A $100,000 gift from an anonymous donor will help about 285 Maine families with emergency heating support this winter.
The donation, presented to the Maine Community Action Partnership Thursday, was inspired by a Giving Tuesday campaign by the Bangor Daily News, Pulse Marketing Agency and community banking leaders raising money for heating support and for local reporting.
The emergency heating support program helps families in need pay for fuel, emergency deliveries and energy-related crisis services during the winter, according to the donation announcement.
“For many Maine families, emergency heating support can truly mean the difference between getting through the winter safely or facing a real crisis,” said Victoria Forkus, the Maine Community Action Partnership’s managing director.
Eighty-three BDN donors also contributed to a $5,000 dollar-for-dollar match that will fund emergency heating support for 15 families. Combined with the anonymous donation, about 300 Maine families will receive support.
The Maine Community Action Partnership is an organization that supports 10 community action agencies around the state, including Penquis in Bangor.
The organization administers Maine Housing’s home energy assistance funding, but it also distributes a separate emergency heating assistance fund, according to Forkus. These funds go to families who may be just over the income threshold for a heat subsidy, who have already used up their heat benefits for the year, or who are in a crisis and need help urgently, she said.
Past donations from this year have been completely used up, Forkus said, “so there’s clearly a need.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how many families will be supported by the anonymous donation.