The Maine Community Foundation's competitive grant programs are dedicated to providing funding, support and information that achieve our grantmaking priorities and are responsive to the needs of the organizations and communities we serve. Our effectiveness is tied both to the success of our grantees and to our partnerships with our volunteer advisory committees. We also believe that effective grantmaking relies on our ability to clearly communicate our funding priorities to applicants, build and share knowledge with our grantees and the field, and engage diverse stakeholders in our work.
The following information about our policies applies to applicants and grantees.
Eligibility
All grantees must be eligible to accept tax-deductible donations as outlined in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Grantees must immediately notify the foundation of any change in, or challenge to, their tax-exempt status (as determined by Section 510(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) before the end of the grant period. This includes all 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organizations, public schools, public agencies working for the State of Maine, or Indian tribal governments (and their political subdivisions) recognized by the Department of the Interior.
Organizations may submit only one application to each grant program annually. However, the community foundation will accept more than one application to a grant program from a single large organization (those with annual operating budgets of $2 million or higher), if the applications are from distinct programs within the organization, and if the proposed programs serve different counties. For example, both the Community Center and the Education Department at Learning University may apply to the Community Building Grant Program, because they are separate programs within the university. In addition, the Community Center’s proposed project serves Aroostook County, and the Education Department’s proposed project serves York County.
Applicants should use the name of the organization that holds the EIN when applying, and begin their project descriptions with the name of the individual program or department that is seeking the funds, e.g., "The Square Club seeks funding to support their lobster pot building program in area high schools."
Eligibility will be determined by MaineCF staff. For more information, contact the community foundation by phone, toll-free, at 877-700-6800, or by e-mail at info@mainecf.org.
Organizations may apply to more than one grant program each year, even if the programs share grant deadlines. For example, you may submit applications to the Maine Charity Foundation Fund grant program as well as to the Equity Fund and Rines/Thompson Fund, which all share a September 15 deadline.
Grants must be returned if the grant recipient loses its exemption from federal income taxation as provided for under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code before the end of the grant period.
Applicant Confidentiality
All information requested in the Maine Community Foundation grant application is public information and may be shared with interested parties. Applications that are submitted to competitive grant programs may be forwarded to donors for potential funding. On rare occasions, applications may be forwarded to external funding sources when appropriate. If an applicant has concerns about their proposal being forwarded in this manner, they may inform grant staff of their preference at the time of the application.
Applications and Deadlines
The Maine Community Foundation is unable to review incomplete proposals. Please only send materials requested in the grant guidelines. Note that if you do choose to include additional materials, those materials will not be reviewed.
Electronic applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on the program deadline. Applications sent via postal mail must be postmarked on or before the program deadline. If a deadline falls on a Sunday or a holiday, applications must be postmarked on the next business day. Late applications will not be accepted.
Fiscal Responsibility and Sponsorship
If the funded project is a collaborative effort, one member of the collaboration must take fiscal responsibility for receiving and expending the grant. This organization should complete the grant application. Letters from the collaborating organizations should be included with the application and should explain the approach and shared responsibilities.
The Maine Community Foundation will consider awarding grants for charitable activities of non-exempt groups (those that are not exempt from tax under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code) that have an established relationship with a fiscal sponsor that does have this tax-exempt status under the following circumstances:
- The non-exempt group operates as a not-for-profit and has an oversight committee or advisory board comprised of more than one individual.
- The program or project for which the non-exempt group is seeking funding falls within the tax-exempt purposes of the sponsoring organization, and the two groups have established a relationship prior to applying to the foundation for funding.
- Unless all grant funds will be held and disbursed directly by the fiscal sponsor, the non-exempt group must have its own federal employer identification number (EIN).
- A signed copy of the community foundation's Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement form (available in PDF or RTF format) summarizing the terms of the relationship and the responsibilities of the non-exempt group and the fiscal sponsor must be submitted with the application.
Evaluation
All competitive grant program awardees are required to submit a project progress report to the Ellsworth office within a year of receiving funding. Organizations that fail to file a progress report will not be eligible for future funding from Maine Community Foundation competitive grant programs for one year or until the missing report is filed.
Non-Discrimination Policy
The Maine Community Foundation seeks to promote respect for all people. In its Community Building/County & Regional grant programs (or successor grant programs supported by those funds), the community foundation will support organizations that do not intend to deny services, employment, or volunteer involvement on the basis of race, age, ancestry or national origin, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental disability, or religion. It is not the intent of this policy to deny support for programs that serve specifically defined populations.
The Maine Community Foundation’s approach is designed to build on organizations’ strengths and to affirm the positive aspects of their work. As such, we hope to engage in conversations with organizations that currently do not comply with the foundation’s policy in order to have them better understand our mission and commitment to strengthen all Maine communities.
Other Important Grant Policies
All awards are made for the purposes stated in the application and award letter.
The Maine Community Foundation will make grants to religious groups, but will not make grants for religious purposes.
(This includes but is not limited to religious services, promotion of religious beliefs, or activities that are restricted to church or religious group membership.)
No part of any grant may be used for a political campaign, or to support attempts to influence legislation of any governmental body other than through making available the results of non-partisan analysis, study and research.
No portion of the award may be granted to a secondary grantee without the express permission of the community foundation.
Grant funds should be expended within 12 months after payment is issued. At the end of this period, any unexpended grant funds should be returned to the foundation, or a written request for an extension of time should be submitted to the community foundation.
A term of award lasts for 12 months. If, within the 12-month period, the project cannot be completed, the organization may apply in writing for an award extension. If awarded funds cannot be spent in the manner originally described in the application or award letter, then the organization must contact the Maine Community Foundation for permission to change how the funds are expended. If the change is significant, a written request may be required. The community foundation reserves the right to require the return of grant funds.
The amount of a request may not exceed the maximum award for each individual grant program. If an applicant is applying to more than one county fund under the Community Building Grant Program, the total request to all county funds may not exceed the Community Building Grant Program maximum.
If you have any questions, please contact a member of the program staff at (877) 700-6800.