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June 19, 2024

Maine Community Foundation awards $430K to organizations helping people of color

By Laurie Schreiber

The Maine Community Foundation said this week it awarded $430,000 to organizations addressing a broad range of needs among people of color.

The foundation’s BIPOC Fund awarded 39 grants totaling $350,000. Donors with advised funds awarded an additional 13 grants totaling $80,000. (See sidebar for full list of grantees.)

The grantees included Generational Noor, a Lewiston organization that works to educate immigrants about substance use disorder and mental health.

Another recipient is Khmer Maine, a nonprofit that works to improve the social and economic well-being of Cambodians in the state through cultural exchange, community-building and civic engagement. The group also partners to support members of Maine’s southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations.

Khmer Maine has a proposal in the works to create Maine's first community center, in Westbrook, focused on serving Asian-American and Pacific Islander peoples.

This year, the foundation committed to funding BIPOC Fund grantees for two years. Grantees will receive a second disbursement in 2025.

The application for the next grant cycle will open on Feb. 15, 2026.

The grant program aims to help Mainers of color achieve greater equity, and operates by investing in nonprofits, working to change policy and trying to alleviate the impact of race-based discrimination and disparities.  

The fund was established in 2007. Leaders from various racial and ethnic communities around the state comprise its advisory committee. 

This year the program was boosted by funding from the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Maine Health Access Foundation and the Abbagadassett Family Fund.

The Maine Community Foundation is headquartered in Ellsworth, with additional personnel in Portland, Dover-Foxcroft, Mars Hill, Rockland and Rockport.

BIPOC Fund grantees

  • Afghan Community, to help unify, educate and empower Afghan women through classes, skills, events and other means to integrate them into Maine communities: $10,000
  • AK Health and Social Services, to promote health equity, economic justice and social wellbeing for immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and BIPOC communities in Maine: $10,000
  • Black Owned Maine, for a sustainable, innovative ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs: $10,000
  • Bomazeen Land Trust, for the rematriation, perpetual protection and healing of ancestral Wabanaki spaces: $7,500
  • Community Conservation Initiative, to engage Greater Portland immigrant communities in environmental conservation work: $10,000
  • Community Organizing Alliance, to uplift and center the voices, narratives and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, people of color to shape and change the landscape of their community: $10,000
  • Djiboutian American Community Empowerment Project, to ensure that children from underserved communities in Lewiston/Auburn are born, stay healthy, and prepared for school: $10,000
  • Empowered Immigrant Women Unite, to help foster stability, prosperity and health to immigrant women and girls in Lewiston/Auburn: $10,000
  • Food for All, to provide food-insecure immigrants with access to culturally relevant food: $10,000
  • Generational Noor, to build awareness and access to substance use disorder and mental health services for Black, immigrant and people of color throughout Maine: $10,000
  • Her Safety Net, to provide advocacy for women immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and BIPOC and to focus on the health of all disadvantaged and marginalized communities: $5,000
  • In Her Presence, to support the empowerment and personal ambitions of immigrant women and girls and address common challenges and issues: $10,000
  • Indigo Arts Alliance, to support the professional development and amplification of Black and Brown thought leadership, artistic vision and practice: $10,000
  • Kennedy Park Football Club, to engage young adults in skill-development sessions, help them plan for their future, and navigate higher education with financial aid opportunities: $10,000
  • Khmer Maine, to improve the quality of life and social and economic wellbeing of Cambodians in Maine: $10,000
  • Ladder to the Moon Network, to educate the public about Africa and immigration and to advocate for the wellbeing of all immigrants through various multimedia platforms and events: $10,000
  • Land in Common, to restore land connection with and for Black, brown, Indigenous and diasporic communities: $10,000
  • Maine Association for New Americans, to promote social and personal empowerment of immigrants and address racial equity and health disparities in Maine: $10,000
  • Maine Community Integration, to integrate New Mainers into their communities while respecting and uplifting their diverse cultures, identities and traditions: $10,000
  • Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, to support and advocate for Maine’s incarcerated citizens, their families and friends: $10,000
  • Maine Wabanaki Reach, to support the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice, and restorative practices in Wabanaki and Maine communities: $7,500
  • Mano en Mano to work with farmworkers statewide and immigrants in Downeast Maine: $5,000
  • Multi Generations for Affordable Housing, to provide stable, affordable housing solutions and supportive services to underserved communities in Southern Maine: $10,000
  • New England Arab American Organization, to bridge cultures, celebrate diversity and empower Arab Americans and New Mainers to build healthy, fulfilling and productive lives while preserving their heritage: $10,000
  • New Mainers Public Health Initiative, to identify and address health inequities in marginalized communities: $10,000
  • Nibezun (Wabanaki Cultural Preservation Coalition), to provide an inclusive space for healing and to promote sustainability for all people and future generations: $5,000
  • Niweskok, to restore the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub: $5,000
  • Pleasant Point Health Center, is provide high-quality health care to those we serve, and improve the health and wellbeing of the Sipayik community: $10,000
  • Portland Empowered, to ensure the voices of immigrant families reflected in policy and practice in public schools: $10,000
  • Presente! Maine, to empower displaced Afro/Indigenous and Latinx peoples of Maine through survival programs, community power building, cultural celebration and transformative healing practice: $10,000
  • Quality Housing Coalition, to support and create quality housing opportunities for those in need in Maine: $10,000
  • Racial Equity and Justice, to advocate for BIPOC community members and host annual retreats for BIPOC families: $10,000
  • Sipayik Resilience Committee, to foster climate resilience and make energy efficiency technology more accessible to members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point following community-directed goals: $5,000
  • Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine, to provide vital transitional services, advocacy and food production that empowers members of the refugee community to uphold cultural identity and economic wellbeing: $10,000
  • Southern Maine Workers Center, to promote worker justice through anti-racist education, organizing and advocacy among non-unionized, low-wage workers, prioritizing immigrants, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and disabled workers: $10,000
  • Tender Table, to engaging and uplifting BIPOC community members across Maine through activities that center experiences and connections to food, identity, collective liberation, and each other: $10,000
  • Third Place, to connect Maine's Black professionals, students and entrepreneurs to social, professional, and economic opportunities: $10,000
  • Trinity Jubilee Center, to address unmet needs of underserved people in the Lewiston-Auburn area through comprehensive services that bridge critical service gaps and help patrons persevere, maintain dignity and overcome barriers: $10,000
  • United Youth Empowerment, to provide services that empower the will of the immigrant youth and their families: $10,000

