Land for Communities Grant Program

The Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF) has introduced a new competitive grant program called "Land for Communities" as part of its broader climate initiative and commitment to equity. MaineCF has historically engaged in strategic evaluations and adaptations of its grantmaking, and in 2024–2025, it undertook a comprehensive field scan in collaboration with Momentum Conservation to identify needs and gaps in land conservation funding in Maine. With input from community advisors, MaineCF consolidated and replaced its previous land-related programs—Conservation for All and Maine Land Protection—with this unified program that aligns with recommendations from Maine’s climate plan and the priorities of the First Light community. The Land for Communities (L4C) grant program supports projects that foster stronger community relationships with land, specifically focusing on underserved populations and geographies in Maine. Projects must be located in Maine and either return land to Wabanaki Nations or Wabanaki-led organizations or use land for food-related activities such as hunting, fishing, wild harvesting, community agriculture, or fisheries. A key criterion is that the people served by the project must be actively involved in its design, implementation, or leadership. The grant offers two main types of project support: land acquisition grants up to $50,000 and non-acquisition land-based project grants up to $25,000. Acquisition costs may include the purchase price, legal fees, surveys, appraisals, and stewardship funding. Non-acquisition projects may include infrastructure development, convenings, technical programs, or dedicated staff time. Administrative overhead of up to 20% of the requested amount may also be included. Applicants are limited to one application per deadline and must adhere to MaineCF’s eligibility and non-discrimination policies. For-profit businesses and LLCs are not eligible. Applications are accepted twice yearly beginning in July 2025, with deadlines on March 16 and September 15. Application windows open on January 15 and July 15 respectively, and decisions are communicated on June 15 and December 15. The program is not offered on a rolling basis but is recurring. A webinar will be held on July 23 to provide an overview of the program, with the recording and slides made available afterward. Applications are reviewed in a two-tiered process. After staff confirm eligibility, applications are assigned to community advisors who initiate brief interviews with applicants. Final funding decisions are made by a community advisory committee, which selects proposals that best meet the program’s objectives and serve underserved populations. The grant is administered by Caitlyn Barker, who can be reached at cbarker@mainecf.org or 207-412-2029. Applications must be submitted through MaineCF’s online grant portal, accessible via the Log In link on their website. This initiative builds on MaineCF's long-standing investment in land conservation, which began in the 1990s and evolved through various programmatic iterations leading to this current offering.