12 Maine nonprofit leaders working to build racial equity get funding boost

Provided photo Amran Osman is the founder and executive director of Generational Noor, a Lewiston-based nonprofit that works to educate the immigrant community on mental health and substance use disorders.

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By Renee Cordes

A dozen Maine nonprofit leaders of color and their organizations will share $83,450 in funding from the Maine Community Foundation to help finance professional development and operating costs at their organizations, as well as networking opportunities.

Grants were awarded through the foundation’s Investing in Leaders of Color Program, launched in 2019 to celebrate diverse leaders and organizations doing critical work to build racial equity in Maine.

The program has awarded $69,500 to 10 recipients, while donors with advised funds at Maine Community Foundations are contributing $13,950 in the form of two grants, bringing the total to $83,450.

Recipients include Amran Osman, the founder and executive director of Generational Noor, a Lewiston-based organization that works to educate the immigrant community on substance use disorder and mental health.

“Being a woman of color myself, ILOC's central focus is particularly poignant,” Osman said. “It enables us to draw from the program’s resources and to steadily enhance our methods of offering indispensable aid to our community.

"This service is rarely afforded to individuals who are knee-deep in the disparities that uniquely face immigrants and the BIPOC community.”

The Maine Community Foundation, founded in 1983, aims to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and investments.