September, sneakily, is a month of new beginnings. Back-to-school. Autumn. Football season. Pumpkin spice extravaganza.  [There is a lot going on. And the weather (finally!) decided to feel like summer all of a sudden.] In the midst of all of this excitement, I want to invite you to join our fall Grants for Change (G4C) […]

Does your employer provide you opportunities to support Maine-based organizations you believe in? If not, tell them about MaineShare. MaineShare leads an annual workplace giving campaign that allows employees to donate $10 a paycheck (or $3, or $5, or $25) to support a coalition of grassroots and justice-focused nonprofits in Maine. Employees have multiple options […]

The Grants for Change program at Maine Initiatives invites proposals from BIPOC-led and -serving community-based organizations who further the racial justice movement in Maine.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: lia@mi.slickfish.com July 21, 2023 Grants for Change is now accepting applicant proposals for its 2023 cohort. Grants for Change at Maine Initiatives is a participatory grantmaking program […]

Summer in Maine, in vacationland. Finally! Time to gather outside with friends and to visit your favorite swimming spot.   Summertime in Maine…and I keep thinking about the Neo-Nazis setting up shop just north of where I live. Maybe you’ve read about it. It’s not new news, but it’s recently gained statewide and national attention.  Maine […]

Many nonprofits have been evaluating needs and rethinking opportunities for their workspaces, given shifts in work schedules and arrangements, rental markets, and demand for services. In Spring 2023, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Maine Association of Nonprofits, Maine Initiatives, and Maine Philanthropy Center conducted a pilot survey of nonprofits and funders to better understand what organizations […]

Our work is rooted in a simple, yet transformative idea: that people can come together around shared values of justice and equity: to raise and pool money and get it to the people doing that work in our community.

I am coming into this month of June, with a profound sense of hope and possibility. Over the past few weeks, I have been in a number of powerful in-person gatherings: the Maine Philanthropy Center Conference, the Resident Community Builder Program at Maine State Prison, a First Light gathering, the GEO Learning Conference, the Peter […]

Maine Asylum Seeker Crisis SupportMaine Initiatives announces an urgent call to action to donate to the Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund to support the asylum seeker response in Maine. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: lia@mi.slickfish.com May 31, 2023 Immigrant-Led organizations are leading the asylum seeker response in Maine, working on the front lines with the individuals and families […]