Moving Forward

FROM THE CHAIRS

The Maine Community Foundation’s annual Report to the Community offers an opportunity to review progress. It’s also an occasion to reflect – 2020 and 2021 to date offer more than the usual food for thought. If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, change can happen quickly and forcefully. As we move forward, MaineCF and our partners will use experiences of the previous 18 months to build an even stronger foundation for the future.

We know Maine, but we got to know the state even better as people faced health and economic hardships. It was all hands – and hearts – on deck. MaineCF processed a record amount of grants to nonprofit organizations that supported those who needed the most assistance. The COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund provided grants totaling more than $4.3 million, with nearly two-thirds going to social services, food, health, and safety. Another $4 million was granted directly from donor-advised funds to nonprofit organizations for similar critical COVID-related services.

Every year MaineCF receives more than 1,000 proposals through our 26 competitive grant programs. We are grateful for the involvement of MaineCF’s donor-advised fund donors who, through our enhanced proposal-sharing program Giving Together, provided nearly half a million dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations that submitted proposals to our competitive funds. We thank our donors for stepping up year after year.

At the same time, the Maine Community Foundation reached a milestone in March when it surpassed $500 million in grants awarded since it was founded 38 years ago. This is a time of transition at the foundation. We thank Steve Rowe for his remarkable leadership as president and CEO over the past six years and welcome interim president and CEO Sterling Speirn, a seasoned foundation executive. We also thank Karen Stanley for her stellar guidance as board chair through unprecedented times. We are grateful she will stay on the board another year to lead the search for a new president and CEO.

The board also thanks Peter Mills and Anne Roosevelt for their nine-year board service. Mills served on the finance, governance, and audit committees, while Roosevelt led the program committee and county council and served on the Western Mountains Committee.

This year MaineCF’s first three county funds – in Aroostook, Piscataquis, and Washington – will mark 35 years of grantmaking. Our county committees are critical partners that help us accomplish our statewide work. The county advisors are our valued eyes and ears – and ambassadors to every corner of the state.

We also look forward to work on a new organizational strategic plan. Consultant Sutherland Strategies and the board’s strategic planning committee will perform a situational analysis; analyze results of a survey of MaineCF donors, nonprofit partners, and others; and review industry best practices. Our goal is to present a final plan to the board at our December meeting. It’s an ambitious agenda, but we’re confident in our board and staff to embrace these changes and continue to move us forward.

Thank you for everything you do to support the Maine Community Foundation and its mission: to improve the quality of life for all Maine people.

Gregg Collins Adilah Muhammad
Chair, Board of Directors Vice Chair, Board of Directors