Edward H. Daveis Benevolent Fund

2023 Grants

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, for critical youth development programs: $10,000
Catholic Charities of Maine, to increase toddler child care capacity at St. Elizabeth’s Child Development Center: $10,000
Intercultural Community Center, to enrich the academic and emotional wellbeing of immigrant, refugee and low-income students through effective social services and support: $5,000
Maine Inside Out, to engage King Middle School (Portland) students in creating and performing original theater and engaging the community in dialogue about social change: $5,000
Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute, The Institute requests support to deliver its “My Values,” “My Voice,” and “My Vision” women’s leadership program in Cumberland County: $7,500
Opera Maine, for Opera for All, a program providing free, interactive opera-based education in Maine K-12 public schools, particularly schools in underserved communities: $4,000
Our Place Portland, to provide a space for youth ages 5-14 to receive basic needs, mentorship and family advocacy services: $7,000
Portland Community Squash, for financial aid and transportation for any Portland student enrolled in after school and summer programs: $10,000
Portland Public Library, to diversity the library’s collection of multilingual books for children and families to better serve our community: $5,000
The Center for Grieving Children, to deliver intercultural peer support programming to serve children, teens and their families who have resettled locally from countries experiencing war, persecution and natural disaster: $7,000
United Way of Southern Maine, to develop a thriving child care entrepreneurship ecosystem and increase the number of sustainable, accessible quality child care programs: $10,000
Woodfords Family Service, to develop a four-season outdoor classroom to support the clinical and educational skill building of young students with developmental disabilities in Greater Portland: $5,000
Youth and Family Outreach, for its nationally accredited early education program: $10,000

From donor-advised funds:

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, for critical youth development programs: $4,000
Greater Portland Peer Services, to provide targeted educational and employment opportunities to our most vulnerable residents: $2,500
My Place Teen Center, for programs that allow students to gain competency and trust in school as an academic success pathway and to avoid high-risk activities: $3,000
Our Place Portland, to provide a space for youth ages 5-14 to receive basic needs, mentorship and family advocacy services: $3,000

2022 Grants

317 Main St. Community Music Center, to provide free music education programs: $5,000
Intercultural Community Center, to develop a Girl Scout troop and community engagement club: $5,000
League of Women Voters of Maine Education Fund, to promote student civic engagement and build leadership skills: $10,000
Maine Boys to Men, to meet the increased demand for the Reducing Sexism & Violence Program: $7,500
Mayo Street Arts, for visiting artists: $7,500
Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute, for the My Values, My Voice and My Vision women’s leadership programs: $5,000
Our Place Portland, to fund a safe space for vulnerable youth to receive mentorship, resources and opportunities: $3,000
Palaver Strings, to provide 200 children with access to music education: $7,500
Peaks Island Children’s Workshop, to support early learning: $10,000
Portland Community Squash, to provide financial aid to hundreds of students enrolled in after-school and weekend programs: $5,000
Rippleffect, to fund the Rippleffect Outdoor Center: $10,000
The Telling Room, to provide creative writing, literary-arts education and youth-development programs: $7,500
Youth LED Justice, to train youth leaders in restorative justice and to support them as they facilitate restorative processes for their peers: $7,500

2021 Grants

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, for Torch/Keystone clubs to develop leadership and decision-making skills and build a culture of community service: $10,000
Locker Project, to provide healthy staples to families with young children through partnerships with 16 public elementary schools and nine Head Start programs: $7,500
Maine Youth Court, to relaunch as Youth-LED Justice, to empower youth in Greater Portland: $2,500
Mayo Street Arts, to provide students at East End Community School with in-school performances and customized hands-on workshops with visiting performing artists: $7,500
Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute, to support the "My Values," "My Voice," and "My Vision" women’s leadership program in Cumberland County: $7,500
Palaver Strings, to provide 180 young children from low-income backgrounds access to weekly music classes: $3,000
Portland Public Library, to serve children up to age 12 with early literacy and experiences that inspire imagination, curiosity, awareness, and learning: $7,500
Portland Stage, to continue implementing the Play Me A Story (PMAS) education program and, if necessary, the virtual PMAS Living Room Series piloted during the pandemic: $7,500
The Center for Grieving Children, to deliver bereavement and TLC Peer Support programs: $7,000
The Opportunity Alliance, to address early childhood development in families without English speaking skills and immigrant and refugee families by fostering a more inclusive and accessible learning environment: $7,500
The Telling Room, for an expanded Young Writers & Leaders program to serve multilingual immigrant, refugee, and first-generation teens in Greater Portland: $7,500
United Way of Southern Maine, to address the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on academic readiness and achievement and grow community-wide ACEs trainings: $7,500

2020 Grants

Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, Portland, to ensure that Great Futures Start Here is open to all youth in the community: $10,000
Center for Grieving Children, Portland, to continue delivering bereavement and TLC programs during a time when typical channels of grief support are lacking more than ever: $5,000
Cultivating Community, Portland, to continue to serve teens through the paid internship program and elementary-age students through school garden-based programming: $3,500
In Her Presence, Portland, to support IHP distance early learning support for immigrant children: $7,500
Locker Project, Scarborough, to provide healthy staples for children in elementary schools and Head Start programs in Greater Portland to take home to share with their families: $7,500
Maine Audubon Society, Falmouth, to pilot a “Mobile Habitat Lab” to bring safe, nature-based environmental education to young learners and their teachers at Portland public elementary schools: $6,500
My Place Teen Center, Westbrook, to sustain day-to-day operations and plan for the expected and unexpected future: $5,000
Portland Education Foundation, to create a multilingual video that promotes conversation/collaboration around the Maine Early Learning and Development Standards to help pre-K families at home: $10,000
Portland Community Squash, to provide remote programming (wellness check-ins, academic tutoring, neighborhood visits, physical activity) to 56 underserved youth from Portland public schools: $5,000
United Way, Inc., to address the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on academic readiness and achievement by supporting proven strategies and a community-wide ACEs training initiative: $7,500
Woodfords Family Services, Westbrook, to implement long-term robust health and safety solutions in the Early Childhood Services Program’s Westbrook Preschool to enable continued access to services during the pandemic: $7,500
Youth and Family Outreach, Portland, to expand YFO’s culturally diverse early childhood and family education services combined with new affordable housing -- a two-generation, two-pronged approach to family stability: $10,000