Community Building Grant Program
  (including the County Funds)

Grant size: up to $7,500
Application Deadlines: January 15 and May 15 (postmarked)

Proposals submitted to this program for projects that serve Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Oxford, Piscataquis, Waldo, Washington, York counties, or the Western Mountains area (Franklin and Somerset Counties) will be reviewed by local committees. Please refer to the County Program for more information about these committees.

Proposals from Kennebec, Lincoln, Penobscot and Sagadahoc counties or proposals for projects that have statewide reach will be reviewed by a Statewide committee.

Guidelines

The Maine Community Foundation’s community building grant program supports a broad spectrum of organizations and projects that strengthen Maine communities. The program seeks project proposals that recognize and build on a community’s strengths and assets.

To be considered, projects must meet each of the following three criteria:

• Use existing community resources to strengthen community life.
• Strengthen communities’ and organizations’ ability to meet future challenges.
• Be sustainable or have a lasting impact after MaineCF grant funding is complete.

Projects must also meet at least one of the following priorities:

• Build collaborative relationships and partnerships to plan, implement and evaluate the project.
• Include the people who will benefit from the project in its planning, implementation and evaluation.
• Develop and strengthen local leadership.

The foundation encourages projects that are innovative and assume a significant degree of risk in attaining far-reaching goals.

Community building grants typically do not support on-going operating expenses, endowments, capital campaigns, camperships, acquisition of capital equipment (any item over $250 that will be depreciated over time) or costs of repairing equipment.

Project Evaluation

All grant recipients will be required to submit a Project Evaluation Report  approximately ten months after receiving payment of the grant.  For guidance on how to create an evaluation plan for your project, we have provided a resource guide, Developing a Project Evaluation Plan, that you may find helpful in preparing your proposal.

Eligibility Requirements

1) Applicants must be nonprofit, 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 or applicants must have a fiscal sponsor that is a 501(c)(3) organization, public school or public agency (click here for more information on applying with a fiscal sponsor).

2) Grants cannot be made for lobbying or religious activities.

3) Grants cannot pay for program expenses that have already been incurred.

4) Organizations located outside the State of Maine must demonstrate that they are working with a Maine-based group to develop and implement the proposed project.

5) Applicants who have received a previous grant through the Community Building Grant Program must wait until 12 months have passed since the deadline date of their funded application before applying to this program again.

* Somerset and Franklin County organizations interested in grants larger than $7,500 or funding for capital or equipment expenses are strongly encouraged to contact a Western Mountains advisor or the Regional Coordinator before submitting an application.  Peter Taylor, Director of Grantmaking Services, at 1-877-700-6800 (toll-free) or Peter Taylor .

How to Apply
Grant requests will be considered twice a year. Proposals must be postmarked by January 15 or May 15 and mailed to:

Grantmaking
Maine Community Foundation
245 Main St.
Ellsworth, ME 04605.

We will not accept applications via fax or email.

Applicants will be notified in late March (for the first cycle) and late July (for the second cycle) of the final decisions.

Our guidelines and application have been revised as of January 2005. Download the most recent version of our application and grant guidelines:

Adobe Acrobat version:
Community Building Grant Program Application Form (.pdf)

Word Processor version:
Community Building Grant Program Application Form (.rtf)

Click here to see a list of recent grants