The following grants were recommended by the Grants Committee and approved for funding by the Diocesan Council at their June meeting.
INTERNATIONAL POVERTY
- Christ Church, Gardiner was awarded $5,000 for the St. Jacques Parish school in the remote, mountainous town of Rosette, Haiti, which serves over 200 students in elementary and secondary grades. The church has supported the school and community for more than 20 years, and due to the ongoing crisis in Haiti, funding is an increasing challenge.
- St. Nicholas, Scarborough received $5,000 to support Konbit Sante, a local non-profit which works with the health system in Cap Haitien, Haiti. The grant will allow Konbit Sante to direct funds to pediatric nursing at the country’s second-largest hospital and use some of its general revenues for other vital programs, which have been negatively impacted by the withdrawal of USAID funds and 500,000 Haitians living in the U.S. being returned to Haiti because their Temporary Protected Status has been revoked.
DOMESTIC POVERTY
- St. Peter’s, Rockland received $3,500 for its community weekend meal program, Loaves and Fishes. In addition to coordinating the program and staffing three of 12 volunteer teams who serve the meals, the church also covers the overhead and basic expenses. As the guest list has grown, the grant will help with rising costs for fuel, food, supplies, and transportation.
- St. George’s Sanford was awarded $2,000 to support Baby Blessings, which provides diapers and baby wipes to local families in need. The church plans to use the funds to bulk-purchase diapers at a discount and solidify a sustainability plan for the seven-year-old program.
- St. Elizabeth’s Essentials Pantry, Portland, received $2,500, which will allow the program to offer additional quantities of soap, toilet paper, diapers, and feminine hygiene and incontinence products to its growing list of clients, many of whom are new Mainers.
- St. Martin’s, Palmyra was awarded $4,000 to help fund its free, every-other-month community suppers, which the church launched in February. The money will help take the financial burden off of parishioners to purchase food and supplies for the meals and to sustain the well-received outreach effort.
NEW INITIATIVES
- St. Nicholas, Scarborough, received $7,200 to fund Bridge for Peace, a start-up ministry that supports new Mainers and fosters community integration. The plan includes an assessment of needs, cultivating community partnerships to promote immigrant-friendly policies and practices, and organizing social events to build connection and understanding.
- Grace Church, Bath, was awarded $4,000 for the Grace Park Revitalization and Expansion Project, which calls for a significant upgrade of the children’s playground and surrounding open space located on church property. The mission of the project is to provide a safe and accessible “third space” outside of home/work/school for the community to gather, play, and rest.
Funding for Domestic Poverty and New Initiatives grants is still available in 2025 and LOIs (Letters of Intent) are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply here.