The Maine Community Foundation’s People of Color Fund has awarded $201,774 in grants to 23 organizations. The grant program’s goal is to help people of color in Maine achieve greater equity through support for health care, leadership development, civic engagement, and youth.
Grant recipients in 2020 include:
• Presente Maine, Portland, to train Latinx community leaders in the power of collective narrative practice as a tool for transformation, healing, cultivating leadership and community building
• Somali Bantu Community Association, Lewiston, to implement a comprehensive soil fertility plan for expanding African flint corn enterprise at the community farming program, Liberation Farms
• Wabanaki Public Health, Orono, to provide indigenous youth with connections to leadership development opportunities- offering the teachings of Wabanaki culture, traditions, ceremony, and language
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MaineCF staff worked remotely with the People of Color Fund committee members to expedite review of applications. Grant recipients have the choice of extending the period during which to complete the work originally proposed and/or the flexibility to use the funding in other ways to meet current, unexpected organizational needs.
The next deadline for People of Color Fund grant applications is March 15, 2021. Application, guidelines, and a complete list of 2020 grants are available at www.mainecf.org. For more information, contact Gloria Aponte C, senior program officer, at (207) 412-0847 or gaponteclarke@mainecf.org.