is clear that Mr. Balfour was interested in supporting students for successful completion of college. As such, the Foundation focuses its grantmaking in the New England area on programs that support college readiness, access, and success. The Foundation is most interested in programs that support students all the way into and through post-secondary credential attainment (2- or 4-year credentials). Programs within institutions of higher education aimed at attracting, supporting, and retaining (through successful completion) under-served and under-represented populations are also of interest. In this area, we will consider applications that request scholarship funds, if those scholarships are part of a broader set of services and supports.

Grant Guidelines

For application-based grants, the Betterment fund’s minimum annual grant is $10,000. The maximum annual grant usually does not exceed $35,000. The average annual grant, whether for multiple years or a single year, is $15,000-$20,000. Three years is the maximum period of time the Betterment Fund will consider for a multi-year grant. The largest grants tend to be made to applicants with a successful history of grant management with the Betterment Fund

Current Grant Priorities

Education, health, conservation and community support are our primary grant categories. We also recognize that certain projects transcend these categories and have defined a number of “cross-sector” areas.

Community Support

We favor community-wide programs or regional systemic approaches to issues to improve well-being within the following current priority areas:

• Downtowns
• Basic Human Needs:
• Legal Protections

Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects. Any funding of scholarships at Maine colleges and universities is done only at the initiative of the trustees rather than in response to grant requests.

Education

We believe that every Maine resident is entitled to an education which equips the individual to lead a satisfying, productive and economically independent life, and we are interested in funding broad-based educational policy initiatives to that end. Please see “Health” and the Cross-Sector areas of “Early Childhood” and “Economic Development” for initiatives related to education in those areas. More particularly we fund:

• Educational Quality
• Adult Education
• Arts Education
• Higher Education Aspirations

Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects.

Conservation

Perpetuating a balanced, dynamic relationship between the natural and built environments in the three-million-acre corridor between the White Mountain National Forest and the Moosehead Lake region is of particular interest. To that end we sponsor the following initiatives within the extensive and varied landscape which covers most of Oxford, Franklin and Somerset counties:

• Preservation of special places, particularly those identified by the local communities, along the spine of the Appalachian Trail and in the Maine West and High Peaks Regions.
• Support of the responsible development of working forests and agriculture.
• Preservation and restoration of threatened natural habitats.
• Opportunities for traditional Maine recreation in the target region.
• Support of water quality preservation of lakes, rivers and ponds.

Occasionally we may fund projects of land trusts and environmental organizations located in the other rim counties, but we focus primarily on the Western Maine counties listed above.

Health

We are currently focusing our Health grants in the following areas:

• Maine Public Health Policy
• Oral Health
• Increasing Educational Opportunities for Health Careers
• Community Health Projects
• Substance Use Disorder

Please note that projects focused primarily on physical activity and healthy eating should be submitted under our cross-sector “Moving Communities to Health.”

Proposals that are not as likely to be funded include medical research, projects relating to a single disease, actual delivery of medical treatment and capital construction or equipment purchases

Cross-Sector Areas

We have identified these areas as being particularly susceptible to consideration under more than one of our traditional priority categories.

Economic Development

We recognize that the expansion of Maine’s economy will advance other areas of Betterment Fund concern. We particularly support the following programs:

• Entrepreneurship
  • Programs that promote scalable entrepreneurship, particularly in rural areas.
  • Areas of particular interest include women- and minority-owned businesses and improved coordination of existing entrepreneurship and economic development efforts, including with educational initiatives.
  • The development of careers and businesses in the trades is also of interest.
• Agricultural Capacity
  • Improvements to the competitiveness and long-term viability of Maine farms and farmers by providing technical support and improving access to distribution and markets.
• Tourism
  • Promotion and development of quality tourism as an engine for economic opportunity in the mountain and forest regions, with particular preference for the Western Mountains region.
• Broadband
  • Support of planning and implementation projects to increase access to broadband in local communities of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, and northern Cumberland Counties, conditioned upon local municipal and/or nonprofit community entities’ commitment of resources to such projects.

