ELLSWORTH & PORTLAND — More than $400,000 in grants from the Maine Community Foundation will support organizations throughout the state that are led by and serve people of color. MaineCF’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fund awarded 33 grants totaling $315,470. Another 10 grants totaling $93,250 were made by people with donor-advised funds at MaineCF.
2022 grantees include:
- Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Lisbon, for its peer health and reentry mentor program
- New England Arab American Organization, Portland, to provide leadership and service opportunities for BIPOC youth that focus on decreasing bias and fostering a more inclusive community
- Zambian Community of Maine, Lewiston, to meet the health, financial literacy and critical needs of the Zambian community.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fund supports organizations that are led by and serve people of Native American, Latino, African, Arab, and/or Asian descent. The grant program is designed to help BIPOC people in Maine achieve greater equity by investing in nonprofit organizations; changing policies and practices that negatively impact BIPOC people because of their race; and supporting efforts to alleviate the impact of race-based discrimination and disparities.
The fund was established in 2007 and leaders from various racial and ethnic communities around the state comprise its advisory committee.
To learn more about the BIPOC Fund and to view all the 2022 grantees, visit www.mainecf.org. The application for next year’s grant cycle will open on Feb. 15, 2023. For more information, contact Senior Program Officer Gloria Aponte C. at 207-412-0847 or gaponteclarke@mainecf.org.
The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine. MaineCF has offices in Ellsworth and Portland with additional staff located across the state. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.mainecf.org.