2026 Land for Communities

Purpose

The Land for Communities  grant program supports projects that increase relationships to land and/or water for underserved geographies and populations in Maine.

Criteria

All applicants must meet the Maine Community Foundation’s grant eligibility requirements and non-discrimination policy. Please read the eligibility and grant guidelines and non-discrimination policy before applying. If your organization doesn’t have a tax status and is applying using a fiscal sponsor, please read our fiscal sponsorship guidelines for competitive grant programs.

NOTE: Individuals and for-profit businesses are not eligible to apply.

Your project must:

• Be located in Maine
• Expand access to land and/or water for an underserved geography or population
• Focus on land for community use, specifically one or both of the following:
  • Land return (land back to Wabanaki Nations or Wabanaki-led organizations, restoring Wabanaki stewardship of land and/or water)
  • Land for food (hunting, fishing, wild food harvesting, working farms, community agriculture, working waterfront, community fisheries)
• Engage the people served in the design, delivery, evaluation, and/or leadership (board or staff) of the work

Types of Funding

Project grants for land acquisition and/or protection: Up to a maximum of $50,000 towards the purchase of land or easements/deed restrictions that meet the criteria above. Project costs may include, but are not limited to, purchase price, closing costs, legal services, survey, appraisal or value assessments, lease agreements, right-of-way agreements, and/or contributions to a stewardship fund for the property. Projects expected to be secured within one year of the grant award will receive priority consideration.

Project grants for land-based projects: Up to a maximum of $25,000 for land-based projects that meet the criteria above that are not acquisition and/or protection. Land-based project costs may include, but are not limited to, infrastructure, convenings, technical assistance, land stewardship, and/or staff time dedicated to the project. If your project is an active land acquisition/protection project with a specific property identified, apply under project grants for land acquisition and/or protection.

Project support may include administrative overhead, up to 20% of the requested funding.

Additional Information

• Individuals and for-profit businesses are not eligible to apply. Only organizations with 501c3 tax status or organizations with no tax status using a fiscal sponsor agreement form are eligible to apply.
• Applicants who meet the Land for Communities grant program criteria may submit one application per deadline.
• For more information on donor advised funds, click here.
• If you have additional questions, please contact Stephanie Cesario, scesario@mainecf.org, 207-412-0824.

Selection Process

Staff review grant proposals received to determine if they are eligible for funding. Staff assign all eligible proposals to a community advisor for review. A community advisory committee reviews all the proposals and decides which proposals to fund. This committee identifies the strongest proposals that meet the criteria and increase relationships to land and/or water for underserved geographies and populations in Maine. 

Background

The Fund for Maine Land Conservation grant program started in the early 1990s and awarded nearly 200 grants totaling $889,768. In 2018, MaineCF received a bequest which made it possible to reexamine and redesign our grantmaking approach to land conservation. We closed the Fund for Maine Land Conservation grant program and in its place created two new land conservation grant programs: 1) Conservation for All, which offered general support, and 2) Maine Land Protection, which offered support for land acquisitions and easements.

In 2024 and 2025, MaineCF completed a field scan and program analysis of the needs and gaps in the field and collaborated with a team of community advisors on grant program redesign. As a result, MaineCF closed the Conservation for All and the Maine Land Protection grant programs and replaced these grant programs with one new grant program, Land for Communities, in 2025.