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 […]

I had the joy and privilege to attend the Bar Mitzvah of a dear family friend this weekend. It was a beautiful celebration and had me reflecting on the idea that: Who we are is, in some ways, not up to us. But, who we become most certainly is. This is true for my friend […]

Maine’s Outdoor Equity Fund Announces Inaugural GranteesBlack, Indigenous, and People of Color -led organizations receive $300,000 to expand access to the outdoors FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: oef@maineinitiatives.org April 6, 2023 Maine’s first-ever Outdoor Equity Fund is awarding $300,000 to organizations that advance outdoor access, learning, and experiences for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. This new […]

I recently wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the New York Times in response to an editorial purporting to describe the “woke worldview.” I mention this mostly because it occurs to me that maybe no one reads the letters anymore: apparently, the Comments Section is where the action’s at!  But also […]