Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Fund

2023 Grants

A Company of Girls, to empower youth in challenging circumstances to find their voices through arts programs that provide opportunities for mentorship, confidence building, resiliency and leadership development: $5,000
Avesta Housing Development Corporation, for a summer reading program for children from low-income, immigrant families living in Westbrook Avesta properties: $5,450
Catholic Charities Maine, to provide parents with access to early care and education services: $10,000
Count ME In, to improve transitions for learners from early care settings into public pre-kindergarten and kindergarten: $5,000
Family and Community Mediation, to provide mediation and conflict resolution services to families with low incomes and young children: $5,000
Foundation for Portland Public Schools, to help Portland Public Schools' families with emergency needs such as housing, utilities, medical costs or other critical supplies: $7,500
Furniture Friends, to collect donated furniture for low-income individuals and families living in southern Maine: $5,000
Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, to send three middle-school students on a summer Outward Bound course: $3,000
Intercultural Community Center, to enrich academic, emotional and physical wellbeing of immigrant, refugee and low-income students through effective social services and support: $7,500
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, to purchase diapers for families throughout southern Maine: $10,000
Kids First Center, to provide programs for safe and healthy coparenting: $5,000
LearningWorks, to offer no-cost STEAM, literacy and vocational educational programming for elementary, middle and high school students: $5,000
Maine Boys to Men, to provide Boot Camp for New Dads, a program for expectant fathers: $7,500
Midcoast Maine Community Action, to support the needs of Midcoast Maine families with low incomes: $5,000
Northeast Hearing & Speech Center, to provide children who cannot speak with an alternative way to communicate, start a loaner library, and support their caregivers: $7,500
Oasis Health Network, to provide free, high-quality medical and dental care and prescription assistance to low-income, uninsured adults living in our community: $5,000
Palaver Strings, to increase the racial diversity of the music education faculty to better reflect the diversity of young students and families: $7,500
Peaks Island Children’s Workshop, to provide early childhood education to Peaks Island children: $7,500
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, to provide reproductive and sexual health care on a sliding fee scale: $7,500
Portland Community Health Center, for dental supplies and staffing to provide dental health care access to Portland preschools: $6,013
Portland Ovations, for its early literacy program, Cultivating Curiosity: $7,500
ProsperityME, to support immigrant families experiencing housing instability: $7,500
Side x Side, to provide early elementary school teachers and students with collaborative arts projects: $5,000
St. Luke’s Cathedral, for its food pantry: $7,500
St. Mary’s Regional Health Center, to expand the school garden and food programs in four elementary schools: $10,000
The Ecology School, to provide hands-on environmental education for Saco students in grades K-2 that promotes environmental stewardship, social emotional learning and STEM skills: $10,000
Woodfords Family Services, to ensure students with special needs have reliable transportation for special purpose school services: $5,000
YMCA- Auburn-Lewiston, to address the educational and achievement gap for children in grades K-3 living in communities with social, economic and cultural barriers: $8,750
YMCA- Central Maine, to provide children in Lewiston-Auburn access to affordable child care, nutritious meals, and basic water-safety skills: $10,000

2022 Grants

Cedars Nursing Care Center, Portland, for oral exams, dental X-rays, and kits for long-term care residents and rehabilitation patients: $10,000
Coastal Enterprises, Brunswick, to help asylum-seekers start or grow businesses: $5,000
Episcopal Diocese of Maine, Portland, to provide feminine hygiene products to asylum seekers and others with low incomes: $7,500
Greater Portland Family Promise, to find affordable housing and provide ongoing mentorship to families experiencing homelessness: $7,500
Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, to facilitate access to food assistance programs and provide nutrition information: $5,000
Hope Acts, Portland, to support asylum seekers with housing, support services, and English classes: $10,000
Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, Camden, to send four middle-school students from Lewiston-Auburn's Boys and Girls Club to a summer Outward Bound course: $5,000
Laudholm Trust, Wells, to introduce female, first-generation Mainers attending Portland High School to science and nature in Maine and careers possible in those fields: $4,000
Locker Project, Portland, to provide low-income families with reliable access to healthy, fresh food: $5,000
Maine Equal Justice, to help Mainers access food, health care, and housing through legal assistance: $5,000
Maine Family Planning, Augusta, to provide affordable and accessible sexual and reproductive health care to low-income patients: $5,000
Maine Resilience Building Network, Manchester, for programming that promotes the healthy development of children: $10,000
Mainely Teeth, Portland, to provide dental care to uninsured or under-insured patients: $10,000
Mayo Street Arts, Portland, for a no-cost, after-school arts program for students living in low-income neighborhoods in East Bayside: $5,000
Mercy Hospital, Portland, for a two-year program for women recovering from substance-use disorder: $8,000
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, Brunswick, to provide food to those facing temporary or chronic food insecurity: $5,000
Midcoast Literacy, Bath, to provide one-on-one tutoring for 35 children in Bath and Brunswick: $5,000
Milestone Recovery, Portland, to support the transition from long-term homelessness to permanent housing: $10,000
Portland Stage Company, to expand its K-12 education programs: $5,000
Preble Street, Portland, to provide meals, increase food access, and nutrition while supporting a sustainable food system: $5,000
Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation, Portland, for low-income children to attend Camp Susan Curtis at no cost: $5,000
Sweetser, Saco, to provide access to mental and behavioral health services to uninsured and uninsured children: $5,000
The Opportunity Alliance, South Portland, to provide client assistance through its Homeless Youth Services program: $5,000
Through These Doors, Portland, to provide safety planning, emergency shelter, and basic needs to victims and survivors of domestic abuse: $5,000
Tree Street Youth, Lewiston, to design an early-childhood program for preschool-aged children: $10,000
Trinity Jubilee Center, Lewiston, to provide shelter, food and diapers, and facilitate access to medical care, housing, and employment: $10,000
YWCA Central Maine, Lewiston, to provide preschool-aged children food services that are designed to build healthy relationships with food and prevent childhood obesity: $7,130

