Quality of Place Initiative

Welcome to the Environmental Funders Network e-newsletter. 

The term “quality of place” conveys the essential relationship between Maine’s environmental well-being, its economic prosperity, and the overall quality of life. Through financial support, collaborative grantmaking, and learning opportunities, the EFN is bringing nonprofits, governmental agencies, business, and philanthropy together to implement sustainable quality of place strategies. Learn more.

Grantees on the Ground:

Casco Bay Estuary Partnership/Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition

Thanks to water quality improvements, removal of the Smelt Hill Dam, and long-term efforts to restore sea-run fish, the Presumpscot is a river in recovery. Ongoing community interest in conserving the resource is evidenced by efforts to establish the Sebago to the Sea Trail, which will run alongside the Presumpscot. The volunteer-led Presumpscot River Watershed Coalition is bringing together local land trusts, municipalities, and other primary stakeholders to develop a vision for land conservation in the watershed. The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership is serving as project lead for the coalition. Among core values are maintaining water quality, active farmland, fisheries, and working forests. Learn more about the coalition's work here.

“After decades of turning our backs on the Presumpscot, there is now an opportunity to protect a relatively undeveloped watershed close to Maine’s fastest-growing urban area.” -- Matt Craig, Technical Program Coordinator, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership

Who’s in the Network:

Karen Voci

Karen Voci is executive director of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, the corporate philanthropy branch of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Prior to joining the foundation, Voci was senior vice president for program at the Rhode Island Foundation. She has also served on the Board of Trustees of Grantmakers in Health, a national leadership organization for health philanthropies.

As part of its five-year "Growing Up Healthy" initiative, the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation has joined with funders in Maine to invest in strategies that help schools and communities make healthy choices for food and physical activity for children ages 6-12. States Voci, “So many of the EFN projects include community endeavors and recreational opportunities that allow kids to grow up healthy, which is why we are a partner." More about the network.

From Around the State ...

EFN’s Quality of Place grantees, along with several other organizations, hosted a forum in Bangor at which four of the five candidates for governor discussed their vision for Maine’s future. It was a fitting outcome for the first year of EFN’s “From Vision to Action” Quality of Place Initiative: the grantees took the call to action to heart. News stories about the forum: Candidates Debate Quality of Place; Candidates Joust on Environment, Business Growth

Also on the ballot this year is a $9.75-million bond request for funds to support land conservation, Maine’s state parks, and working waterfront preservation. If passed, the bond would direct $7.5 million to the Land for Maine’s Future program, which for 23 years has been at the heart of efforts to conserve land in the state.

Editorials on Question 3: Bangor Daily News, Yes on Question 3; Sun Journal, Keep Maine the Best it Can Be

... And Across the Nation

This month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $100 million in its new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant program. Forty-five regional areas, including two in Maine served by, respectively, the Greater Portland Council of Governments and the Northern Maine Development Commission, will receive funding through this new initiative, which is intended to build economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools, and transportation.

Coming Up Next from EFN

The EFN’s Quality of Place Initiative received 33 letters of inquiry; 10 of the organizations have been invited to submit full proposals. Decisions will be made November 18.

Save the Date: On December 6, the Maine Quality of Place Council, State Planning Office, Maine Coastal Program, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development are sponsoring a day-long dialogue on Maine’s Quality of Place.

On November 10, Maine State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., will be guest speaker at the Maine Community Foundation’s annual Inspiring Philanthropy evening at USM’s Abromson Center. Shettleworth will be highlighting the connection between historic preservation and downtown revitalization. To RSVP, e-mail portland@mainecf.org or call, toll-free, (877) 700-6800, ext. 2203.

If you missed the lively and informative Keeping Maine’s Forests program earlier this month, you can find a summary of the event on the EFN website. And the Keeping Maine’s Forests website is providing updates on its exciting collaborative work.

Our Mission

The Environmental Funders Network helps to identify and create ways to improve and sustain Maine’s natural environment. We accomplish our mission by identifying opportunities for individual or joint funding of initiatives, providing opportunities for education and sharing of information to gain a deeper understanding of trends, challenges, and solutions, and encouraging networking. Learn more.