Maine Initiatives

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OVERVIEW: Maine Initiatives supports social change—especially in terms of economic, racial, and environmental justice—in Maine.

IP TAKE: Maine Initiatives conducts most of its grantmaking through a a racial or economic justice angle, and only supports organizations based and operating in the state of Maine. It is a great funder for small organizations (those with an operating budget under $1 million) who require ongoing support, as it prefers to make multi-year general operating support grants, as opposed to smaller, project-specific grants.

Overall, this is a transparent and accessible funder that is open about its past grantmaking and has very clear application guidelines for its main grant program, Grants for Change. One downside is that its smaller grant programs do not have their application guidelines posted year-round, so you may have to check back periodically to see if a request for proposals has been posted.

Grantseekers should know that this funder is very serious about its values and strongly favors supporting organizations that are BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), meaning those that have at least 50% of their leadership roles, board of directors, and community-facing staff or volunteers made up of BIPOC members. If your organization does not meet two out of those three criteria, your application probably will not get far with Maine Initiatives.

PROFILE: Established in 1993, Maine Initiatives is a “network of individuals supporting greater social, economic, and environmental justice in Maine through informed, intentional, and collective philanthropy.” The group consists of over 2,000 donors and activists in Maine that focus on progressive goals and have been pooling donations since 1993. Its mission is to cultivate “social, economic, and environmental justice through grants and other support to grassroots organizations in Maine communities.” It is strongly focused on supporting communities of color, including Black, immigrant, and Maine’s indigenous Wabanaki communities. Currently, its main Grant Offerings are Grants for Change, the Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund, and the Outdoor Equity Fund.

Grants for Racial Justice, Indigenous Rights, and Immigrants

The largest grant program is called Grants for Change, a “participatory grantmaking program that funds and strengthens Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community-based, nonprofit organizations in Maine.” It selects around 10 community-based nonprofits to support each year with three-year general operating support grants of up to . In addition to grant money, the grantees also receive peer learning, training, and community outreach activity support. These grants often go towards causes such as urban sprawl, pesticide use, LGBTQ rights, and voter registration. Marriage equality, safe consumer goods, and racial equity are also important causes to this funder. Grantees include Afghan Community of Maine, Black Owned Maine, Wabanaki Alliance, Sustainable Livelihoods Relief Organization, Portland Outright, and Tree Street Youth.

The funder also provides smaller rapid request grants for urgent local needs. Many of these are distributed through the Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund, which provides general operating support grants to “organizations led by and serving Maine’s immigrants, refugees, asylees, migrant farm workers and those who are undocumented.” As the name of the fund implies, organizations applying for these grants must not only serve but be led by a majority of immigrant members to be eligible. Grantees include Congolose Brazzaville Community of Maine, Somali Community Center of Maine, and Portland Empowered.

Grants for Environment

Maine Initiatives conducts environmental grantmaking through its Outdoor Equity Fund. The main focus of this fund is to “improve safe, equitable access to outdoor spaces and increased opportunities for nature-based learning for Wabanaki, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).” These grants support efforts such as land return projects, land-based cultural preservation, farming and gardening education, outdoor accessibility and outreach programs, or “therapeutic and trauma-informed nature programs.” Like Grants for Change, this fund also provides three-year operating support grants of up to $10,000 per year. Grantees include More Women+Surf, Journey ONEderland, and Wabanaki Youth in Science.

Important Grant Details:

The funder’s Grants for Change are $45,000 for a three-year period. Its rapid response grants are generally up to $2,000 each. Learn about past grantees in the funder’s Success Stories section of its website.

  • Grantmaking is restricted to the state of Maine.

  • Grantseekers other than tribal entities should generally have organizational budgets under $1 million.

  • Applicants must have BIPOC-led status, meaning that members identifying as Black, indigenous, or people-of-colors make up at least 50% of leadership roles, 50% of the board of directors, and 50% of community-interfacing staff/volunteers. Applicants must meet two out of three of these requirements to be eligible.

  • The deadline for Grants for Change is August 31, with decisions made in December.

  • Applications may be submitted through the foundation’s online portal or sent via email to grants4change@maineinitiatives.org.

Grantseekers should direct general questions to the foundation at 207-607-4070 or info@maineinitiatives.org.

PEOPLE:

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