The Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation is seeking applications.

The fund supports projects and organizations that promote Maine traditional handcrafts. Only nonprofit and municipal organizations are eligible; MaineCF cannot make grants to individual artists. New this year, due to the pandemic, the fund will offer general operating support grants ONLY to organizations whose SOLE mission centers on Maine traditional handcrafts. 

The maximum grant award is $10,000 for work that will begin September 1, 2021, or later.

The grant application deadline is June 1, 2021. The online application, eligibility criteria, other guidelines, and a complete list of 2020 grants are available at www.mainecf.org.

The Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund awarded $112,807 to 13 organizations in 2020, including:

Cultural Resources Inc., Rockport, to support the Wabanaki Arts Mentorship Program, an intergenerational teaching program of traditional crafts and cultural knowledge

Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, to equip new studio and studio annex buildings with tools and materials that support year-round ceramics arts programming

Wendell Gilley Museum of Bird Carving, Southwest Harbor, to expand the museum's virtual programming and to teach the craft of bird carving to a wider audience by providing bird carving kits for families to use at home.

Grant review and funding recommendations are made by people in Maine with expertise in traditional handcrafts. Funding announcements will be made in August 2021. For more information, contact Senior Program Officer Leslie Goode at (207) 412-2002 or lgoode@mainecf.org. 

Headquartered in Ellsworth, with additional personnel in Portland, Dover-Foxcroft, Rockport, 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.