Development, operating grants available for Maine nonprofit leaders

ELLSWORTH — Nonprofit leaders of color may be eligible for grants from the Maine Community Foundation’s Investing in Leaders of Color grant program.
The program provides one-on-one coaching, a stipend for professional development and operating costs, and networking opportunities.

The applicant must be a person of color in a leadership role at an organization that primarily serves communities of color and promotes racial equity.
“Nonprofit leaders of color are core drivers of racial equity work in Maine,” said Lelia DeAndrade, MaineCF vice president of community impact. “The goal of the ILOC program is to support nonprofit leaders of color and their organizations.”
The deadline for proposals is Thursday, Sept. 15.
In 2021, Investing in Leaders of Color awarded 12 grants totaling $83,400. Donors with advised funds at MaineCF awarded an additional three grants totaling $20,850.
Turner Publishing area grantees included Amina Abdi, Her Safety Net, Lewiston; Ekhlas Ahmed, Chance to Advance, Windham; Tam Thanh Huynh, Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, Augusta; Joseph Jackson, Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, Lisbon; Safiya Khalid, Gateway Community Services Maine, Lewiston; Eunice Nuna, Wounded Healers International, Gorham; Mali Obomsawin, Bozameen Land Trust, Kennebec River Valley; Abdikhadar Shire, AK Health and Social Services, Lewiston. To see all recent grantees, click here.
For more information and to apply, visit www.mainecf.org. Contact DeAndrade with questions at ldeandrade@mainecf.org or 207-412-0843.