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Photo Credit: Marti Stone
Caption: The Belfast Soup Kitchen recently received a grant from UMC’s Rapid Response Fund

We are pleased to announce the latest round of grant awards from UMC’s new Rapid Response Fund (RRF), which provides stopgap support for local nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UMC’s Rapid Response Grants totaled $39,000 in April and May. The awards included:

·         $3,000 to the Belfast Soup Kitchen to support increased costs associated with COVID-19

·         $5,000 to MidCoast Recovery Coalition to assist newly released inmates needing shelter

·         $3,750 to New Hope for Women for emergency shelter for domestic violence victims

·         $5,000 to the Rockland Salvation Army to support the increased need for food services

·         $5,000 to Finding Our Voices for a domestic violence awareness mailing to Waldo County residents

·         $5,000 to AIO Food and Energy Assistance to support a new warehouse manager in coordinating the efforts of local pantries to meet increased food needs

·         $5,000 to Waldo Community Action Partners to improve web-based communications about available services

In addition to individual donors, local organizations partnering with UMC on the Rapid Response Fund include Bangor Savings Bank, Bar Harbor Bank and Trust (BHBT), and West Bay Rotary Club. West Bay Rotary called on the community to match its contribution of $10,000, to achieve a total donation to the fund of more than $20,000.

“We are pleased to partner with UMC and so many community members who are stepping forward to make a difference,” said Jack Frost, BHBT’s director of community giving. “The Rapid Response Fund is having a positive impact on the tremendous work so many nonprofits are doing at this time to help with basic needs.”

UMC continues to receive far more requests for this type of urgent funding than the current fund balance can support. When donations come in, 100 percent are put to use for RRF grants. RRF funding decisions and awards have a one-week or less turnaround time. Additional contributions from the community will help with emergency needs, such as:

•                     Food for local pantries experiencing an unprecedented surge in need

•                     Soup kitchens seeing more families needing hot meals for the first time

•                     Housing solutions for homeless families

•                     Help and housing for domestic violence victims

•                     Meal delivery service for home-bound and elderly folks

•                     Support for those in substance abuse recovery

UMC’s initial goal is to raise at least $100,000 to help with local pandemic-related needs. For more information and to contribute, please visit unitedmidcoastcharities.org/rrf.

Image Caption: Cooking in the Community Kitchen for the Islesboro Community Care and Comfort Program. The project recently received a grant from UMC’s Rapid Response Fund.

Funds for Food, Shelter, Basic Needs

UMC’s first round of grant recipients have received awards from the new Rapid Response Fund (RRF), which the organization created to provide stopgap support for local nonprofits during the covid-19 pandemic.

The first round of grants totaled $7,750: $5,000 to Knox County Homeless Coalition to fund temporary and safe housing solutions; $1,500 to Islesboro Community Center’s Care and Comfort Program for food and supplies for community kitchen meal delivery to shut-ins; and $750 to One Less Worry to supply toilet paper for local food pantry clients.

In addition to individual donors, several local organizations have stepped up to partner with UMC on the Rapid Response Fund. They include Bangor Savings Bank, Bar Harbor Bank and Trust, and West Bay Rotary. West Bay Rotary launched a challenge campaign on April 14, calling on the community to match the club’s pledge of $5,000. To donate through their campaign and double your donation, visit https://unitedmidcoastcharities.org/wbr.

Since the onset of the pandemic, UMC has received far more requests for this type of urgent funding than the current fund balance can support. When donations come in, 100 percent are put to use immediately. RRF funding decisions and awards have a quick one-week or less turnaround time. Nonprofit requests of at least $50,000 are awaiting funding to help with:

• Food for local pantries (pantries are hitting record highs in food services, giving out more food boxes in two hours than they typically give out in a month, with 70 percent going to first-time clients)
• Additional housing solutions for homeless families
• Domestic violence hotlines currently experiencing increased call volume
• Increased demand for meal delivery service for home-bound and elderly folks.
• Crucial need for support among those in substance abuse recovery
• Essential public transportation for single riders who have essential jobs or needs.

UMC’s Executive Director Megan Williams says this is the tip of the iceberg, and she fully expects needs for services to continue to grow for several months.

UMC’s initial goal is to raise a minimum of $100,000 to help with local pandemic-related needs. For more information and to contribute, please visit unitedmidcoastcharities.org/covid-19-response/.

UMC is currently soliciting applications for our competitive grant process. Eligible organizations include 501(c)(3) nonprofits and groups with fiscal sponsorship. Recipients should be focused on making maximum impact in Knox and Waldo counties in one or more of UMC’s focus areas of Food, Housing, Health and Safety, and Economic Security. Of special interest are proposals that take a coherent approach to making a lasting difference in a social problem, and those where the service population is part of program design and implementation.

UMC provides grants to nonprofits for general operational budgets and programming. Program grants are reviewed on an annual basis, but new for 2020 is a two-year grant cycle for general support grants. We do not fund capital projects, endowments, or private schools.

The 2020 application period opened March 3 with a deadline of 5 p.m. on March 31. All applications must be completed online at unitedmidcoastcharities.org. Please call program coordinator Kelly Carey at 207-236-2299 with any questions about your proposal.

To expand the diversity in UMC’s grantmaking and to incorporate community perspectives into the process, United Midcoast Charities is pleased to announce the new role of Community Grant Reader as part of the 2020 grant review process. All residents of Knox and Waldo county are welcome to participate as community grant readers, especially those with living/lived experience in our focus areas. The grant reader process will take place entirely online, so internet access is required to participate. Readers will each be assigned three applications, and should plan on taking about four to six hours to complete their reviews during the month of April. Email kelly@unitedmidcoastcharities.org or sign up here by March 20 to express your interest in becoming a community grant reader.

Image: Top Row, L-R: UMC President Betsy Saltonstall, Vice President Lori Alexander, Treasurer Steve Kemple, Secretary John Viehman. Bottom Row, L-R: UMC Grants Committee Chair, Dr. Jim Hengerer, New Board Members Frank Hackett, who will serve on the finance and grants committees and Mary Sargent, who will serve on the communications committee.

UMC elected two new members to its board of directors at the organization’s Annual Meeting in December. They are Rockport resident Frank Hackett and Mary Sargent of Lincolnville.

Frank relocated in 2018 from the Hudson Valley. He has experience from past roles as partner at a CPA firm, COO of a leather design firm, CFO of a lamp manufacturer and a consultant to many for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Mary is the executive director of Penobscot Shores Retirement Community in Belfast. From 2010 to 2018, she was the administrator at Quarry Hill in Camden. She has been a West Bay Rotarian since 2012 and is the club’s immediate past president.

United Midcoast Charities, a community-supported nonprofit dedicated to grantmaking and capacity building for local nonprofits, has promoted Kelly Carey of Brooks into a new full-time program coordinator role.

Kelly joined UMC as administrative coordinator in February 2017. She earned a certificate in volunteer management from the Maine Commission for Community Service in 2018 and is a certified expert and trainer for Foundation Center Online.