Unity Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Unity Foundation supports capacity building and leadership development support for local groups in Unity, Maine, and the surrounding areas.

IP TAKE: The Unity Foundation is a good resource for Maine non-profits who are committed to growing, expanding, and improving the services they provide. The foundation conducts all its grantmaking through a capacity building lens and generally does not award project-specific grants or general operating support. But in addition to its grantmaking, it offers a range of services to the organizations it supports, including capacity assessment, skill and leadership development training, and other forms of consulting.

Unity is a transparent funder that publicizes its past grants and partners on its website, with detailed explanations of the types of initiatives it has supported. However, it is not a very accessible funder, as it does not accept unsolicited requests and proposals, but prefers to choose its partners on its own initiatives. Grantseekers may have better luck reaching out to the foundation and trying to forge a relationship.

PROFILE: Established in 2000, the Unity Foundation is the foundation of long-time Unity, Maine, residents Bert and Coral Clifford. Bert Clifford was a Navy veteran, postmaster of Unity, and majority owner of the telecommunications company now known as UniTel. The Cliffords were dedicated to economic development and civic improvements during their lifetimes. Bert Clifford passed away in 2001 and Coral Clifford in 2012. Today, the foundation aims to “support mission-driven nonprofits in Maine through capacity-building initiatives, organizational assessment, programmatic grantmaking and nonprofit management education.” Grantmaking areas of interest include capacity building and leadership development.

Grants for Capacity Building

The Unity Foundation makes Strategic Grants to local nonprofits intended to “catalyze the learning and growth that build nonprofit capacity or that motivates the community to back important projects.” It awards matching and challenge grants to groups like the Waldo County YMCA, which built a new pool complex with grant money. It helped fund a new charter school, the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, by “bringing important stakeholders together to address sustainable funding needs.” It is supporting Waterville Creates, a cultural consortium of Waterville, Maine, arts groups by “working with a collaborative representing the city, the arts organizations and artists, economic development specialists and community leaders” to invest in a common infrastructure to improve the area’s arts scene and tourism industry. The funder will also award scholarships occasionally as part of its strategic grants process; for instance, it funded scholarships to help veterans enroll in skill development and career retraining courses through Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

In addition to its grantmaking, the Unity Foundation provides a number of tools for the organizations it works with. Capacity Quotient is an online assessment tool that measures “an organization’s financial management, human resources, fundraising acumen, leadership development, staff management and communications and legal practices” in order determine an organization’s capacity for growth and expansion. It also offers Board Development and Leadership resources to “ensure accountability and a system for proper oversight of finance, accounting, compliance and HR management.”

Important Grant Details:

Strategic grants generally range from $10,000 to $30,000, but may go higher depending on Unity’s assessment of the grantee’s needs. The funder publishes a list of its partners on its website.

  • Grantmaking is typically restricted to the area around Unity, Maine.

  • The Unity Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals from nonprofits for its strategic grants. Instead, it works with clusters of groups and invests in specific nonprofits to meet its goals.

Nonprofits can direct general questions to the foundation staff at 207-948-6499 or info@unityfdn.org. Lori Roming, the research and program officer for the foundation, is the best point of contact.

PEOPLE:

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