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June 15, 2009

Caron resigns as GrowSmart prez

File photo Alan Caron, founder of GrowSmart Maine, is stepping down as the organization's president
By The Mainebiz News Staff

Alan Caron, co-founder and president of GrowSmart Maine, is leaving the organization in the face of serious financial cutbacks.

Caron's resignation comes two weeks after the Yarmouth-based nonprofit sent an email to supporters on June 2 saying the economic climate had caused a drop in donations and that the organization needed $60,000 over the next few weeks or would be forced to shut down. As of last Wednesday, the organization had received commitments for about half that amount. The change in leadership was a mutual decision by Caron and the nonprofit's board, according to a press release. Caron will work with the organization over the summer to smooth the transition to a new president.

The news of Caron's departure comes on the heels of what the organization calls "hallmark legislative victories," including new incentives for transit-oriented development and the creation of the Communities for Maine's Future program, which would fund major new investments in the state's downtowns.

To respond to the decline in donations, the organization has cut its staff from 12 to six and scrapped its green economy report, a follow-up to the Brookings Institution report released in 2006, Caron told Mainebiz two weeks ago. A second follow-up report on streamlining government has been delayed, Caron said. The organization had received $280,000 in pledges from businesses to fund that report, but since December $105,000 in pledges has been revoked, Caron said.

GrowSmart Maine, which Caron co-founded in 2002, is best known for commissioning the Brookings Institution report, "Charting Maine's Future," which has had a large impact on policy and economic development discussions in recent years.

Caron was a member of the Mainebiz 2007 Next List, and GrowSmart staff members write a column for Mainebiz called, "Charting the Course."

 

Reader comments

From Alex Hammer (Mon 6/15/2009 4:33 PM)

Alan is a class act, and a policy genius. He will be sorely missed in this critical organization.  

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