MaineCF awards $430K to organizations serving BIPOC communities

The Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) awarded $430,000 to organizations serving Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC). MaineCF’s BIPOC Fund awarded 39 grants totaling $350,000. Donors with advised funds at MaineCF awarded an additional 13 grants totaling $80,000.

2024 grantees include: 

• Food for All, to provide food-insecure immigrants with access to culturally relevant food
• Generational Noor, to build awareness and access to substance use disorder and mental health services for Black, immigrant and people of color throughout Maine
• Khmer Maine, to improve the quality of life and social and economic wellbeing of Cambodians in Maine.

This year, MaineCF committed to funding BIPOC Fund grantees for two years. Grantees will receive a second disbursement in 2025. The application for the next grant cycle will open on Feb. 15, 2026.

This grant program is designed to help BIPOC people in Maine achieve greater equity by investing in nonprofit organizations; changing policies and practices that negatively impact BIPOC people because of their race; and supporting efforts to alleviate the impact of race-based discrimination and disparities.  

The fund was established in 2007 and leaders from various racial and ethnic communities around the state comprise its advisory committee. This year’s BIPOC Fund was boosted by funding from the Rockefeller Family Fund, Maine Health Access Foundation and the Abbagadassett Family Fund. 

Learn more about the BIPOC Fund and view all the recent grantees, visit www.mainecf.org/bipoc. For more information, contact Senior Community Partner Gloria Aponte C. at 207-412-0847 or gaponteclarke@mainecf.org.  

The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and strong investments. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.mainecf.org.