Deadline: 15-Nov-22
Applications are now open for the Betterment Fund to benefit the residents of the State of Maine.
Grant Priorities
There are Four Major Sectors
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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
- Civil Legal Access for the Underserved
- Immigrant and Refugee Populations
- Alternatives to Incarceration
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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.
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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
Cross-Sector Areas
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They have identified these areas as being particularly susceptible to consideration under more than one of our traditional priority categories.
- Economic development
- Creative economy
- Early childhood
- Moving communities to health
- Philanthropy
Funding Information
Grants 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. The largest grants tend to be made to applicants with a successful history of grant management with the Betterm ent Fund.
Consideration
Qualifications for Betterment Fund Grants
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The Betterment Fund makes grants exclusively to benefit the residents of the State of Maine. The following are overriding elements in their consideration of grant applications:
- Geographically, preference is given first to the Western Mountains region and, second, to the more rural parts of the state, such as the top rim of the state down to Washington County, as opposed to Portland and southern or mid-coast Maine. They do participate in some statewide or regional projects.
- Education, health, conservation and community support are their primary grant categories. They also recognize that certain projects transcend these categories and have defined a number of “cross-sector” areas.
- The Betterment Fund is more likely to fund applications that address issues on a permanent, systemic basis rather than discrete local programs providing services.
- The trustees have spent considerable effort to define priority areas within their 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, their funds available for grantmaking are less than the amount needed to meet all such requests.
- The concept of community is very important in all areas of their grantmaking. Community proposals should originate from ideas and needs of the affected population and demonstrate extensive support and other resources from the community or constituency.
General Grant Considerations
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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 general operating support and specific projects and programs, and far less frequently for the acquisition of equipment or facilities. Endowment grants are infrequent.
- Fiscal Responsibility and Sustainability: The application's rigorous financial disclosure requirements are mandatory. They enable the trustees to evaluate the application for financial planning, responsibility, management and demonstration of a realistic plan for continuance of the organization and/or program after the proposed Betterment Fund grant has been utilized.
- Other Sources of Support: Sometimes the Betterment Fund can be the first outside funder; sometimes it is the last. It is rarely the sole funder. They also look for evidence of substantial support from the non-profit's constituency. Collaboration with other non-profits, municipalities, businesses, governmental entities and other groups is favorable.
- Needs of Particular Populations: The Fund has a particular focus on underserved rural populations. However, some other underserved Maine communities are distinguishable by common interests, experiences, history, language, race, religion, national origin or other characteristics rather than by geography and may require special support to access services and opportunities on a more equitable basis.
- Climate Change: The Betterment Fund recognizes that climate change impacts Maine's natural community and human population. Efforts that counter climate change by resilience or adaptation and that otherwise match the Fund's priorities are of interest in any category of grants.
- Exclusions: The Betterment Fund does not make grants to individuals or 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 IRC section 501(c) (3) and which are not private foundations, or (ii) exempt government agencies. An organization which is not itse lf tax-exempt may rely on a fiscal agency by a separate publicly supported tax-exempt 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/how-to-apply/