Guiding Principles for Maine Grantmakers

The Maine Philanthropy Center and its members acknowledge that philanthropy is a privilege that carries significant responsibilities to engender public trust. 

In accordance with this belief, the Maine Philanthropy Center board encourages Maine foundation trustees and staff to accept the following principles to demonstrate a commitment to the highest ethical standards and recognition of the importance of serving the public good.

1.  We are committed to knowing and fulfilling our legal and fiduciary responsibilities.      

2.  Our board or other governance body takes full responsibility for the  stewardship of our resources.         

3.  We honor the intent of our founders and donors in the context of the changing environments that affect the communities we serve.

4.  We act respectfully, responsively and openly in interactions with our applicants, grantees, donors, peers and the public.

5. We continually seek knowledge, consider different perspectives and gain experience to effectively address our mission, meet the needs of our constituencies, and guide our purposeful grantmaking.

6. We are dedicated to excellence in assessing the impact of our grantmaking in its support of the work of the nonprofit community.