Grants will help 77 nonprofits in all 16 counties provide food, housing, and other essential services
The John T. Gorman Foundation has awarded 77 grants totaling $1.2 million to support nonprofits providing food, shelter, and other essential services to Mainers in need. Distributed through the Foundation’s 2025 Direct Services Grant Program, the funding will reach all 16 counties in the state.
“As conditions shift at both the state and national levels, many Mainers – and the nonprofits serving them – are facing growing uncertainty and need,” said Nicole Witherbee, President & CEO of the John T. Gorman Foundation. “At this critical moment, the Foundation is grateful for the tireless work of these organizations and proud to support their efforts to provide people across Maine with access to food, housing, and other essentials.”
This year, approximately half of the Foundation’s Direct Services Grants are supporting efforts to address food insecurity and housing instability among Mainers experiencing poverty. Other major areas of funding include transportation, physical and oral health, and household and hygiene needs.
The John T. Gorman Foundation is a private foundation based in Portland, Maine, with a mission to make Maine a more equitable place where all children and families can thrive. This focus reflects the recognition of our founder Tom Gorman that his personal success and achievement were largely derived from the support provided to him by his family and community, as well as his desire to provide those with fewer advantages opportunities to succeed.
| Organization | City/Town | Amount | Grant Description |
| Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care DBA Promise Early Education Center | Lewiston | $5,000 | To provide support for a food and winter gear pantry for children. |
| Area Interfaith Outreach | Rockland | $15,000 | To provide support for weekend meals, after school snack programs, home food delivery, and community self-serve pantry shelves. |
| Aroostook County Action Program | Presque Isle | $20,000 | To provide support for maintaining access to functional heating sources for low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. |
| Ascentria Community Services | Auburn | $10,000 | To provide support for Ascentria’s Maine Mental Health Direct Assistance Program. |
| Augusta Food Bank | Augusta | $10,000 | To provide support for Augusta Food Bank’s KidsPak Program. |
| Augusta Teen Center of The Boys and Girls Club | Augusta | $15,000 | To provide basic needs support for underserved teens in Augusta, Maine. |
| Bangor Housing Development Corporation | Bangor | $30,000 | To provide support for BangorHousing’s Pathways to Enrichment Program, which is designed to meet the unique needs of older adults and people with disabilities living in public housing. |
| Belfast Soup Kitchen | Belfast | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Bethel Area District Exchange and Food Pantry | Bethel | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Burlington Food Pantry | Burlington | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Catholic Charities Maine | Portland | $20,000 | To provide support for the Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage and Hope (SEARCH) Program. |
| Central Maine Area Agency on Aging | Augusta | $25,000 | To provide support for the Meals on Wheels Program. |
| Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust / Twin Villages Foodbank Farm | Alna | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| commonspace — formerly Amistad | Portland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Community Care | Bangor | $30,000 | To provide support for Community Care’s Shaw House Housing Program for youth experiencing homelessness. |
| Community Dental | Portland | $20,000 | To provide support for the Access to Oral Healthcare Program. |
| Eastern Area Agency on Aging | Brewer | $20,000 | To provide support for the Meals on Wheels program. |
| First Congregational Church of Waterville, Maine / Waterville Area Essentials Closet | Waterville | $10,000 | To provide support for the Waterville Area Essentials Closet. |
| Footprints Food Pantry | Kittery | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Franklin County Children’s Task Force | Farmington | $15,000 | To provide support for basic needs for Franklin County Families. |
| Friends in Action | Ellsworth | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| H.O.M.E. Inc. | Orland | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Harrison Food Bank | Harrison | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Healthy Acadia | Ellsworth | $15,000 | To provide support for the Downeast Gleaning Initiative, Folklore Farm, and Downeast Restorative Harvest. |
| Healthy Island Project | Stonington | $20,000 | To provide support for the HIP Lunch Box meals for older islanders and the community pantry. |
| Heart of Maine Resource Center | Dexter | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Hope Acts | Portland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Hope And Justice Project Inc | Presque Isle | $10,000 | To provide support for programs that assist survivors of domestic violence via basic needs supports at emergency shelters, and with transportation needs. |
| Jefferson Area Community Food Pantry | Jefferson | $5,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine | Portland | $20,000 | To provide support for supplemental diapering supplies for the Maine Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot. |
| Knox County Gleaners – FS Come Spring Food Pantry | Union | $10,000 | To provide general operating support for the Come Spring Food Pantry. |
