The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation is pleased to announce the Lewiston-Auburn Grants.
Donor Name: Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
State: Maine
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/25/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 4 Years
Details:
The Sewall Foundation remains committed to supporting community partners in Lewiston–Auburn through the L/A program. They deeply value the meaningful work taking place across the ecosystem and the strong collaboration that has been built among priority groups, steering committees, and coordinating partners. L/A’s collective efforts continue to shape a stronger, more connected community.
Priorities
The Lewiston-Auburn program will support organizations and efforts that address at least one of the community-identified needs:
- Housing
- Community and public health
- Food and hunger in Lewiston-Auburn
- Workforce and economic development
- Civic infrastructure and engagement
Preference will be given to work that:
- Delivers direct community services
- Provides organizational capacity building such as staffing, planning, and building sustainable organizations
- Supports community organizing, public policy and advocacy
- Provides workshops and educational opportunities
Funding Information
- Available Funding: $1,780,000
- Sewall prioritizes providing general operating support for multiple years. In 2026, the Lewiston-Auburn program will award multi-year grants (up to 4 years).
- Individual organizations/efforts: $25,000 to $50,000 (per year)
- Funds will primarily be for general operating support to allow maximum flexibility in use of funds
- Increased funding amounts may be available to organizations that meet multiple program priorities.
- Collaborations/efforts involving multiple organizations/groups: up to $150,000 (per year)
- Organizations should only apply once, either as an individual organization or as a collaborative
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.
