Maine Grants for Change

grants4change@maineinitiatives.org

Grants for Change offers funding for nonprofit organizations in Maine that are led by and serve Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC). Projects will advance racial justice, and engage and connect people in Maine around shared values of racial justice and health equity.

The program prioritizes BIPOC-led and -serving organizations that:

• Seek to dismantle racial injustice in its institutional, structural, and systemic forms
• Further the racial justice movement, prioritizing Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty through community building, grassroots organizing and policy change
• Strengthen communities through traditional and/ or Indigenous wisdoms and liberatory cultural practices, including (but not limited to) healing, rematriation, earth protection, and the arts

Project examples:

• Efforts that focus on harm-reduction, collective healing, transformative and/or restorative justice practices
• Policy for essential services such as education, health equity, affordable housing, transportation, food security, and access to culturally relevant foods
• Tribal sovereignty, rematriation efforts, and land back movements
• Efforts that center Black joy and liberation through the arts, cultural preservation, and embodied practices

Eligibility requirements:

• Work exclusively or primarily in Maine
• Programming primarily serves and supports BIPOC communities
• A Black-, Brown-, Indigenous-, Latinx-, Asian-, or People of Color-led (BIPOC) organization, group, or coalition
• Programs advance racial justice in local communities or statewide
• Have an operating budget of under $2,500,000 (Not required for groups applying with sponsorship from a Wabanaki tribal government or other tribal entity)

Applications from rural areas of the state are encouraged.

Award ceiling: $15,000 a year
Project period: 3 years
Estimated total program funding: $1,500,000

Funded organizations will be invited to participate in a series of peer learning, training, capacity-building, and community outreach activities over the course of the grant period.

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the application form are available on the program website.

Email completed applications to grants4change@maineinitiatives.org.

Applicant webinar recording