Creative Economy

The Betterment Fund is primarily interested in regional and statewide strategies promoting the economic enhancement of communities through arts and culture.

Early Childhood

The Betterment Fund has prioritized improvement of the education, health, and general well-being of Maine’s youngest children, from before birth through preschool age. Our focus in this area is funding the development of best practices for the physical, mental, and psychosocial health and development of young children. We support policy work that leads to the adoption of state or federal policies to achieve these outcomes and the establishment and maintenance of the broad infrastructure to carry out this work. We also are interested in the development of an economically viable and accessible system of childcare for working families. We are unlikely to make grants to individual school or childcare center programs.

Moving Communities to Health

Of interest are community-scale initiatives taking advantage of natural and other qualities inherent in the community’s locale and promoting the participation of its residents in active recreation and other activities (such as healthy eating) conducive to healthy lifestyles and prevention of illness. Essential elements of this priority include:

• A demonstrated connection to individuals’ physical and/or mental health; and
• Initiation by and for the residents of an identified geographic-based community (as opposed to individuals with common interests or attributes drawn from more disparate geographic areas).

Philanthropy

The Betterment Fund embraces opportunities to collaborate with other state-wide philanthropic organizations that seek to improve grant-making and support charitable activities in Maine. In addition to making grants, the Betterment Fund supports and participates in a number of funder groups around specific issues.

Community Building Grant Program

Purpose

This grant program supports projects and organizations focused on making communities stronger.

Criteria

All applicants must meet the Maine Community Foundation’s grant eligibility requirements. Please read our eligibility and grant guidelines before applying.

Your proposed project or organization must:

• Invest in people by increasing skills/abilities, knowledge, and/or well-being
• Engage the people you serve in the design, delivery, and/or evaluation of the work
• Strengthen community resources including organizations, partnerships, and built and natural environments.

Types of Funding

The Community Building Grant Program is one of the only grant programs in Maine that supports a broad range of projects and organizations across the entire state, including arts, education, environment, economic development, and human services. It is also MaineCF’s largest grant program and receives more than 500 applications annually. It provides project grants and general support grants.

Project Grants are for new projects (defined as within the first two years), including capital expenses. Your project must meet the Community Building criteria listed above AND your organization must:

• Be located in Maine, defined as your organization has a Maine address
• Have had expenses AT or ABOVE $500,000 in the most recent completed fiscal or financial year
  • Municipalities, government agencies, public schools, or faith-based organizations may apply regardless of expenses for their most recent completed fiscal or financial year
• Total project budget does not exceed $100,000
• Project expenses DO NOT to include endowments, annual appeals, or scholarships.

General Support Grants are for flexible funding of any type such as new/expanding/ongoing programs and operational needs including capital expenses. Your organization’s primary work must meet the Community Building criteria listed above AND your organization must:

• Be located in Maine, defined as your organization has a Maine address
• Have had expenses BELOW $500,000 in the most recent completed fiscal or financial year
• NOT be a municipality, government agency, public school, or faith-based organization. (These organizations may be eligible for NEW project grants only.)

Amount

Max Award: $10,000

What We Do: Our Mission

Our goal is to improve the lives of our neighbors by partnering with local 501(c)(3) organizations to fund grants for three purposes: education, healthcare, and housing. As a private foundation we enjoy the flexibility of working with all kinds of organizations, especially local nonprofits in the early stages of development. Grants are awarded for a one year period and require a follow-up process to measure results. Multi-year grants are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to ongoing evaluation.

Where We Work: Our Neighbors

We have board members located in each of the four geographic areas we serve. Not only does this make our grant process more efficient, we love seeing first hand the impact that each grant recipient has on our own communities. We fund projects in the Raleigh metro and north-eastern areas of North Carolina; Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, New York; and, the communities surrounding central Maine.