| Knox County Homeless Coalition | Rockland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Lewiston-Auburn Area Housing Development Corporation | Lewiston | $10,000 | To provide support for continuous access to nutritious and culturally relevant foods for Lewiston Housing residents, to be distributed during micro-pantries, bi-weekly offerings, or additional times of urgent need. |
| Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry | Ellsworth | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Locker Project | Portland | $15,000 | To provide support for food assistance programs. |
| Lubec Community Outreach Center | Lubec | $10,000 | To provide support for the Community Food Resource Program. |
| Machias Area Food Pantry (MAFP) | Machias | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Maine Association For New Americans | Portland | $20,000 | To provide support for the Trauma Informed and Multilingual Transportation Program. |
| Maine Coast Fishermens Association | Brunswick | $20,000 | To provide support for the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program. |
| Maine Highlands Senior Center | Dover Foxcroft | $10,000 | To provide general operating support to the Helping Hands with Heart/Maine Highlands Integrated Response Network. |
| Maine Mobile Health Program Inc | Augusta | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Maine Multicultural Center | Brewer | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Maine Needs | Portland | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Mainely Teeth dba Mainely Smiles | Portland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Midcoast Community Alliance | Bath | $15,000 | To provide support for Midcoast Youth Center’s transitional housing program and its essential facility. |
| Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter | Waterville | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Moving Forward For Maine Reentry Sisters Corporation | Portland | $10,000 | To provide support to the Reentry Sisters Immediate Needs Fund. |
| MSAD 54 | Skowhegan | $15,000 | To provide support for the MSAD54 / SCTC Food Pantry. |
| New Beginnings | Lewiston | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| New England Arab American Organization | Portland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Northern Lighthouse Inc | Presque Isle | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Oasis Free Clinics | Brunswick | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Oxford Hills Community Gardens – Foothills Foodworks | Norway | $15,000 | To provide support for the Free Local Food Access Program. |
| Penobscot Community Health Care | Bangor | $20,000 | To provide support to the Hope House Medical Clinic, which provides essential healthcare to individuals experiencing severe poverty and homelessness. |
| Penquis C.A.P., Inc. | Bangor | $20,000 | To provide support for housing assistance for victims/survivors of human trafficking. |
| Piscataquis Regional Food Center | Dover Foxcroft | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Portland Recovery Community Center | Portland | $10,000 | To provide support for the provision of basic necessities that enables individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) to focus on long-term recovery. |
| Rangeley Health and Wellness | Rangeley | $20,000 | To provide support for the Food for All: Rapid Relief program. |
| River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition | Rumford | $10,000 | To provide general operating support for the Old School Food Pantry, a project of River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition. |
| Rumford Group Homes | Rumford | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Rural Community Action Ministry | Leeds | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Sacopee Valley Health Center | Porter | $20,000 | To provide support for the Helping Hands for Health Mini-Grants, an extension of CCPM’s Theresa Bray Knowles Gaps in Care Fund. |
| Safe Voices | Auburn | $20,000 | To provide support for Safe Voices’ 24 Hour Helpline. |
| Sanford Backpack Program | Sanford | $15,000 | To provide support for Sanford Backpack Program to continue to purchase food for its program recipients. |
| Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center | Biddeford | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Shalom House | Portland | $15,000 | To provide support for Shalom House’s Basic Needs Fund, which helps to bridge the gap between people living with mental illnesses and the resources they need. |
| St. Martin de Porres Residence | Lewiston | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| The Drop-in Center | Auburn | $5,000 | To provide support to the Laundry Voucher Program. |
| Through These Doors (formerly Family Crisis Services) | Portland | $15,000 | To provide support for a basic needs fund for victims/survivors of domestic abuse. |
| Trinity Jubilee Center | Lewiston | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Unitarian Universalist Association | Sanford | $10,000 | To support Corner Cupboard’s provision of non-food household items such as cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items to families. |
| United Way Of Aroostook | Presque Isle | $15,000 | To provide support for the Wheels to Work transportation program. |
| Unity Barn Raisers | Unity | $15,000 | To provide general operating support to Waldo County Bounty. |
| Veggies to Table | Newcastle | $20,000 | To provide support for the Grow-to-Donate Program. |
| Waldoboro Food Pantry | Waldoboro | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Winthrop Food Pantry | Winthrop | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Women for Healthy Rural Living | Milbridge | $5,000 | To provide support to Incredible Edible Milbridge. |
