Coffee By Design, the Portland-based coffee retailer and wholesaler led by founders Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear, recently unveiled the recipients of its 2020 Rebel Blend Fund arts grants.
The company, founded in 1994, has contributed more than $100,000 to Maine nonprofit arts organizations through the annual Rebel Blend Fund, which is supported through the purchase of a a special coffee blend using beans from the world’s three major growing regions.
For every pound of Rebel Blend sold at Coffee By Design or brewed at its retail locations, $1 goes into the fund, and the total amount from yearly sales is awarded to the winners. This year’s recipients each received $2,000.
“This year the Rebel Blend Funds are supporting three amazing projects aimed at understanding and building compassion for our community and working to change systemic racism and bias. This feels especially appropriate in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement.” said Lindemann. a 2019 Mainebiz Woman to Watch.
“Through the arts,” she added, “we believe our community can build bridges between cultures, class and color, inspiring us to find that which is fundamental to us all: our humanity.”
This year’s funds went to: Rene Goddess Johnson and Jennie Hahn at Embodied Equity Consulting, for a social justice and racial equity training program; Reza Jalali and Morgan Rielly, for distribution of an upcoming book on New Mainers and their contribution to Maine; and Stephen Andrew, to produce a year-long podcast around the theme of dignity for opiate users.
On Thursday, Lindemann told Mainebiz that Coffee By Design is proud to share good news even in the midst of a pandemic, and that Rebel Blend coffee is sold year-round and one of its most popular coffees. She also said that this year was one of the most challenging for judging applications, to ensure that each recipient received enough money to make a difference.
“It came down to which projects offered the opportunity to support the arts and also serve the community through the lens of social and racial equity now,” she said. “Important issues indeed and interesting to discuss this being our first committee meeting done virtually due to COVID.”
Rebel Blend winners are chosen each year by a team of employees, who vet all applications and determine where the grant money will be most beneficial. During this year’s selection process, one committee member sent along his notes while his wife was in the hospital giving birth, while another sent in notes while dealing with a family issue.
“I even had one team member send me a list of other potential grants for applicants, both those who were recipients and those not selected, offering solutions for every project to be funded,” Lindemann said.
To be considered for Rebel Blend funding, applicants must submit art projects within the state of Maine along with a detailed description of how their projects would benefit from the grant money.
Helping Portland ‘stay the course’
Portland artists who are interested in submitting designs for the city’s ongoing “Stay the Course” public awareness campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19 have until Friday, Oct. 9, to do so.
Dinah Minot, executive director of Creative Portland, the city’s nonprofit arts organization, told Mainebiz that the idea behind the call is to hire local artists and promote local talent, flavor and unique styles in the initiative.
“If businesses, owners or local property managers can offer high-visibility facade space to hang exterior banners or to paint murals,” she added, “we would love to hear from them.”
For artists who are interested, images submitted for consideration must be impactful and visible for 20 yards away, and full details of the open call are available here.
Creative Portland recently organized an online “check-in” for representatives of arts and cultural organizations who shared a mixed picture of how they are faring during the pandemic.
A full recording of that webinar is available here.