Applicants are now being accepted for the Food Systems Grants.
Donor Name: Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
State: Maine
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/25/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 4 Years
Details:
The Sewall Foundation is committed to co-creating a thriving, healthy, and just food system where local communities are guiding decisions about, and have abundant access to, the resources needed for collective well-being and the foods that remind them they belong.
Priorities
- The Food Systems program will support efforts that are working in one or more of the follow areas in Maine:
- Funding will be prioritized for efforts that:
- Are led by, and/or serving, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, rural Mainers, and women that strengthen Maine’s local food system
- Are equity-driven, grassroots efforts guided by the expertise of those closest to the injustices of current food system
- Contribute to the viability of healthy and just food systems (this may be through resourcing, technical assistance, capacity building, partnerships, etc.)
- Resource communities most affected by racial and socioeconomic inequity to build collective power and wealth
- Support both the immediate material conditions of those in need and the emergence of sovereign and just food systems
- Are smaller and have barriers to accessing resources (e.g., historically marginalized groups, fiscally sponsored work, etc.)
Funding Information
- Available Funding: $180,000.
Generally, grant funding levels in this program area are:
- Individual organizations/efforts: $10,000 to $60,000 (per year)
- Increased funding amounts may be available to organizations that meet multiple program priority areas.
- 1-4 year proposals will be considered.
- Collaborations/efforts involving multiple organizations/groups: up to $200,000 (per year)
- Occasionally, organizations may apply for both organizational and collaborative funds.
- 1-4 year proposals will be considered.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be eligible to accept tax-deductible donations as outlined in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes 501(c)(3) federal tax-exempt organizations, public schools, public agencies working for the State of Maine, or Indian tribal governments (and their political subdivisions) recognized by the Department of the Interior.
- The Sewall Foundation accepts applications from organizations and groups who work through a fiscal sponsor. A fiscally sponsored organization cannot have a pre-existing tax status and needs to have a clear not-for-profit purpose that serves the public. They require a fiscal sponsorship agreement submitted with the application that is signed by authorized signatories from both parties (the fiscal sponsor and the fiscally sponsored entity).
- The Sewall Foundation accepts applications from collaboratives of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. One of the partner organizations will need to serve as the fiscal host or fiscal sponsor for the proposal, depending on how your collaborative is structured. They do require a memorandum of understanding submitted with the application that is signed by authorized signatories from all partner organizations in the collaborative, OR a fiscal sponsorship agreement, depending on the collaborative structure.
- The Sewall Foundation has funded 501(C)(4) organizations in the past for specific nonpartisan and charitable work, however it requires additional considerations and expenditure responsibility. They ask that any 501(c)(4) organization contact program staff to explore potential grant support. Organizations with 501(C)(4) status should not start or submit a grant application before speaking with program staff.
- The Sewall Foundation does not provide grant funding to private for-profit enterprises, cooperatives, or individuals. Such entities might explore potential partnership through Impact Investing. Nonprofits with 501 (C)(3) status may apply for funding that includes paying for-profits, cooperatives, or individuals/contractors for services, but the nonprofit organization needs to be the entity that applies for, receives, and reports on funding. It should also be noted that funds received by for-profits, cooperatives, and individuals/contractors through a grant or contract services with a nonprofit may have income tax consequences for the entity or individual.
- Organizations may submit an application one time per calendar year. Some exceptions may be made in the case of fiscal sponsorships and multi-organization collaborations. Organizations with active multi-year grants must wait to apply for additional funding until the year in which the current grant-term ends.
For more information, visit EBSF.
