$1 Million Awarded in 2021 Direct Services Grant Program

Grants will help 71 organizations provide food, shelter, and other essential services in all of Maine’s 16 counties

Portland – The John T. Gorman Foundation has awarded 71 grants totaling $1 million to provide food, shelter, and other essential services to Mainers in need through its 2021 Direct Services Grant Program. The Foundation increased funding to the annual program this year to reflect the incredible level of need throughout Maine during the pandemic.

“Even before the pandemic, too many Mainers were experiencing food insecurity, homelessness, and lack of access to many other essentials. Over the last year, the pandemic has only made the situation much worse – increasing unmet needs in Maine communities and straining the organizations that are working valiantly to address them,” said Lauralee Raymond, Program Associate at the John T. Gorman Foundation. “We are privileged to be able to support the efforts of these community organizations to help Mainers get through this extremely difficult time.”

The Foundation’s annual Direct Services Grant Program supports organizations that are addressing the basic needs of vulnerable Mainers. The largest numbers of grants this year went to organizations offering food assistance, addressing homelessness, and providing other supports to low-income families and individuals, such as clothing, household items, and heating and electrical assistance. Other areas of giving included support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, community transportation, immigrant services, and health care access.

Organization Award Amount Project Description County Served Organization City
Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine $9,000 To support economically disadvantaged kinship families through emergency financial assistance specific to food, heating and utilities assistance, and the provision of beds or cribs. Statewide Bangor
Amistad $20,000 General operating support to develop peer services and to address the needs of low-income individuals with mental illness and other life challenges. Their mission-focused work includes providing housing, food, clothing, healthcare navigation, and life-saving supports to individuals facing steep barriers. Cumberland Portland
Area Interfaith Outreach $15,000 Support will allow AIO to provide electricity disconnection assistance to clients who financially struggle to cover living expenses as a result of the impact of COVID-19. Knox Rockland
Aroostook County Action Program $15,000 To provide support for the Family Safety Program, providing safety in the homes of families with young children with resources. Aroostook Presque Isle
Augusta Food Bank $15,000 To provide general operating support for those suffering with food insecurity. Kennebec Augusta
Bangor Area Homeless Shelter $20,000 General operating support providing shelter food and other needed supports to people who are homeless and living in poverty in the Bangor area. Penobscot Bangor
Belfast Public Health Nursing Association $15,000 Provide support for community outreach services and purchase limited but urgently needed basic needs supports, for low-income and vulnerable individuals residing in Waldo County. Waldo Rockland
Belfast Soup Kitchen $15,000 To provide general operating support for those suffering with food insecurity. Waldo Belfast
Boothbay Region Community Resource Council $15,000 Providing support for increased access to food, housing, employment, transportation, heating assistance, and behavioral health. Lincoln Boothbay Harbor
Caring Unlimited $15,000 To provide general operating support for critical domestic violence support and safety planning programs and respond to the ongoing economic impact and uncertainty of the COVID19 pandemic by ensuring services remain available free of charge, and accessible 24 hours a day to anyone impacted by domestic violence. York Sanford
Castine Community Partners $10,000 Provide support of the Castine Area Relief Fund that provides weekly food distributions, rent abatements and utility assistance. Hancock Castine
Center For a Green Future also known as Growing to Give $5,000 Provide general operating support for providing farm fresh, healthy, organic produce to as many low income families and individuals as possible. Cumberland Brunswick
Christine B Foundation $15,000 To provide nutrition assistance to food insecure patients with cancer, recent survivors, and their families, in eastern Maine. Penobscot Bangor
Community Compass with the fiscal sponsor being Downeast Community Partners $15,000 To provide general operating support to Community Compass for the navigator program, helping families in a ten-town region connect with needed services to break the cycle of poverty and improve their life circumstances. Hancock Ellsworth
Community Food Matters, Fiscal Sponsor: Center for an Ecology-Based Economy $10,000 To support Foothills Foodworks, which pays community members a fair wage to make meals which are then provided to food insecure Oxford County residents. Oxford Norway
Easter Seals Maine $15,000 To provide critical housing supports and services for veterans and service members who are unstably housed, homeless, or at risk of homelessness in the rural Bangor area. Penobscot South Portland
Ellsworth Free Medical Clinic $15,000 Provide general operatings support for free healthcare and treatment to those without health insurance. Hancock Ellsworth
Emmanuel Lutheran Episopal Church $15,000 Provide general operating support for the Bridging the Gap initiative providing clothing and hygiene items such as toilet paper, tampons, shampoo, socks, new underwear, winter coats and footwear. Kennebec Augusta
Friendship House $5,000 Provide general operating support for men who are homeless transitioning from incarceration and/or seeking recovery from (SUD) substance use disorder. Cumberland South Portland
