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A Message from the Board President
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Seasons greetings from the Maine Women's Fund!
I am heartened by stories of increased philanthropic engagement. Many are choosing to respond to the changed political climate by increasing their giving to organizations providing critical advocacy and direct services to women, people of color, immigrants and refugees, and to the LGBTQ community. Locally, the
Portland Press Herald reported on this increased support and profiled Maine Women's Fund grantee, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Program (ILAP), which provides free and low-cost immigration information and assistance to low-income Maine residents.
The Maine Women's Fund is committed to supporting and highlighting the work of our grantees across Maine, whose collective work increases economic and leadership opportunities, so that Maine women and girls thrive and their communities prosper.
In the New Year we will continue our critical core grant making, releasing our application on January 3rd. The Maine Women's Fund is also taking the lead in launching an exciting new grant initiative designed to respond quickly, throughout the year, to the needs in communities most impacted by our new political landscape. I look forward to sharing the details of this new initiative in the New Year.
Thank you for your support of our work and the work of our grantees! Please consider demonstrating your support through your year-end
financial contribution
.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season,
Sincerely,
Natalie Solotoff
Maine Women's Fund Board President
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Spotlight on Impact: Run. Learn. Protect.
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It has been a very busy fall here at the Fund, with visits to several of our grantees and lots of planning for our future grant work. With big shifts in the external environment, we wanted to share the important work of Maine NEW Leadership, Immigrant Legal Assistance Program, and Four Directions Development Corporation, three of of our strong
2016 Grantees.
More than ever, we are proud to be standing with them, in support of Maine women and girls.
RUN.
We are inspired by the many women who are dedicating themselves to run for office. In these times we need more strong women leaders to stand up for what they know to be true and for what they know to be right. The world is depending on that.
Applications for the 2017
Maine NEW Leadership program
are now open! If you are or know someone in college who wants to learn more about public service - at the local, state or national level, have her check
out the M
ai
ne NEW Leadership Program at the University of Maine, Margaret Chase Smith Ce
nter, which is open to traditional and non-traditional undergraduate college students from all backgrounds and majors. The program is FREE for all participants...
Read more
.
LEARN. 
Like many of you, we at the Maine Women's Fund are very worried about the safety of and support for the immigrant community here in Maine. In the last days before the election we visited the
Immigrant Legal Assistance Project (ILAP)
, another of our grantees this year. ILAP receives no federal funding for the critical services they provide to asylum seekers here in Maine. While they represent hun
dreds of people each year, they cannot attend to all who request their help...
Read more
.
PROTECT.
We know that like us, many of you have been following what is happening at the Standing
Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The actions there highlight the importance of Native sovereignty and self- determination and raise questions for us all around who decides what happens to our families and our communities, and how we can be actively engaged in transforming our future.
The Fund is honored
to be supporting the work of Four Directions Development Corporation again this year. Four
Directions helps members of the four Native American tribes in Maine - the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot - buy a home, start a small business, gain skills in financial literacy, and access counseling. Four Directions addresses systemic barriers to asset building posed by standard
collateral restrictions and underwriting standards by using financial tools based on the experiences and cultural norms of Native people...
Read more.
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Grants News: LOI Application Coming in 2017
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We are thrilled to announce the Maine Women's Fund will be opening our standard funding oppo
rtunity
with the release of our LOI in the New Year on January 3! 
In addition, to stand with those most at risk in this new environment, the Fund will also be developing a rolling grants program for small requests from organizations addressing the immediate needs of
communities of color, religious minorities, LGBTQ communities, and other disproportionately impacted populations.
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On behalf of the staff and board of the Maine Women's Fund, thank you for reading and for all you do to support Maine women and girls.
Office location:
74 Lunt Road, Suite 100, Falmouth, ME 04105
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The Maine Women's Fund thanks MaineShare for its ongoing support. MaineShare makes it easy to donate to more than 30 statewide organizations working every day to make Maine a better place to live. For more information, please visit the
website.
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