2023 Maine Preservation Grants Awarded
POMFRET, Connecticut
17 grant recipients announced
The 1772 Foundation, partnering for a fourth year with Maine Preservation, awarded historic preservation one-for-one matching grants totaling $128,952 to seventeen private nonprofit organizations maintaining historic sites in Maine. The grants ranged in amount from $2,500 to the grant maximum of $10,000, with four organizations receiving the latter amount.
Grants were provided for exterior work: painting; surface restoration; fire detection/security systems; repairs to/restoration of chimneys, porches, roofs, and windows; repairs to foundations and sills; and masonry repointing. Projects were evaluated by Maine Preservation field services staff, who also will manage the grants. Each grantee was required to have matching funds for its project.
Maine Preservation Executive Director Tara Kelly said, “Maine Preservation is honored to partner with The 1772 Foundation to deliver support to nonprofit organizations that steward historic buildings integral to the fabric of communities across Maine. We are pleased to direct much-needed capital improvement funds to organizations for rehabilitation projects – enhancing accessibility and improving energy efficiency and climate resilience. The 1772 Foundation funds supplement the limited in-state grant resources currently available to support preservation efforts in Maine.”
President of The 1772 Foundation Margaret Waldock commented on the importance of these grants to the preservation community. “With these grants, The 1772 Foundation continues its investment in preservation efforts that protect assets of community importance. While the individual grants may seem small, we have found they leverage considerable local resources and opportunities — communityprovided matching dollars, support for local businesses and tradespeople, and the long-term power of incremental, small-scale capital investments in roofs, windows, and structural improvements that protect and maintain the value of assets over time.”
Grant recipients were Araxine Wilkins Sawyer Foundation (Greene), Avesta Housing (Portland), Bangor Historical Society (Bangor), Bar Harbor Historical Society (Bar Harbor), Bearnstow (Mount Vernon), Augusta Colonial Theater (Augusta), Ellsworth Historical Society (Ellsworth), Farmington Maine Historical Society (Farmington), Fifth Maine Museum (Peaks Island), Friends of the West Durham Methodist Church (Durham), Wells Reserve at Laudholm (Wells), Maine Art Gallery (Wiscasset), Mechanics’ Hall (Portland), Norway Landmarks Preservation Society (Norway), Pejepscot History Center (Brunswick), Sagadahoc Preservation, Inc. (Bath), and Tides Institute & Museum of Art (Eastport). Grants were also awarded in each of the other five New England states and in Georgia.