What We’ve Done: Our Legacy

Since our founding, we have had the privilege to fund over 300 grants totaling over 3 million dollars. We typically award 15 grants per year, ranging from $500 – $15,000 each. We have partnered with over 100 nonprofits to fund projects such as school-readiness classes for children from non-English speaking families; a free dental clinic for rural communities with little access to dental care; and, remodeling a shelter that provides services to help transition homeless men to find gainful employment and traditional living arrangements.

Consumer Financial Education Fund

The Consumer Financial Education Fund supports projects that relate to consumer financial education, with an emphasis on issues related to just and equitable banking, basic banking, financial literacy, access to financial services, retail banking accounts, and underbanked and/or vulnerable populations. 

Funding

It is expected that most proposals will be for 12-month grant periods; however, multi-year proposals are encouraged where appropriate. The maximum grant amount is $100,000, even for multi-year proposals.

As stated in its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws, the Foundation was organized and will be operated exclusively to further "religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes," to "foster national or international amateur sports competition" and "for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals."

The Foundation Provides Funds For:

• Start-up expenses,
• New or special projects,
• Projects,
• General operating support.

Grantmaking Priority Areas

Although the Foundation accepts grant applications from any qualified organization, it is expected that over the next three to five years, the Foundation will make the majority of grants to public charities in the Town of Buxton, Maine and the surrounding areas including schools, fire departments, police departments, libraries, parks, recreational facilities, churches, religious groups, shelters for children, the homeless and abused persons, museums and shelters for animals. Once the immediate needs of this geographic area in southern Maine are addressed, it is likely that future grants will be made to charities throughout Maine and in other states.

Background

David and Frances Brain established the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation in 1993 as a tangible expression of their values. Through their foundation, they sought with their family to address their social concerns and encourage future generations of the family to contribute to the well-being of their communities in Maine, Georgia, and Kentucky. In 2017 they turned to the Maine Community Foundation to manage their grantmaking in Maine.

Purpose

The Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Fund supports nonprofit organizations and projects that serve disadvantaged, underserved, and/or vulnerable communities in Auburn, Bath, Biddeford, Brunswick, Greater Portland, Lewiston, Saco, and/or Sanford.

Issue Areas

Consideration will be given to organizations or projects that focus on one of the following:

• Education
• Early childhood care and education (defined as ages 0-8)
• Extended day learning (after-school and summer learning programs)
• Health care
• Community clinics and safety net providers
• Oral health initiatives
• Hunger prevention and food security
• Homelessness alleviation
• Legal services connected with the above areas

Grant Guidelines and Focus AreasMission StatementThe Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to expand and improve opportunities and choices in all aspects of Jewish women and girls' lives through strategic and effective grantmaking. The Jewish Women's Foundation endeavors to empower women as leaders, funders, and decision makers.Overall Considerations

• JWF Chicago funds with a "gender lens" and a "Jewish lens". We are interested in projects that recognize Jewish women and girls have unique needs both because of their gender, and their religious and cultural heritage.
• JWF Chicago is committed to improving the overall status of Jewish women and girls, and funds projects that promote social change by addressing at least one of the indicators described below:
• JWF Chicago considers an organization's holistic support of women and girls, as well as the specific project or program for which you are seeking a grant. This includes the extent to which Jewish women and girls are included among your leadership and in key staff positions.
• JWF Chicago supports organizations through general operating and project specific funding. General operating support will only be awarded to organizations focusing exclusively on promoting social change for Jewish women and girls.

Grantmaking Focus Areas

JWF Chicago funds in four main areas. Prospective grantees are invited to submit project and program proposals that relate to these targeted areas.

Annual Grants

One-year funding open to all applicants that meet JWF Chicago’s overall eligibility requirements as described below.

• There is no predetermined number of Annual Grants.
• JWF Chicago considers organizations for funding on a year-to-year basis.
• Previous funding does not guarantee continued funding.
• The minimum Annual Grant award is $15,000. There is no maximum grant amount.
• The average Annual Grant ranges between $20,000-$25,000.