Quimby Family Foundation Grants

questions@quimbyfamilyfoundation.org

The Quimby Family Foundation offers grants for projects focused on physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being in Maine. Grants work towards preventing and treating chronic diseases and conditions by addressing environmental connection, isolation and loneliness, sedentary lifestyles, and food systems. Historically, projects in rural communities have been considered a priority.

Grant awards focus on:

• Movement - Creating and supporting opportunities for people to consistently choose, and meaningfully experience, nearby nature and wilderness through movement and activity. Strategies include:
  • Deepening the bonds between people, nature, and one another through immersive wilderness journeys
  • Growing outdoor recreation events to discover nearby nature and commune with neighbors
  • Reducing barriers (social, physical, logistical) for people to access nearby nature and open space
  • Creating, promoting, or restoring parks, gardens, and green spaces
  • Addressing community disparities to encourage safe, equitable outdoor access
  • Promoting active transportation choices to benefit self and environment
  • Marketing successful programs and under-utilized nearby nature spaces
  • Building or improving trails for walking, hiking, biking, and winter travel
  • Partnering with healthcare professionals to champion movement as a tool to support public health
  • Awakening instinctive bonds and exploring relationships that link humans with nature
• Nourishment - Creating and supporting opportunities for people to consistently choose regional and plant-based foods that restore human and environmental health. Strategies include:
  • Promoting participation in community gardens and farms
  • Growing knowledge and skills for selecting and preparing healthy, natural, local foods
  • Addressing community disparities to access affordable regional foods as well as land necessary to participate in growing food
  • Educating people on the human and environmental health benefits of a regional, plant-based diet
  • Expanding food waste reduction and composting programs
  • Advocating for healthier, more sustainable menus within institutions
  • Building awareness and skills for regenerative, sustainable farming techniques
  • Awakening pride and joy from growing food in a family or community setting
  • Exploring ecological truths that link humans with nature through daily food choices

Eligible applicants are nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) designation or projects with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Organizations must be located in and serve people in Maine.

The Foundation prioritizes smaller organizations that serve under-resourced populations and people who identify as members of the Wabanaki Confederacy.

Grants range from $3,500 up to $25,000.

Choose the appropriate link to the online application from the program website.

Applications for movement projects are accepted between August 1-31, 2024, and applications for nourishment projects are accepted between March 1-31, 2025.