The Maine Community Foundation is built on the concept of people helping other people to improve the quality of life in Maine. MaineCF's County and Regional Program is the ultimate expression of this concept.
The goal of the program is to ensure that every community in the state has permanent resources, raised and allocated by local people, to address community challenges.
County Committees
The first three county committees were created in 1986 for Aroostook, Piscataquis and Washington counties in an effort to increase charitable resources in those areas.
Currently, committees of local advisors have been established in the western mountain counties of Franklin and Somerset, and in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo, Washington, and York counties. County advisors advise MaineCF grantmaking and make recommendations based on their knowledge of community needs and issues. They also alert the foundation to important issues.
Every county in the state will eventually have a MaineCF committee dedicated to making great grants and building permanent charitable resources.
Resources
All counties benefit from MaineCF donor-advised funds, scholarships, nonprofit endowments and field-of-interest funds. In addition to these philanthropic resources, each county involved in our County & Regional Program has a permanent fund restricted to that county.
Established by individuals, businesses and foundations, each permanent fund is a source of charitable capital that will strengthen the communities in that county for generations to come.
Realizing Maine's Worth
Maine Rural Partners published a report, Realizing Maine’s Worth: Our Community Legacy, which highlights the power of philanthropy throughout the state. Read more about the report’s conclusions and county-by-county results here.
Contact
Refer to the county you live in to learn the names of the advisors. To find out how to establish a county committee in a region not currently covered, please contact Laura Young, vice president of philanthropy, at (207) 761-2440, or toll-free (877) 700-6800.