Peaks Island nonprofits awarded $75K in Maine Community Foundation grants

Courtesy / Umbrella Cover Museum The Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island plans to use $972 in funding from the Maine Community Foundation to fund two internships, according to the museum's executive director.

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By Renee Cordes

Ten nonprofit organizations based on Peaks Island will share $75,000 in grants awarded by the Maine Community Foundation and announced this week.

All of the recipients support the Casco Bay island community, which is about 2 miles off the Portland waterfront and accessible by ferry.

Recipients include the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum, which will receive $8,018 to improve safety of the building's porch railings, and the seasonal Umbrella Cover Museum, which will use its $972 grant for summer staffing needs.

“I will be funding two interns with the generous grant of the Peaks Island Fund,” Nancy Hoffman, director and curator of the Umbrella Cover Museum, told Mainebiz. “They will be serving as docents at the museum, as well as helping to catalogue umbrella covers. They are the ambassadors to the public of the museum, which is open summers only on Peaks Island.”

The museum is closed for the season and scheduled to reopen on Memorial Day weekend 2024.

Eight Peaks Island residents created the Peaks Island Fund in 2004 under the leadership of Bill Zimmerman, placing the funds with the Maine Community Foundation for investment purposes. Every year, the Peaks Island Fund Advisors, now at 11 and soon to be 15, receive and review grant proposals.

This year, the group received 17 applications with $195,000 requested but could only support 10 of those applications with $75,000. The fund has distributed more than $900,000 since its inception.

"There is no part of Maine we don't reach and this includes supporting the state's many islands," said Laura Lee, vice president of community impact at Maine Community Foundation, in an email to Mainebiz. "Nonprofit organizations supported by MaineCF's Peaks Island Fund are crucial to the vibrancy of the island community."

The Maine Community Foundation aims to bring people and resources together to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and strong investments.

Recipients, projects and amounts

Fifth Maine Regiment Museum, to improve safety of the building’s porch railings: $8,018.
Illustration Institute, to expand free community programming and increase outreach to diverse audiences through its Peaks Island Artists Residency program and exhibitions: $8,018.
Island Compost Project, for of transportation of organics waste off Peaks Island to be composted: $1,586.
Island Transportation System, to launch an environmentally sustainable taxi service on Peaks Island: $5,518.
New Brackett Memorial Church, for a consultant assessment of building energy efficiency and insulation upgrades: $14,660.
Peak’s Island Children’s Workshop, for organizational costs associated with the island's early childhood education center: $15,000.
Peaks Island Historical Society, to replace the deteriorated fence around Ye Olde Trott Burying Ground: $5,518.
Peaks Island News, to launch a bi-monthly newspaper to inform readers and document Peaks Island news and events for future generations: $8,018.
Peaks Island School, for pre-K through grade five educational opportunities in storytelling, stoneware and STEAM: $7,692.
Umbrella Cover Museum, for internship funding: $972.