Betterment Fund Grant

Betterment Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Betterment Fund
Amount: US $10,000 - US $35,000
Last Updated: February 05, 2026

Summary

The Betterment Fund Grant provides financial support ranging from $10,000 to $35,000 annually, aimed at enhancing education, health, conservation, and community support in Maine. The fund prioritizes systemic community initiatives that address essential human needs while favoring projects with a proven track record in grant management. Special attention is given to projects in the Western Mountains region, although broader applications that meet their criteria may also be considered.

Overview

Grant Guidelines For application-based grants, the Betterment fund’s minimum annual grant is $10,000. The maximum annual grant usually does not exceed $35,000. The average annual grant, whether for multiple years or a single year, is $15,000-$20,000. Three years is the maximum period of time the Betterment Fund will consider for a multi-year grant. The largest grants tend to be made to applicants with a successful history of grant management with the Betterment Fund Current Grant Priorities Education, health, conservation and community support are our primary grant categories. We also recognize that certain projects transcend these categories and have defined a number of “cross-sector” areas. Community Support We favor community-wide programs or regional systemic approaches to issues to improve well-being within the following current priority areas: DowntownsBasic Human Needs:Legal Protections Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects. Any funding of scholarships at Maine colleges and universities is done only at the initiative of the trustees rather than in response to grant requests. Education We believe that every Maine resident is entitled to an education which equips the individual to lead a satisfying, productive and economically independent life, and we are interested in funding broad-based educational policy initiatives to that end. Please see “Health” and the Cross-Sector areas of “Early Childhood” and “Economic Development” for initiatives related to education in those areas. More particularly we fund: Educational QualityAdult EducationArts EducationHigher Education Aspirations Proposals less likely to be funded include individual school programs, programming supplementary to the curricula of schools, and construction projects. Conservation Perpetuating a balanced, dynamic relationship between the natural and built environments in the three-million-acre corridor between the White Mountain National Forest and the Moosehead Lake region is of particular interest. To that end we sponsor the following initiatives within the extensive and varied landscape which covers most of Oxford, Franklin and Somerset counties: Preservation of special places, particularly those identified by the local communities, along the spine of the Appalachian Trail and in the Maine West and High Peaks Regions.Support of the responsible development of working forests and agriculture.Preservation and restoration of threatened natural habitats.Opportunities for traditional Maine recreation in the target region.Support of water quality preservation of lakes, rivers and ponds. Occasionally we may fund projects of land trusts and environmental organizations located in the other rim counties, but we focus primarily on the Western Maine counties listed above. Health We are currently focusing our Health grants in the following areas: Maine Public Health PolicyOral HealthIncreasing Educational Opportunities for Health CareersCommunity Health ProjectsSubstance Use Disorder Please note that projects focused primarily on physical activity and healthy eating should be submitted under our cross-sector “Moving Communities to Health.” Proposals that are not as likely to be funded include medical research, projects relating to a single disease, actual delivery of medical treatment and capital construction or equipment purchases Cross-Sector Areas We have identified these areas as being particularly susceptible to consideration under more than one of our traditional priority categories. Economic Development We recognize that the expansion of Maine’s economy will advance other areas of Betterment Fund concern. We particularly support the following programs: EntrepreneurshipPrograms that promote scalable entrepreneurship, particularly in rural areas. Areas of particular interest include women- and minority-owned businesses and improved coordination of existing entrepreneurship and economic development efforts, including with educational initiatives. The development of careers and businesses in the trades is also of interest. Agricultural CapacityImprovements to the competitiveness and long-term viability of Maine farms and farmers by providing technical support and improving access to distribution and markets. TourismPromotion and development of quality tourism as an engine for economic opportunity in the mountain and forest regions, with particular preference for the Western Mountains region. BroadbandSupport of planning and implementation projects to increase access to broadband in local communities of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, and northern Cumberland Counties, conditioned upon local municipal and/or nonprofit community entities’ commitment of resources to such projects. Creative Economy The Betterment Fund is primarily interested in regional and statewide strategies promoting the economic enhancement of communities through arts and culture. Early Childhood The Betterment Fund has prioritized improvement of the education, health, and general well-being of Maine’s youngest children, from before birth through preschool age. Our focus in this area is funding the development of best practices for the physical, mental, and psychosocial health and development of young children. We support policy work that leads to the adoption of state or federal policies to achieve these outcomes and the establishment and maintenance of the broad infrastructure to carry out this work. We also are interested in the development of an economically viable and accessible system of childcare for working families. We are unlikely to make grants to individual school or childcare center programs. Moving Communities to Health Of interest are community-scale initiatives taking advantage of natural and other qualities inherent in the community’s locale and promoting the participation of its residents in active recreation and other activities (such as healthy eating) conducive to healthy lifestyles and prevention of illness. Essential elements of this priority include: A demonstrated connection to individuals’ physical and/or mental health; andInitiation by and for the residents of an identified geographic-based community (as opposed to individuals with common interests or attributes drawn from more disparate geographic areas). Philanthropy The Betterment Fund embraces opportunities to collaborate with other state-wide philanthropic organizations that seek to improve grant-making and support charitable activities in Maine. In addition to making grants, the Betterment Fund supports and participates in a number of funder groups around specific issues.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Betterment Fund makes grants exclusively to benefit the residents of the State of Maine. The concept of community is very important in all areas of our grantmaking. Community proposals should originate from ideas and needs of the affected population and demonstrate extensive support and other resources from the community or constituency.

Ineligibility

We do not generally make grants for historical preservation, monuments, museums, theaters, and historical societies. Our former practice of modest one-time capital grants to rural community libraries is no longer a Betterment Fund priority.Any funding of scholarships at Maine colleges and universities is done only at the initiative of the trustees rather than in response to grant requests.We are not likely to fund coastal, ocean island or fishing-related proposals.We do not fund support of particular business ventures or farms.We are unlikely to make grants to individual school or childcare center programs.