Deadline: 15-Jul-22
Applications are now open for the Betterment Fund Grants to benefit the residents of the State of Maine.
Grant Priorities
Four Major Sectors
- Community Support
They wish to assist communities to improve the well-being of their residents. The best applications will be for community-wide programs or regional systemic approaches to the issues. The following describes the current priorities:
- Downtowns
- Basic Human Needs
- Legal Protections
- Immigrant and Refugee Populations
- Alternatives to Incarceration
- Education
They believe that every Maine resident is entitled to an education which equips the individual to lead a satisfying, productive and economically independent life and they are interested in funding broad-based educational policy initiatives to that end.
- Educational Quality
- Adult Education
- Arts Education
- Higher Education Aspirations
- Conservation
Perpetuating a balanced, dynamic relationship between the natural and built environments in the three million acre corridor between the White Mountain National Forest and the Moosehead Lake region is of particular interest.
- Health
They are currently focusing the Health grants in the following areas:
Maine Public Health Policy
- Oral Health
- Increasing Educational Opportunities for Health Careers
- Community Health Projects
Funding Information
- Grants may vary in size from a single grant of $10,000 to a grant of $100,000 payable over several years.
- Most Betterment Fund yearly grant payments are in the range of $10,000 to $35,000, but the average is $15,000 per year.
- A grant may be made for more than one year but no organization will receive continuous annual support.
Characteristics
Four primary characteristics define a typical Betterment Fund grant:
- They give top consideration to projects in the Western Mountains region because of Mr. Bingham’s lifelong dedication to the area. Secondary priority is given to proposals focused on the more rural parts of the state, such as around the top rim of the state, down to Washington County. The Fund does relatively little funding in Southern Maine, Portland or the mid-coastal areas. They do participate in some statewide or regional projects.
- Education, health, conservation and community support are our primary grant categories. They recognize that many excellent projects transcend these categories and they welcome grant applications for projects that address multiple areas. They have also defined a number of “cross sector” areas which specifically combine Fund interests in one or more of the primary categories.
- The trustees have spent considerable effort to define priority areas within our grant categories. While an application that “hits the nail on the head” in terms of these stated characteristics is at least assured of serious consideration, our funds available for grantmaking are less than the amount needed to meet all such requests. They are willing to receive and consider an application that does not address all of these qualifications but the likelihood of a favorable outcome is diminished.
- The concepts of community and collaboration are very important to our grantmaking. While the exact definition of a community can be fluid, when they use that word they are looking for proposals that spring up from the ideas and needs of the affected population, and which demonstrate extensive support from the community in terms of dollars or volunteer hours. Applications are strengthened by featuring collaboration with other groups in the community such as other non-profits, municipalities, businesses or governmental entities.
General Grant Considerations
In addition to the stated qualifications and priorities for Betterment Fund grants, the trustees use the following general criteria for evaluating grants:
- Use of Funds: The Betterment Fund makes grants for the support of specific projects and programs as well as for general operations. On occasion, grants will be made for the acquisition of equipment or for facilities. Endowment grants are infrequent and normally made only to organizations that have demonstrated special merit in handling previous annual grants from the Fund. The Fund favors grants designed to build permanent capacity rather than short-term solutions.
- Fiscal Responsibility: Grant applicants must present a clearly thought-out budget for the grant program, not only for the use of the support requested from Betterment, together with specific information from recent full-year financial statements and the current budget for the entire organization. An applicant must demonstrate sufficient fiscal responsibility and management skills to ensure that the grant will be effectively used for its intended purposes.
- Financial Sustainability: The organization should demonstrate a realistic plan for the continuance of the organization and/or program after the proposed Betterment Fund grant has been utilized.
- Other Sources of Funding: Sometimes the Betterment Fund is the first outside committed funder; sometimes it is the last. It is rarely the sole funder. They look for evidence of substantial support from the non-profit’s constituency.
- Needs of Particular Populations: Some Maine communities are defined more by common interests and experiences rather than by geography. At the same time they are distinguishable from others by historical differences, language, race, religion, national origin or other characteristics. They try to keep in mind that these communities may require special support in order to access services and opportunities on a more equitable basis. They also have a particular focus on underserved rural populations
- Climate Change: The Betterment Fund recognizes that climate change affects Maine’s natural environment and human communities. Therefore, applications that counter climate change by resilience or adaptation and that otherwise match the Fund’s priorities detailed below will be of interest.
- Breadth of Approach: The Betterment Fund is more likely to fund applications that address issues on a permanant, systemic basis rather than discreet local programs providing services.
- Exclusions: The Betterment Fund does not make grants to individuals, nor does it make grants for the support of religious activities or programs.
- Tax-Exempt Status: The Betterment Fund makes grants only to (i) publicly supported organizations which are exempt from taxation under I. R. C. section 501(c)(3) and which are not private foundations, or (ii) exempt government agencies. An organization which is not itself tax-exempt may rely on a fiscal agency by a separate publicly supported tax- xempt organization or governmental agency. See the How To Apply page.
For more information, visit; Betterment Fund Grants.
For more information, visit https://www.bettermentfund.org/grant-guidelines/