Community Building Grant Program

Maine Community Foundation

Predicted deadline: Feb 15, 2024 8:59pm PST

Grant amount: Up to US $10,000

Funding uses: Project / Program, Training / Capacity Building

Location of project: Maine

Location of residency: United States

Overview:

About the Program

The Community Building Grant Program invests in local projects and organizations that work to build strong communities. It is a grassroots grant program focused on efforts to use, improve and/or increase access to community assets. These community assets include natural and built resources, as well as community members, their views and voices, local leaders, and the relationships or connections among people and organizations across the community.

The Community Building Grant Program is one of the only grant programs in Maine that supports a broad range of projects and organizations across the entire state, including arts, education, environment, economic development, and human services. It is also MaineCF’s largest grant program and receives more than 400 applications annually.

Types of Funding:

• Project Grants for new or expanding projects that meet the Community Building criteria (organizations of any size qualify)
  • Eligible Expenses - for project grants only
    
    • The Project Budget may include up to 20 percent of the total amount requested from MaineCF for administrative costs.
    • These funds may be used for overhead or operating expenses (examples: rent, utilities, bookkeeping) and can be a line item labeled as “administrative costs.”
    • You may calculate this amount based on a percentage of the total requested (not more than 20 percent or $2,000 of a $10,000 request) and do not need to specify how the funds will be used.
      
• General Support Grants for ongoing programs and operational needs. Your organization’s primary work must meet the Community Building criteria AND your organization must:
  • Be located in Maine
  • Have had expenses below $500,000 in your most recent completed fiscal or financial year
  • NOT be a municipality, government agency, public school, or faith-based organization (these organizations may be eligible for project grants).

Amount

Max Award: $10,000

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.

Eligibility:

• Who is eligible to apply
• Nonprofit, charitable organizations tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and also classified as an organization described in sections 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2)
  
• Municipalities
• Public schools
• Public agencies working for the State of Maine
• Indian tribal governments (or political subdivisions) recognized by the Department of the Interior
• Groups without any tax status may apply with a fiscal sponsor that is an eligible organization as described above.
  
• Your proposed project or organization must:
  
• Invest in people by increasing skills, knowledge, abilities and/or well-being
  
• Engage the people you serve in the design, delivery, and/or evaluation of the work
  
• Strengthen community resources including organizations, partnerships, and built and natural environments
• Any eligible organization may submit one application per grant program, regardless of previous application history or current award progress
  

Ineligibility:

• Ineligible Expenses
  • Funds may not be used for:
    • General operating expenses
      • While operating expenses may be included as “administrative costs” (up to 20 percent of the requested amount) they are not eligible as full project requests.
      • If your organization meets the requirements, you can apply for an unrestricted general support grant instead.
    • Major capital expenses
      • This includes purchasing assets such as buildings or land.
    • Camperships
      • This includes funding for admission, enrollment, tuition or other costs related to short-term programs that are primarily recreational or social.
    • Endowments, capital campaigns, or annual appeals.
      
• What we will not fund, without exception
• Expenses already incurred
• Political campaigns
• Lobbying in the form of calls to action on a specific vote
• Religious activities: including, but not limited to, religious services, promotion of religious beliefs, or activities that are restricted to church or religious group membership
• Regranting to a secondary grantee through a competitive process.