Grants to nonprofit organizations that serve disadvantaged, underserved, and/or vulnerable communities in Maine are available from the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.
The Brain Foundation Fund awards grants to nonprofits that focus on individuals who live in Greater Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Bath/Brunswick, and Biddeford/Saco/Sanford, or to organizations with a statewide mission in the fund’s focus areas. Grants support early childhood care and education; extended-day learning; community clinics and oral health initiatives; hunger prevention and food security; homelessness alleviation; and legal services connected to these areas.
The application deadline is April 1, 2021. Online applications, guidelines, and a complete list of 2019 grants are available at www.mainecf.org.
In 2020, the committee awarded grants totaling $157,500 to 31 nonprofit organizations, including:
- Preble Street, to increase access and connection to behavioral and physical healthcare for homeless populations by targeting social determinants of health through holistic care, outreach, and client-centered engagement
- Maine Equal Justice Partners, to help Mainers meet their basic needs like food, healthcare, and housing through direct legal assistance provided by the Moxie Case Coach
- Maine Resilience Building Network, for scholarship funds to support in-kind requests for training services for early childcare providers birth-5, educators k-12, and transitioning adult educators.
David and Frances Brain established the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation in 1993 to address social issues and encourage the family’s future generations to contribute to the well-being of communities in Maine, Georgia, and Kentucky where they live.
For more information about the fund, please call or email Program Officer John Ochira at (207) 412-0837 or jochira@mainecf.org.