For a three-year period, beginning in 2022, the Grants for Change Program has committed to providing over $1.5 million in multi-year, unrestricted, general operating support to BIPOC-led and -serving organizations.

The organizations selected for each annual cohort will receive general operating grants of $45,000 over three years, or $15,000 per year.

Funded organizations will be invited to participate in a series of peer learning, training, capacity-building, and community outreach activities over the course of the grant period.

To be eligible for the Grants for Change Program, applicant organizations must:

• Working exclusively or primarily in Maine  
• Programming primarily serves and supports BIPOC communities   
• A Black-, Brown-, Indigenous-, Latinx-, Asian-, or People of Color-led (BIPOC) organization, group, or coalition. *The Grants for Change program prioritizes Black and Wabanaki-led and-serving organizations and BIPOC-led groups working in solidarity with Black and Wabanaki communities, however, all BIPOC-led and serving organizations working to advance racial justice in Maine are encouraged to apply and will be considered for grant awards.
• Implementing programs that advance racial justice in local communities or statewide.    
• Have an organizational operating budget, including administrative and programming budget, of under $2,500,000. (Not required for groups applying with sponsorship from a Wabanaki Tribal Government or other Tribal entity.)

To establish BIPOC-led status, organizations need to meet at least two out of three of the following criteria for the past two years:

• BIPOC staff leaders of the organization - 50% or more in leadership roles
• BIPOC members on Board of Directors - 50% or more in governing decision-making roles
• BIPOC organizers - 50% or more of on-the-ground, community interfacing staff/volunteers