BIPOC Fund grantees from donor-advised funds

  • Bomazeen Land Trust, for the rematriation, perpetual protection and healing of ancestral Wabanaki spaces: $2,500
  • Four Directions Development Corporation, to improve the social and economic conditions of Native American tribes in Maine through education and investment in affordable housing, tribal business ventures and Native entrepreneurship: $5,000
  • Her Safety Net, to provide advocacy for women, including immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and BIPOC and focus on the health of all disadvantaged and marginalized communities: $5,000
  • Indian Township School, to provide and foster a culturally integrated education which encourages a desire for learning in a safe, respectful and nurturing environment: $10,000
  • Maine Wabanaki Reach, to support the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice, and restorative practices in Wabanaki and Maine communities: $2,500
  • Mano en Mano, to work with farmworkers statewide and immigrants in Downeast Maine: $5,000
  • Nibezun (Wabanaki Cultural Preservation Coalition) to provide an inclusive space for healing and to promote sustainability for all people and future generations: $5,000
  • Niweskok, to restore the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub: $5,000
  • Sipayik Resilience Committee, to foster climate resilience and make energy efficiency technology more accessible to members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point following community-directed goals: $5,000
  • Sunlight Media Collective, to document and present stories affecting Wabanaki people and highlighting Wabanaki perspectives, with a particular emphasis on the intersection between environmental issues and tribal rights: $10,000
  • Tree Street Youth, to provide programs that support social-emotional development, academic success, leadership skills, workforce development and college/career prep for Lewiston youth: $10,000
  • Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, to provide community-driven, culturally centered public health and social services to all Wabanaki communities and people while honoring Wabanaki cultural knowledge, cultivating innovation, and fostering collaboration: $10,000
  • Wabanaki Youth in Science to inspire and support persistence in the sciences for Native youth by providing long-term educational opportunities that integrate Indigenous ecological knowledge with western science: $10,000

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