The $100,000 gift from a MaineCF donor arrived unexpectedly last year at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, just as the only active Shaker community in the world launched a project to share its past.
The quiet philanthropist, who has a donor-advised fund at MaineCF, preferred to remain anonymous. But the significant gift kept giving, spurring more support for the planned $4.3 million Shaker Herb House Cultural and Traditional Arts Center at the community in New Gloucester.
"This gift was instrumental in helping us gain traction in fundraising," said Michael Graham, director of the Shaker Museum and Library. "It was enormous for us." In April, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the project another $750,000 grant.
The Shakers are a Christian sect founded in Manchester, England, in 1783. The 1,800-acre Shaker Village on Sabbathday Lake was established in the 1780s, along with more than a dozen Shaker communities in the United States. The Shaker population on Sabbathday Lake peaked at 150 in the late 1800s. Today, only two active Shakers live at the village, which also houses a library and museum.
Adherents of an egalitarian, pacifist, communal lifestyle, the Shakers' primary business was herbalism and agriculture. Shakers are also known for their practical yet beautiful furniture and handicrafts. Built in 1824, the herb house was used until 1910 when the business closed after competition from the growing pharmaceutical industry. Today, the Sabbathday Shakers earn income from land leases, orchards, and selling crafts and herbs.
The restored herb house will headquarter the Shakers' herb production and provide year-round space for visitors - classes and demonstrations in herbalism and agriculture, culinary arts, traditional crafts, and educational opportunities for schools.
Hannah Whalen, MaineCF director of philanthropy and donor services, said preserving Shaker history is important to the donor. "They wanted to help preserve the historically and culturally important project, but chose to remain anonymous," she said.
Anonymous giving happens to align with the Shakers' philosophy.
"To give to someone anonymously is the greatest gift of all," said Brother Arnold Hadd, a 40-year Shaker Village resident. "For them to want to stay in the shadows without being recognized increases the impact of the gift."
"Donors choose to remain anonymous for many reasons," Whalen said. "It could be that they would rather not be solicited for gifts, or they would rather keep their finances private. It is also an altruistic way of giving; they may simply want to give back without public acknowledgement." On the other hand, donors who give publicly offer their names and influence that may inspire others to give.
Donors with advised funds at MaineCF may choose to remain anonymous for all grants they recommend or only for specified gifts. They also might choose anonymity if the causes they support could be considered controversial in their social or professional circles.
"In Maine, we have 'the millionaire next door,"' Whalen said. "It might be a neighbor driving a 25-year-old Subaru who happens to be a philanthropist and they want to remain private about that."
"There is a stoicism in Maine," Graham said. "When you need help, people show up. It is the donor saying, 'l don't want this to be about me and my name - I want to keep this about the project."'
Restoration of the center will begin this summer and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 - a serendipitous date that marks the bicentennial of the original structure. The project is the largest in the history of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village and one that will both touch on the past and shepherd the Shaker spirit into the future.
Said Brother Arnold of the support, "It really does hit you in the heart and shows that there is goodness and kindness in the world."
Slideshow photo captions:
- Brother Arnold stands in front of the Herb House at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester. Gregory Rec photos
- An antique sign in the Herb House, which will be renovated beginning this summer.
- The Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village property consists of 1,800 acres.
- Wooden chair parts are piled in a box inside the Herb House.
- The gravestone of Mother Ann Lee, which rests upstairs in the Herb House. Mother Ann Lee brought The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, better known as Shakers, to the United States in 1774. This original gravestone was sent to the Maine Shaker Village in the 1960s when it was replaced by a newer one because it had become so worn.
- A workspace in the Herb House.
