The Greater East Grand Economic Council just awarded $60,000 in a second round of business innovation grants designed to support new business development and growth in the region.
The criteria included that applicants meet the region’s most critical deficiencies: a lack of skilled tradespeople and entry-level employment. Supported by the Portland-based Prism Fund, the grants offer Mainers a chance to start or expand a business with funding often difficult to obtain from traditional sources such as banks.
For Mainers living in the East Grand Lake Region — 15 towns located in northern Washington and southern Aroostook counties — paper mill closings and forestry cutbacks left many piecing together seasonal jobs to feed their families while young people have been forced to find work elsewhere. The grants give them a chance to create a future in the region.
“Our theory of change [is] we don’t believe that a manufacturer is going to come in and create a lot of jobs. We don’t have the housing, we don’t have the amenities and we don’t have the workforce,” said Christoper Hinshaw, the council’s executive director. “We want the local people to own their future.”
Some applicants proposed businesses for dog grooming, salon parlors and convenience stores, but the grants committee gravitated toward those who could fill gaps in the region, Hinshaw said.
Last week, the council awarded $25,000 to Amity-based Angelina and Chuck Jackman for their new business, Jack’s Walkin’ Tacos, and $35,000 to Woolwich-based master electrician Jacob Williams to expand his services into the Danforth region.
“It’s very difficult to get master mechanics of any kind to serve this region,” Hinshaw said. “Why? They have to drive one to three hours each way and what contractor is willing to do that? People up here do not have the capacity to pay someone two to three hours each way to simply drive.”
Both recipients plan to create a regular presence in Danforth, the region’s hub, they said.
The Jackmans, who plan to be in Danforth several days a week, will hire entry-level workers, which was important to the committee. And Williams is a master electrician, giving people access to this service.
The council is pleased with the changes they made for this second round of grants and while they have not yet decided as a board, it’s possible that next year they will target specific trades, he said.
The council kicked off the grant program last year with an $18,000 pilot. It funded two East Grand Lake Region entrepreneurs: Tammi Matula, for her startup insulation business, and William Apgar, a Maine guide who was expanding his ice fishing shack operation.
In 2025, the council limited grant applications to people who lived and worked in the region, but they did not get enough applications. So this year, the committee decided to allow anyone in the state to apply as long as they brought their service into the region at least part-time, Hinshaw said.
That drew 55 inquiries from all over the state and 27 applications, he said.
The committee, made up of council board members, selected eight finalists, five from the East Grand region. The finalists met with them and each gave a five-minute business pitch and responded to questions about their business plans.
Hinshaw was surprised only half of those who reached out actually applied.
“I just thought the floodgates would open,” he said. “I think that I underestimated the skillsets that are required. There were a good number of people who had excellent business concepts but they couldn’t make the case to the grants committee how they would make it a viable successful business.”
Also surprising to Hinshaw and the committee is that no one asked for assistance in the application process. They offered to host meetings and work with applicants.
“Out of 55 inquiries, I don’t think more than two people asked for any assistance. I don’t know what that means.”
The council thinks it’s possible that the fund will continue to grow because other donors, who like the idea of what they are doing, have expressed an interest.
“We are demonstrating that frankly, you have to give money to people in order for them to be able to do work,” Hinshaw said. “They can’t afford to go to a bank and get a loan and most banks are very conservative and they are not going to take a risk. It’s a tribute to the [grant] donor for being so visionary.”
