New Century Community Program
The New Century Community Program (NCCP) was created in 1999 by the
Maine State Legislature to provide grants and services to a wide spectrum
of Maine's cultural community. The program is a collaboration of
Maine Arts Commission, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Maine
State Library, Maine State Museum, Maine Historical Society, Maine State
Archives and Maine Humanities Council under the auspices of the Maine
Cultural Affairs Council, a state coordinating entity. This unique program garnered $3.2 million in one year for grants and services,
all of which was distributed to communities throughout Maine. Continuing
funding of $1 million was provided by the Maine Legislature in 2001.
The program has three goals, namely, to
- strengthen local cultural resources including community arts activities, humanities programs and historic preservation activities
- provide educational services beyond the reach of the standard K-12 educational system such as those offered through after school programs, cultural institutions, and non arts organizations
- preserve both the state's material culture and its built environment through grants for preservation and restoration.
The New Century Community Program was never conceived as an "add on" to the existing cultural agency programs; rather program activities emanated from the goals and plans of the agencies. To that end, the program has been incorporated within the Maine Arts Commission's Community Arts Program.
