Community Building

Purpose

This grant program supports projects and organizations focused on making communities stronger.

Criteria

All applicants must meet the Maine Community Foundation’s grant eligibility requirements. Please read our eligibility and grant guidelines before submitting an application.

Your proposed project or organization must:

• Invest in people by increasing skills/abilities, knowledge, and/or well-being
• Engage the people you serve in the design, delivery, and/or evaluation of the work
• Strengthen community resources including organizations, partnerships, and built and natural environments.

Types of Funding

The Community Building Grant Program is one of the only grant programs in Maine that supports a broad range of projects and organizations across the entire state, including arts, education, environment, economic development, and human services. It is also MaineCF’s largest grant program and receives nearly 600 applications annually. It provides general support and project grants.

General Support for flexible funding of any type such as new/expanding/ongoing programs and operational needs including capital expenses. Your organization’s primary work must meet the Community Building criteria listed above AND your organization must:

• Be located in Maine, defined as your organization has a Maine address,
• Have most recent completed fiscal or financial year expenses BELOW $500,000, and
• NOT be a municipality, government agency, public school, or faith-based organization. (These organizations may be eligible for NEW project grants only.)

*NOTE: Answers to general support application questions should focus on your organization’s work (not a specific project) and how your organization meets the Community Building grant program criteria because general support awarded to an organization is for any purpose, not a specific project.

Project Grants for NEW projects within the first two years including capital expenses that meet the Community Building criteria listed above AND your organization must:

• Be located in Maine, defined as your organization has a Maine address,
• Have most recent completed fiscal or financial year expenses AT or ABOVE $500,000,
  • Municipalities, government agencies, public schools, or faith-based organizations may apply regardless of expenses
• Total project budget does not exceed $100,000, and
• Project expenses DO NOT include endowments, annual appeals, or scholarships.

Additional Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Find the answers to many questions by clicking here.

Guidance Available

This grant program is very competitive. Please read the guidelines closely and check to make sure you have completed the proposal correctly. Download and use the Microsoft Word version of the 2025 Application Questions and Guidance (links below) as it includes information to help you draft your proposal. This additional guidance is in red and will not appear on the online application.  

2025 Application Questions and Guidance:

• English
• Arabic
• French
• Portuguese
• Spanish

Primary County Served

Indicate ONE county that will most directly benefit from the funding requested. This will determine which committee will review your proposal. If people in three or more counties will directly benefit from your project/organization, then please choose the “statewide” committee option.

Timing of Requests

Community Building Grants can only support projects or activities that occur after the grant has been awarded, usually by June 1. This means that requests for support for any activities or expenses that occur before June 1 will be declined.

Eligible Expenses for Project Grants Only

The Project Budget may include up to 20 percent of the total amount requested from MaineCF for administrative costs. These funds may be used for overhead or operating expenses (examples: rent, utilities, bookkeeping) and can be a line item labeled as “administrative costs.” You may calculate this amount based on a percentage of the total requested (not more than 20 percent or $2,000 of a $10,000 request) and do not need to specify how the funds will be used.

Proposal Review Process

All proposals received are reviewed by staff to determine if they are eligible for funding. Depending on the number of proposals received, a subcommittee may also review the proposals based on the program criteria and decline some that do not closely match those criteria to limit the final pool of proposals to an amount a committee can reasonably review and discuss.

All eligible proposals included in the final review pool are assigned to a county advisor or staff member who will contact the grant proposal contact by email to schedule a brief telephone call in late March or April. Each committee collectively reviews all the proposals included in the final review pool for their county/region and decides which proposals to fund.

More than 130 volunteer advisors representing all 16 counites serve on committees that review proposals for this grant program. These committees are tasked with identifying the strongest proposals that meet the program’s criteria, represent diverse sectors, geography, and populations to have the greatest positive impact on strengthening communities.

Questions?

We encourage you to reach out to the staff member who covers the county you are located in with any questions. 

Learn more about the County and Regional Program.