2021 Grants

Apex Youth Connection, to connect Biddeford-Saco area youth with mentors, peers, and their communities, mitigating the health impacts of COVID-19 through active and intentional relationship-building, service, and skill-building: $5,000
Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, Portland, to support the Academic Success programming in five clubhouses in Greater Portland and Auburn: $5,000
Caring Unlimited, Sanford, to provide free civil legal services and court advocacy to victims of domestic violence in York County: $5,000
Catholic Charities Maine, Portland, for general support to aid children and families with services like dental care, nutritious food, early childhood care, and help integrating into new communities: $5,000
Community Dental, Portland, to provide oral healthcare to low-income patients through the Low Income Oral Health Access Program in Community Dental’s Biddeford center: $5,000
Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation, Augusta, to link uninsured and new Mainers to health coverage and safety-net programs, collaborating with Maine Access Immigrant Network, Maine Primary Care Association, and other partners: $7,500
The Ecology School, Saco, to support a multi-year EcosySTEM™ program in several underserved Maine school systems, promoting critical thinking and strong community in grades K-2: $5,000
Environmental Health Strategy Center, Portland, to develop culturally appropriate materials and train community leaders among recent immigrants in Southern Maine to address health hazards in housing impacting their community: $5,000
Gateway Community Services Maine, Portland, to formalize systems and structure for the tutoring program to better support volunteer tutors and serve more students, especially those from immigrant and refugee communities: $5,000
Good Shepherd Food Bank, Auburn, to provide comprehensive hunger-relief programs throughout Maine that help people experiencing hunger access nutritious food and recover from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic: $5,000
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Portland, to advance justice and equity for immigrants and their families through direct legal services, community education, and systemic advocacy: $5,000
Intercultural Community Center, Westbrook, to support expanded STEM, English, arts and empowerment opportunities for immigrant and first-generation 3rd-8^th-grade students in an existing afterschool and summer program: $5,000
Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, Portland, to purchase 55,000 diapers to be distributed to families experiencing diaper need throughout Southern Maine: $5,000
Jobs for Maines Graduates, Augusta, to ensure the 1,400 JMG students receive personal and educational support: $5,000
Kids First Center, Scarborough, for ICOPE: Intensive Co-parenting Education to guide parents involved in heightened/chronic conflict, a situation that is known to be detrimental to children’s development and well-being: $7,500
LA Youth and Family Enrichment Services, for the after-school program and summer programs to support students in need of academic support: $5,000
LearningWorks, Portland, for LearningWorks Afterschool, an afterschool STEM program for 2nd-5th graders attending Title I schools that boosts literacy and math skills and social-emotional wellbeing: $5,000
MaineHealth, Portland, to increase access to treatment for people with opioid use disorder who are experiencing homelessness: $5,000
Memorial Middle School, South Portland, to implement the Check and Connect Mentoring dropout prevention program, which links mentors with students who are struggling to engage in schooling: $5,000
My Place Teen Center, Westbrook, to support expansion into Saco/Biddeford, spring/summer 2021: $5,000
New Beginnings, Milo, to provide COVID-19-responsive educational support for 75 homeless youth in Lewiston to enroll/stay in school/graduate, increase stability, and significantly reduce their risk of adult homelessness: $5,000
New England Arab American Organization, Portland, to improve case management capacity and outreach through employment of a community health worker: $5,000
Oasis Free Clinics, Brunswick, to support a part-time mental health coordinator to recruit and coordinate volunteer counselors and provide care management for patients: $5,000
Portland Community Squash, for support to run Rally Portland and grow the program from 41 to 51 students during the 2021-2022 school year: $5,000
Portland Ovations, to fund the re-imagined School-Time Performance Series: Cultivating Curiosity using virtual and live performing arts to provide early literacy support to Maine’s youngest students: $5,000
Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, Biddeford, to support funding critical costs, such as food, personal care items, tents, sleeping bags, and other items: $5,000
Seventy-Five State Street, Portland, to support replenishment of the Resident Care Fund activity scholarships and furniture dollars for low- to moderate-income residents at 75 State Street: $5,000
Somali Bantu Community Lewiston of Maine, to hire a female community advocate staff member: $5,000
St. Mary's Regional Medical Center, Lewiston, to expand community gardens in low-income neighborhoods, increase access and affordability of local foods, and expand access to culturally preferred foods: $5,000
The Telling Room, Portland, to help fund the afterschool and out-of-school programs within its 2021-2022 Anthology Project, the annual themed writing project engaging 2,000 students: $5,000
Wayside Food Programs, Portland, to develop a Local Food Fund ensuring community members have access to nutritious foods while supporting local businesses and farmers during this difficult time: $5,000
YMCA Auburn-Lewiston, to provide structured support for 35 children in grades 4-6 who have been identified by McMahon School as being in need of extended support: $5,000
Youth Full Maine, Biddeford, to continue its weekly curbside food distributions in several York County towns during the pandemic and to begin opening school-based food pantries: $5,000