Maine Initiatives is accepting applications for the 2024 Immigrant-Led Organizations (ILO) Fund.
Donor Name: Maine Initiatives
State: Maine
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/31/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The ILO Fund supports immigrant-led organizations whose work advances immigrant, refugee, and asylum seeker flourishing in Maine, unceded Wabanaki Territory. All immigrant, refugee, and migrant-led organizations are encouraged to apply and will be eligible for grant awards.
From 2024 through 2029, the immigrant-led Fund Program has committed to providing $1.35 million in multi-year, unrestricted, general operating support to immigrantled and serving organizations that:
- Provide critical direct service support to immigrant communities;
- Advance immigrant flourishing through community building, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and/or policy change;
- Strengthen immigrant communities by embracing and preserving cultural practices;
- Are led by and serve immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Maine.
The ILO Fund seeks to support work in the state that is:
- Intersectional
- They seek to support organizations that draw their leadership from and work in solidarity with other historically marginalized groups such as: women, LGBTQ and Two-Spirit, disabled, poor and working class, and those impacted by incarceration and the carceral system.
- Geographically Diverse
- They seek to support organizations from across the state of Maine: not just in more densely populated cities and towns in Southern Maine, but also in rural areas of the state.
- Programmatic/Thematic Variety
- Hub Organizations
- might be understood as serving various immigrant communities through more than one program across the state of Maine; relatively well-established with higher visibility to the general public; and having developed access to resources or established funding sources and relationships with donors.
- Emerging Organizations
- are typically providing specific or unique programs/services to one or more immigrant communities; staffed by a few people, many often in volunteer capacity; applying for first few grants and/or seeking fiscal sponsorship; and perhaps less visible to traditional funders and/or the general public.
Funding Information
The ten (10) organizations selected for the 2024 ILO Fund cohort will receive unrestricted, general operating grants of $45,000 paid out over three (3) years, $15,000 per year.
Project Period
3 years
Eligibility Criteria
To be Eligible for The 2024Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund, Applicant Organizations are:
- Working exclusively or primarily in Maine Programming primarily serves and supports immigrant communities.
- An immigrant-led organization, group, or coalition.
Eligibility Criteria For Immigrant-Led Organizations
To be eligible for a 2024 ILO Fund award, applicants are required to meet at least two out of three of the following for at least the past two years
- Immigrant key staff leaders of the organization: 50% of staff are reflective of the community.
- Immigrant members on Board of Directors: 50% or more are reflective of the community.
- Immigrant activists: 50% or more of on the ground, community interfacing staff/volunteers.
Applicants Are Also Required To Meet The Following:
- A Maine-based organization or group or a coalition/alliance of groups (we do not fund individuals):
- If your group is – or is sponsored by – a Wabanaki Tribal government you may apply without additional IRS designation.
- If your organization is a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS, you may apply.
- If your organization is fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, you may apply.
- If you do not currently have a fiscal sponsor or nonprofit 501(c)(3) status, you are still welcome to apply but will need to obtain a fiscal sponsor before the Grantmaking Advisory Committee’s Retreat in August.
- Have an organizational operating budget, including administrative and programming budget, of under $1,500,000. (Not required for groups applying with sponsorship from a Wabanaki Tribal Government or other tribal entity.) applying with sponsorship from a Wabanaki Tribal Government or other tribal entity.
For more information, visit Maine Initiatives.
