Category: News

2024 land trust grant Fund recipients

Momentum Conservation is thrilled to announce the 29 recipients of the 2024 Land Trust Grant Fund Program. These Maine land trusts were awarded general operating support ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. Throughout the review process, Momentum prioritized applicants that are: working to center justice, open to trying new things, expressing vulnerability through sharing learnings, and committed to challenging colonial systems in conservation.

We read about challenges and barriers to achieving missions and goals that included competitive land and housing prices, differing levels of comfort with change, staff turnover, and lack of organizational capacity and funding opportunities. We also learned about many amazing projects across the state including organizations partnering with community groups to support inclusive gatherings, focusing on housing, prioritizing creative solutions for accessibility, centering equity in hiring practices, and committing resources to staff development.

This annual grant program will open for applications again in spring 2025.

Program Goals:

  • Strengthen the land trust community’s governance, leadership, strategic planning, financial stability, programming, and organizational development.
  • Help land trusts integrate equity and inclusion in their organizational policies, practices, and programming.
  • Position land trusts to broaden their membership, including by engaging BIPOC, low-income people, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities.
  • Support land trusts in developing additional social capital and infrastructure by facilitating connections to share lessons, opportunities, and growth.
  • Ensure that conservation is rooted in community, and that conserved land is accessible to the broadest range of communities for meaningful experience.

Below is a list of the 2024 Land Trust Grant Fund Program grantees:

Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Bomazeen Land Trust
Brunswick Topsham Land Trust
Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Downeast Coastal Conservancy
Downeast Lakes Land Trust
Falmouth Land Trust
Francis Small Heritage, Inc
Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Georges River Land Trust
Great Works Regional Land Trust
Greater Portland Community Land Trust
Harpswell Heritage Land Trust
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Kittery Land Trust, Inc.
Land In Common, Inc.
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Midcoast Conservancy
Presumpscot Regional Land Trust
Saco Valley Land Trust
Scarborough Land Trust
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust
South Portland Land Trust
Three Rivers Land Trust
Viles Arboretum
Western Foothills Land Trust
York Land Trust

SOUTHERN MAINE CONSERVATION COLLABORATIVE CHANGES NAME TO MOMENTUM CONSERVATION, ANNOUNCES 2ND YEAR OF LAND TRUST GRANT FUND PROGRAM

Momentum Conservation logo

 

Our organization, originally known as Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative or SMCC, has undergone many changes over the past three years. We are a statewide conservation organization, working with partners all over Maine. With support from the Onion Foundation, we awarded grants for the very first time, distributing $280,000 to 24 Land Trusts across the state. Additionally, we brought on two new full-time staff members who bring a wealth of passion and experience to their new roles.

Thus, we are excited to announce that Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative is now Momentum Conservation!

Additionally, Momentum Conservation is thrilled to announce year two of the Land Trust Grant Fund Program, a grant fund designed to support our mission to strengthen the organizational capacity and programmatic effectiveness of Land Trusts throughout Maine. The Land Trust Grant Fund Program provides unrestricted general operating funding to Land Trusts in Maine. This year, we are excited to invite all Maine Land Trusts to apply.

While our name may have changed, our goals remain the same. We will continue to work collectively in Maine to create mutually beneficial relationships with the earth, communities, and people. Our work will always be guided by the needs of our community and justice for the land. By building connections and working together, we can create incredible change, and expand what is possible in the modern conservation movement.

We’ll have more to share in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can learn about what’s happening at Momentum Conservation as we continue to update our website.

SMCC’s Land Trust Grant Fund Program Awards $280,000 to Local Land Trusts

This July, Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative with support from the Onion Foundation piloted the Land Trust Grant Fund Program, our very first grant-giving initiative. Through this process, we were able to distribute $280,000 in unrestricted grants to 24 conservation-focused land trusts across the state of Maine.

The SMCC Land Trust Grant Fund Program aims to give land trusts throughout Maine the resources they need to grow and succeed. This program was created in order to:

  • Strengthen the land trust community’s governance, leadership, strategic planning, financial stability, programming, and organizational development.
  • Help land trusts integrate equity and inclusion in their organizational policies, practices, and programming.
  • Position land trusts to broaden their membership, including by engaging BIPOC, low-income people, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities.
  • Support land trusts in developing additional social capital and infrastructure by facilitating connections to share lessons, opportunities, and growth.
  • Ensure that conservation is rooted in community and that conserved land is accessible to the broadest range of communities for meaningful experience.

Today we are proud to publicly announce the recipients of the SMCC’s Land Trust Grant Fund Program!

Arundel Conservation Trust
Blue Hill Heritage Trust
Bomazeen Land Trust
Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust
Coastal Mountains Land Trust
Downeast Coastal Conservancy
Falmouth Land Trust
Forest Society of Maine
Georges River Land Trust
Great Works Regional Land Trust
Harpswell Heritage Land Trust
Inland Woods + Trails
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
Kennebec Land Trust
Kittery Land Trust
Land In Common Community Land Trust
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust
Royal River Conservation Trust
Sanford Springvale Mousam Way Land Trust
Scarborough Land Trust
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust
Three Rivers Land Trust
Upper Saco Valley Land Trust

Maine Community Resilience Workbook 2023 Edition

The Maine Community Resilience Workbook (CRW) synthesizes available guidance and
resources to date into one document and provides a framework and stepwise process for including climate change in community-wide planning, municipal operations, or in homes and businesses for multiple users (2).

CLICK HERE TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD THE WORKBOOK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) As part of tailoring this workbook to Maine’s unique needs, authors examined and synthesized best available community resilience guidance already in use in Maine as well as existing resources from other states, federal agencies, and climate change adaptation networks.