A Commitment to Equity
The Maine Community Foundation is committed to ensuring that Maine is a welcoming place for all people. We believe that all Maine people:
- should feel welcome, safe, and accepted;
- should be treated with respect and dignity;
- and should have equitable access to opportunities to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
This includes everyone – regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental ability.
Maine's commitment to ensuring equity is a moral and economic imperative. Maine’s future success, as a society and as an economy, is dependent on the state’s ability to fully engage all Maine residents. This includes those with thousands of years of ancestry here who have faced barriers to full economic participation as well as our most recent arrivals.
The Maine Community Foundation is committed to fairness, dignity, respect, and equitable access to opportunities. We work to ensure that these values are not just words; rather that they are manifested in the thoughts, attitudes, and actions of all people in Maine.
MaineCF will work with its partners and intensify its commitment to racial equity as one of five issue areas.
MaineCF Resources
The Maine Community Foundation supports efforts to improve equity through many aspects of our work. Here are some examples:
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Fund: This grant program was established to help people of color in Maine achieve greater equity. Grants are awarded to organizations that are led by and serve people of color.
Racial Equity Fund: This fund supports a range of programs to help ensure that people of color in Maine have access to opportunities and life outcomes not limited any way by race or ethnicity.
Equity Fund: This grant program helps strengthen lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) organizations in Maine and supports community-based initiatives that address LGBTQ issues and needs.
Community Building Grant Program: This statewide program supports organizations and programs that recognize and build on a community's strengths and assets.
Maine Expansion Arts Fund: This program supports indigenous, ethnic, or rural arts programs or projects, particularly those that serve areas with limited access to arts events.
Maine Charity Foundation Fund: This program supports community-based efforts to improve or increase access to transportation and/or to reduce social isolation for people age 60 and older to help them remain healthy, active, and engaged community members.
