MaineCF - People of Color Fund
Dedicated to providing support to people of color in Maine.
Members of MaineCF's People of Color Fund advisory committee meet in Augusta on January 15 to discuss the mission of the new $1 million fund that will address issues of racial inequality in Maine
In the photo: (left to right) Committee members Fatuma Hussein, Mony Hang, Susan Hammond, Wil Smith, Blanca Garrulo and Lisa Sockabasin (members not pictured are Alfred Jacobs, Bill Burney, Anais Tomezsko and Juan Gonzalez)
"People of color in Maine face special challenges, from stereotyping to discrimination,” said Lisa Sockabasin, a committee member and director of the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. “This fund is guided by the belief that all communities have the power to create their own positive change if their members have the requisite knowledge, skills and support,” she said.
Thanks to a major grant from the River Rock Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation is launching a new $1 million fund dedicated to providing support to people of color in Maine.
“On the eve of the yearly commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth date, we are honored to announce a major new resource for addressing issues of racial inequality in Maine,” said Henry Schmelzer, president of the Maine Community Foundation.
A committee of ten Maine citizens from diverse backgrounds and geographic locales will advise the People of Color Fund. They will be meeting in the coming months to shape the purpose and vision of the fund.
Announcement of opportunities offered by the fund will take place later this year. Leadership development and training, grantmaking and convening are among the possible activities the committee will be considering.