Healthy Acadia $15,000 To support the Downeast Gleaning Initiative, which works with farms, farmers’ markets, and gardeners to harvest surplus food and redistribute it to food security organizations across Hancock and Washington counties. Hancock/Washington Ellsworth
Healthy Community Coalition which is part of MaineHealth $20,000 To provide emergency food bags to low-income, food-insecure residents in Franklin County through visits to medical practices, a mobile health unit, and two community programming sites. Franklin Farmington
HOME $15,000 To provide general operating support for a homeless shelter and basic needs response programs such as food distribution, emergency overnight shelter, emergency firewood, and assistance with basic needs items not covered under SNAP benefits such as toiletries, sanitizer, and soap and warm winter clothing. Hancock Orland
Homeless Services of Aroostook $15,000 Provide general operating support for the Sister Mary O’Donnell Emergency Homeless and Aroostook Bridge shelters, the only homeless shelters for the general public in Aroostook County. Aroostook Presque Isle
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project $25,000 Provide general operating support for a full range of state-wide immigration legal services. Statewide Portland
In Her Presence $10,000 To provide general operating support for basic needs such as the purchase of food, diapers, phone cards for immigrant, asylum seeker and refugee women and children in the Greater Portland Community. Cumberland Westbrook
Knox County Homeless Coalition $20,000 Provide general operatings support for programs, including emergency homeless services, client care (case management with wraparound services), operation of a family shelter, youth outreach, case management and supportive housing. Knox Rockland
Lake Region Senior Service $10,000 To support a volunteer-based transportation service in Western Maine that provides rides to medical appointments for individuals without other transportation options. Cumberland Bridgton
Lubec Community Outreach Center $10,000 Provide general operating support for a food pantry and youth and senior programming. Washington Lubec
Mabel Wadsworth Womens Health Center $15,000 To provide essential physical and mental health care services to low-income people in Northern and Eastern Maine. Penobscot Bangor
Maine Coast Fishermens Association $24,600 To support the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program, which stabilizes Maine’s seafood businesses through supplying fish to programs serving food insecure people in Maine. Statewide Brunswick
Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition $10,000 Provide general operating support to provide basic needs for recent asylum seekers and undocumented families who are most challenged in the COVID-19 pandemic. Statewide Portland
Maine Inside Out $15,000 To support system-involved youth and their families through the provision of emergency funds, peer supports, and connections to community resources. Statewide Portland
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program $15,000 To provide general operating support for those suffering with food insecurity. Cumberland Brunswick
Midcoast Community Alliance $20,000 To support outreach to at-risk, homeless and/or unaccompanied youth, who are demonstrating an increase in needs, and complexity of needs, as a result of COVID-19. Sagadahoc Bath
Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter $10,000 Provide general operating support to provide shelter, case management and housing services to all homeless individuals. Kennebec Waterville
Milestone Recovery $25,000 Provide general operating funds to support meeting basic needs of vulnerable Mainers experiencing homelessness and/or behavioral health challenges. Cumberland Portland
Neighbors Driving Neighbors $5,000 Provide general operating support for rides for the most vulnerable neighbors in need of transportation. Kennebec Mt. Vernon
New Beginnings $20,000 Provide general operating support for youth and young adults who are experiencing housing instability, trauma, and food insecurity, especially in the face of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Androscoggin Lewiston
OHI $15,000 To support the efforts of the Brewer Area Food Pantry to serve local food-insecure residents and families. Penobscot Bangor
One Less Worry $5,000 Provide general operating support for menstrual pads, tampons, toilet paper, bladder pads, toothpaste and soap. Knox Rockland
Piscataquis Regional Food Center $7,000 Provide opearting suppot for food delivery to HomeBound seniors. Piscataquis Dover Foxcroft
River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition $15,000 To provide general operating support for those suffering with food insecurity. Oxford Rumford
Rockland District Nursing Association $15,000 To provide general operating support for affordable, non-acute, in-home nursing services to low-moderate income elderly living in Rockland and seven surrounding communities. Knox Rockland
RSU 56 $2,400 To provide transportation support to families of remote or in-person learners who are truant, disengaged from learning, or otherwise in need. Oxford Dixfied
Rural Community Action Ministry $15,000 To provide general operating support for housing the homeless and providing hunger prevention services to low- income people living in rural Central Maine. Androscoggin Leeds
Safe Voices $15,000 To provide general operating support to assist survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sex trafficking/exploitation in accessing basic needs and community resources and services while they reside in temporary and transitional housing at the Safe Voices Farmington Resource Center. Androscoggin/Franklin Auburn
Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Charitable Trust $5,000 To provide general operating support for the Feed the Need initiative, which provides financial support to 11 food pantries in Western Cumberland towns (Casco, Gray, Naples, New Gloucester, Raymond, Sebago, Standish and Windham). Cumberland Windham
Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center $10,000 To provide general operating support for food and shelter at the Overnight Warming Center as well as provide essentials such as camping equipment and clothing items, underwear and socks for those experiencing homelessness. York Biddeford
Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine $25,000 To support staffing to respond to the high rates of child sexual abuse in York County and the demand for forensic interview services at the county’s Children’s Advocacy Center. York Portland
Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine $25,000 To increase outreach, education, and service delivery efforts, so as to better meet the needs of sexual violence and human trafficking survivors in the Midcoast area. Cumberland Brunswick
Shalom House $10,000 To provide support for an emergency fund that low-income clients may access to meet their basic housing, health, transportation and other critical needs when other payment sources have been exhausted. Cumberland Portland
Shaw House $20,000 To provide general operating support for the youth homeless shelter. Penobscot Bangor
Skidompha Library $2,500 To increase access to youth and adolescent mental health, wellness, and community supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lincoln Damariscotta
Somali Bantu Community Lewiston of Maine $15,000 To provide general operating support provide vital transitional services, advocacy, and food production that empowers members of the refugee community to uphold cultural identity and economic well-being. Androscoggin Lewiston
Somerset Career & Technical Center $15,000 To support the food pantry, food box, and backpack programs of the RSU 54 school district. Somerset Skowhegan
Table of Plenty $10,000 To provide general operating support to provide meals at two local sites in York County to those experiencing food insecurity due to stresses and hardships caused by the Pandemic. York Berwick
Tedford Housing $20,000 To provide general operating support for case management services, emergency shelter and homeless prevention/outreach to those experiencing homelessness. Cumberland Brunswick
The Progress Center $15,000 To support community meals and food distribution programs serving low-income people, including home-delivery to recently discharged hospital patients at risk for malnutrition. Oxford Oxford
The Root Cellar $15,000 To provide general operating support for emergency food pantries to address food insecurity in the Tree Streets neighborhood of Lewiston and the East Bayside/Kennedy Park Neighborhood of Portland. Androscoggin/Cumberland Lewiston
Through These Doors $15,000 To provide operating support for basic needs of victims/survivors of domestic violence and their children such as food, clothing, shelter, medical needs and transportation. Cumberland Portland
Trinity Jubilee Center $15,000 To provide general operating support for the Soup Kitchen by providing food and purchasing food from local restaurants to be served to the hungry and homeless. Androscoggin Lewiston
Twin Villages Foodbank Farm, Fiscal Sponsor: Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust $20,000 Provide general operating support to increase capacity to grow, store, and distribute high-quality fresh foods to those experiencing food insecurity. Lincoln Damariscotta
Union Street Brick Church $5,000 To provide general operating support for those experiencing homelessness with a focus on the hardest to house. Penobscot Bangor
Unitarian Universalist Association $5,000 To provide support for the purchase of essential household and hygiene items for people in need. York Sanford
Veggies To Table $5,000 Provide general operating support for providing farm fresh, healthy, organic produce to as many low income families and individuals as possible. Lincoln Newcastle
Volunteers of America $14,500 To support the Cabin in the Woods’ Community Coordinator, who serves chronically homeless veterans with mental health issues or economic situations affecting their ability to obtain or maintain permanent housing. Kennebec Brunswick
Wabanaki Health and Wellness $25,000 To support tribal members’ substance use recovery efforts through the Wicuhkemtultine (Helping All) program. Penobscot Bangor
Waldo County Bounty, Fiscal Sponsor: Unity Barn Raisers $15,000 To provide operating support for programs that help address the needs of food insecure people in Waldo County, including farm to pantry purchasing, gleaning, support to home gardeners, and related services. Waldo Unity
Western Maine Transportation Services $15,000 To provide general operatings support for public transportation and using this funding to match federal funding. Androscoggin/Franklin/Oxford Auburn
York County Community Action Corp $15,000 To support same-day transportation services for York County residents, so they may meet essential, urgent needs. York Sanford
York County Shelter Programs $15,000 To provide general operating support for shelter and a food pantry for those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. York Alfred

ABOUT THE JOHN T. GORMAN FOUNDATION

John T. Gorman, known as Tom, was a grandson of L.L. Bean and established the Foundation in 1995 to help disadvantaged Mainers. In recent years, the independent, statewide Foundation has moved to focus strategically on four key areas: improving educational achievement for children; promoting successful transitions to adulthood for vulnerable older youth; helping struggling parents to support their families and enabling low-income seniors to remain in their homes as long as possible.