Maine Initiatives

Maine Initiatives A community-based foundation supporting social, economic, and environmental justice in Maine

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Want to do more to support immigrant leadership in Maine?Maine Initiatives invites community volunteers to become Reader...
01/20/2026

Want to do more to support immigrant leadership in Maine?

Maine Initiatives invites community volunteers to become Readers for the 2026 Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund. All are welcome!

Volunteering as a Reader is a remote opportunity to support and learn more about the robust, diverse, and highly skilled ecosystem of immigrant, refugee, and migrant-led nonprofits working across the state.

Readers are assigned 3 applications submitted to the 2026 ILO Fund to read and evaluate. Completed evaluations provide valuable community insights for this year’s ILO Fund Grantmaking Advisory Committee to consider as they select 10 new grantee organizations. All ILO grantees receive a $45,000 unrestricted grant paid out over 3 years, in addition to opportunities for peer learning, networking, and capacity building with their fellow grantees.

***Download the 2026 Reader Opportunity Announcement linked below for detailed application instructions. Submit your application by February 25, 2026.
maineinitiatives.org/content/uploads/ILO_ROA_2026_v4.pdf

Photos: Members of the 2025 ILO Grantmaking Advisory Committee. Photo credit: Yoon S. Byun. ROA design by Pamela Chevez.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund. The ILO Fund at Maine Initiatives is a pa...
01/13/2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund. The ILO Fund at Maine Initiatives is a participatory grantmaking program that funds, strengthens, and convenes immigrant, refugee, and migrant non-profit organizations in Maine, unceded Wabanaki Territory.

The 10 immigrant-led organizations chosen for the 2026 cohort will each receive a $45,000 unrestricted grant paid out over 3 years (July 2026 - August 2029), in addition to opportunities for peer learning, networking, and capacity building with their fellow grantees. Applications are due February 22, 2026 by 11:59pm ET.

Interested organizations are encouraged to review the Funding Opportunity Announcement with full details, eligibility requirements, and application instructions: maineinitiatives.org/content/uploads/ILO_FOA_2026_v8.pdf

You can also register for the optional February 4th information session for prospective organizational applicants: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/F-E36IKJTjGuSi4DP3oqNA #/registration

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Organizations chosen for the 2026 ILO Fund cohort will be selected by a Grantmaking Advisory Committee, the majority of which will be members of the immigrant community. Maine Initiatives’ participatory grantmaking process offers the ILO Fund ecosystem (current and past grantees, applicants, donors & peer funders, organizers, and members of the general public with a commitment to immigrant justice) opportunities to participate in the application design, review, and evaluation, and the grantmaking decision process. We view this participatory framework as an opportunity for both individual and collective learning about current work in Maine that advances immigrant flourishing, furthers immigrant movement building, and strengthens immigrant communities.

Images: 2026 ILO Funding Opportunity Announcement featuring 2025 ILO Grantees Mano en Mano (.maine) and New Roots Cooperative Farm (). FOA design by Pamela Chevez (.chevez).

This , donate on the MaineShare platform and support a growing network of nonprofits advancing justice and equity state...
12/02/2025

This , donate on the MaineShare platform and support a growing network of nonprofits advancing justice and equity statewide.

Donate here: t.ly/FaOnt

MaineShare is a donation platform supporting Maine Initiatives’ grantee partners, including MaineShare Legacy members and the current grantees of our community-led, participatory grantmaking programs: the Grants for Change Fund, the Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund, the Outdoor Equity Fund, and The Giving Project Fund for Community Organizing.

Check out the MaineShare platform - t.ly/FaOnt - , select the option to donate to all MaineShare organizations equally, and your single gift will support 93 community-based nonprofits leading justice work in Maine. You can also give to specific organizations, focus areas, or grant programs, allowing your giving to align with your personal values.

MaineShare: Giving Simplified. Action Amplified.

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Donations made through MaineShare provide unrestricted, general operating support to community-based organizations working across 10 different focus areas: Community Organizing, Economic Justice, Education Arts & Culture, Environmental Justice & Animal Welfare, Gender Justice, Health Equity & Safety, Immigrant-Serving, Racial Justice, Social Justice, and Wabanaki Sovereignty & Self-Determination.

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57 Exchange Street, Suite 100
Portland, ME
04101

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