ELLSWORTH & PORTLAND – Grants totaling more than $$134,259 have been awarded through the Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. The fund supports projects and organizations that promote traditional handcrafts throughout the state. An anonymous donor established the fund in 2007.

Grantees include:

• American Furniture Masters Institute, to expand educational programs at the Maine State Prison so residents obtain the skills and knowledge to sell work through the Maine Crafts Association
• Cultural Resources, Inc., to create the Wabanaki Arts Mentorship Program, an intergenerational teaching program of traditional basketmaking and cultural knowledge
• Penobscot Boys and Girls Club, to create a traditional handcrafts artist-based project utilizing Tribal expertise to teach Maliseet youth cultural preservation
• University of Maine, Hudson Museum, to increase public knowledge of Maine Indian traditional handcrafts and create four Masterworks for enhanced access to exhibit-quality pieces in Maine
• Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, to purchase start-up materials and equipment for a new ceramic arts gallery located at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Midcoast Maine.

A full list of grant recipients is available at www.mainecf.org.

The next grant application deadline is June 1, 2020. The online application and guidelines are available at www.mainecf.org. For more information, contact Leslie Goode, program officer, at (207) 412-2002.

Headquartered in Ellsworth, with additional personnel in Portland, Dover-Foxcroft, and Mars Hill, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors and other partners to provide strong investments, personalized service, local expertise, and strategic giving to improve the quality of life for all Maine people. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.mainecf.org.