Preservation grants awarded to 18 Maine nonprofits 'have long-term impact'

An old brick building with a white steeple and a sign in front that says union meeting house

Photo / Maureen Milliken Union Meeting House Corp., in Readfield, was awarded a $10,000 maintenance grant from the 1772 Foundation in Rhode Island, one of 18 nonprofits in the state to receive grants, which are used for building exterior maintenance.

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By Maureen Milliken

Nonprofits across Maine are sharing $100,000 in charitable grants that will support building preservation and maintenance and have a long-term impact on local economies, according to the funder.

The Rhode Island-based 1772 Foundation awarded matching grants from $2,000 to $10,000 to 18 nonprofits from Kennebunk to Eastport, representing historic preservation groups in 11 of the state's 16 counties. The money can be used for exterior improvements like painting, surface restoration, fire and security systems, as well as repairing and restoring chimneys, porches, roofs, windows, foundations, sills and masonry.

Margaret Waldock, president of the 1772 Foundation, said the grants are an investment in protecting assets that are important to communities and their economic development.

"While the individual grants may seem small, we have found they leverage considerable local resources and opportunities — community-provided matching dollars, support for local businesses and tradespeople and the long-term power of incremental, small-scale capital investments in roofs, windows and structural improvements that protect and maintain the value of assets over time," Waldock said.

Greg Paxton, Maine Preservation executive director, said that the money for maintenance of historic buildings is in short supply in Maine, but the buildings "are critical cultural resources for their communities and the state."

He said the funding leverages additional support in Maine to help sustain the buildings, which are significant community assets.

A yellow brick theater building in art deco style with a large red dumpster in front and a glimpse of a river behind it.

Photo / Maureen Milliken

Augusta's Colonial Theater, which is undergoing renovation, is one of 18 Maine nonprofits to be awarded a 1772 Grant for exterior preservation work.

Preservation maintenance grants 'necessary'

It's the second year in a row organizations in the six New England states have been awarded the grants from the Rhode Island-based foundation, which partners with Maine Preservation on the state's awards. Last year, the foundation noted that the "vast response" to the grant program in its first year showed the foundation how necessary maintenance grants are to keep historic structures standing.

Paxton stressed the money is matching — nonprofits have to show they've raised their half when they apply — and the grants are an "endorsement of the efforts made by nonprofit organizations to fully assess the condition of their historic buildings and feasibly and durably maintain them using contemporary preservation standards."

Projects were evaluated by the Yarmouth-based nonprofit's field services staff, who also will manage the grants. The 1772 Foundation requires a building assessment before a grant can be issued, and Maine Preservation covers the cost for the organizations that can't afford it, Paxton said.

Four of this year's recipients have been awarded the grants two years in a row, including Union Meeting House Corp., in Readfield, which received the top amount, $10,000, both years. Others that got grants in both 2020 and 2021 are the Frances Perkins House, Damariscotta; Friends of the Greenville Depot, in Greenville; and Tate House Museum, in Portland.

A gate with a painted sign says Vaughn Homestead and Woods 2 Litchfield road a long drive winds down to a large white colonial house on a grassy lawn

Photo / Maureen Milliken

Vaughn Homestead and Woods, in Hallowell, is one of 18 organizations across the state to be awarded a grant this year from the 1772 Foundation for exterior historic preservation.

Organizations from every corner of the state

The 2021 grant recipients are:

•   Bar Harbor Historical Society, in Bar Harbor, $2,000;
•   Brick Store Museum, Kennebunk; $4,000;
•   Colonial Theater, Augusta, $2,500;
•   Eastport Public Library Association, Eastport, $7,600;
•   Frances Perkins Center, Damariscotta, $6,500;
•   Freedom Community Historical Society, Freedom, $7,600;
•   Friends of the Greenville Depot , Greenville; $7,600;
•   Historic New England, South Berwick, $7,600;
•   Hubbard Free Library, Hallowell, $7,600;
•   Norway Landmarks Preservation Society, Norway, $7,600;
•   Old Bristol Historical Society, Bristol, $7,500;
•   Percival P. Baxter Foundation for Maine’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, Falmouth, $2,500;
•   Phillips Historical Society, Phillips, $7,600;
•   Readfield Union Meeting House Corp., Readfield, $10,000;
•   Swan’s Island Historical Society, Swan's Island, $2,500;
•   Tate House Museum, Portland, $5,500;
•   Vaughan Woods & Historic Homestead, Hallowell, $6,800;
•   Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment, Freeport, $2,500.