Belvedere Historic Preservation and Energy Efficiency

Over the past 15 years, Maine Community Foundation’s Belvedere Historic Preservation grant program has awarded over 280 grants totaling over $3.5 million to museums, libraries, churches, historical societies, towns and other historic preservation projects across the state.

Overview

The Belvedere Historic Preservation Fund supports the preservation and restoration of historic buildings in Maine with a focus on historic buildings that serve as civic, cultural, or economic hubs for communities. MaineCF has broadened the scope of grantmaking for this fund by supporting efforts to preserve documents, artifacts and books as well as record keeping such as digitizing collections and creating exhibits. Almost all organizations and projects that previously received funding from the Belvedere Historic Preservation Grant Program are eligible to apply for the Community Building Program.

Applicants do not need to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places; however, we believe the standards for historic preservation are important and encourage applicants to reach out for technical assistance for your project by contacting the Maine Historic Preservation Commission when applying for support to preserve, restore, and/or retrofit historic buildings.

For questions on technical aspects of historic preservation and to review specific approaches for your project, please contact Mike Johnson at the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, mike.d.johnson@maine.gov or 207- 287-2949.

Applying for the Community Building Grant Program

Watch the 2025 Community Building Grant Program educational webinar here.

Deadline: Feb. 14

Types of Support: Project and General Support

Maximum Award: $10,000

Please review the criteria for Community Building on the website found here.

* Historic buildings do not need to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places to apply.

Questions?

For questions directly regarding these changes, contact Katie Howard, khoward@mainecf.org or 207-412-0832.

For questions about applying for Community Building, contact the staff person who covers your county here.