The Maine Community Foundation seeks grant proposals to its Belvedere Historic Preservation and Energy Efficiency Grant Program. The program invests in the preservation, restoration, and retrofitting of historic buildings in Maine.

Grant awards of up to $20,000 are available for the preservation and reuse of historic buildings that serve as civic, cultural, or economic hubs for Maine communities. All proposed projects must be for historic buildings listed or declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or contributing buildings within a federally designated historic district. The building must be owned by an eligible nonprofit.

The deadline for grant applications is June 1, 2021. Application and a list of recent grants are available at www.mainecf.org; Applicants are encouraged to read eligibility and grant guidelines. Questions should be directed to Senior Program Officer Maggie Drummond-Bahl at mbahl@mainecf.org or (207) 412-0839.   

In 2020, The Belvedere Fund awarded over $345,000 to 25 different projects in all regions of the state. Grantees included:

• Biddeford Historical Society, to protect the Meetinghouse by reglazing three windows and painting two exterior walls
• Friends of Isle au Haut Lighthouse, to repoint and restore the damaged granite base of the Isle au Haut Lighthouse tower
• Kezar Falls Circulating Library, to restore the eleven windows of the 95-year-old Kezar Falls Library.

When the late Deborah Pulliam of Castine established her fund at MaineCF, she named it “Belvedere,” an architectural term that reflected her appreciation for historic buildings. Since 2008, the preservation fund has awarded more than $3 million to museums, libraries, churches, and other historic structures.