Outdoor Equity Fund
Expanding Outdoor Access
We are promoting safer, more equitable access to the outdoors and increased opportunities for nature-based learning in Maine, unceded Wabanaki Territory.
Through this fund, 10+ BIPOC groups receive $10,000 per year for three years.
Redirecting Resources
The fund uses a low-barrier application process to distribute unrestricted and multi-year funding. It shares access to an established outdoor learning network with organizational resources.
Photos by Micheli Oliver
Centering Community Voices
Wabanaki, Black, Indigenous, and other leaders of color in Maine help develop & design the fund and make decisions.
Relationships & Learning
The Outdoor Equity Fund provides space for BIPOC groups to share knowledge and build relationships with each other and with the broader community
2024 Outdoor Equity Fund Grantees
We are thrilled to announce our second cohort of Outdoor Equity Fund grantees!
Fostering a deeper sense of belonging in the outdoors for Maine’s Cambodian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander communities, working in solidarity with Black and Indigenous communities across the state;
Creating inclusive healing practices that are affirming and accessible for marginalized communities;
Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
Cultivating reconnection to the natural world and a healing reentry process for previously incarcerated individuals through outdoor activities;
Maine Soccer Development
Supporting soccer players across Cumberland County with resources and opportunities to gain discipline, performance skills, strength, and professional opportunities in the sport;
Mawita’nej Epijij: Welcome to the Gathering Place
Reclaiming Wabanaki cultural lifeways and reconnection to language, culture, food, and each other;
Strengthening programs of ceremony, peacemaking, sustainable lifeways, Wabanaki arts, Wabanaki languages, and wellness for Wabanaki peoples;
Niweskok: From the Stars to Seeds
Restoring the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub through rematriation and reclamation of traditional foods and healing;
Presente! Maine
Empowering displaced Indigenous and Afro-Latinx peoples of Maine through survival programs, community power building, cultural celebration, and transformative healing practice;
Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship
Expanding Wabanaki people’s access, management, and ownership of land in the state of Maine and bringing Wabanaki expertise and perspective into the conservation movement;
Wabanaki REACH
Promoting self-determination of Wabanaki people through right relationship to the land, education, truth-telling, restorative justice, and restorative practices in Wabanaki and Maine communities.
The first Outdoor Equity Fund grantees
We are overjoyed to announce our first-ever cohort of Outdoor Equity Fund grantees!
Bomazeen Land Trust enables the Abenaki/ Wabanaki people to renew caretaking and stewardship roles in lands and waters that have spiritual, cultural, or historical significance to the Abenaki/ Wabanaki people. Learn more.
The Third Place organizes community and cross-sector networks to build social and professional connections for Black Mainers. Learn more here.
Intercultural Community Center
The Intercultural Community Center (ICC) supports and improves the lives of immigrants and refugees by providing educational, health, social opportunities and resources. Learn more.
Journey ONEderland
Journey ONEderland works to liberate Afro-Indigenous people in Maine and beyond by strengthening relationships between people and the earth through healing retreats, art, science, and outdoor recreation.
Juneteenth Downeast
Juneteenth Downeast exists to give people of the African diaspora a place to connect, and opportunities to replenish that which was taken away, whether through connection to the land, the water, to resources, or to each other. Learn more.
Maine Association for New Americans (MANA)
MANA is an immigrant-led organization that promotes social and personal empowerment of immigrants through: Raising awareness of individual and collective trauma and how they affect our lives; Expanding people’s resilience building strategies by exploring various resources; Providing trauma-aware, multilingual transportation services to address social determinants of health; Connecting people with their peers across cultures. Learn more.
More Women+ Surf
More Women+ Surf is a women-led surf organization in Maine breaking down socio-economical, physical, and emotional barriers to create surf and water access for underserved individuals. Learn more.
Somali Bantu Community Association
Somali Bantu Community Association's mission is to provide vital transitional services, advocacy, and food production that empowers members of the refugee community to uphold cultural identity and economic well-being to thrive in their new life here in Maine. Learn more.
Tender Table celebrates Black and Brown community in Maine by connecting and honoring identities, traditions, joy, resilience, and fight for collective liberation through storytelling and food. Learn more.
Wabanaki Youth in Science’s mission is to inspire and support persistence in the sciences for Native youth by providing long-term education opportunities that integrate Indigenous ecological knowledge with western science.
Why an Outdoor Equity Fund?
It is the goal of the Outdoor Equity Fund to improve safe, equitable access to outdoor spaces and increase opportunities for nature-based learning in Wabanaki Territory, (now known as the region of Maine) for everyone, centering Wabanaki people, Black folk, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC).
Maine Initiatives and the Nature Based Education Consortium have partnered to co-create this Outdoor Equity Fund that will make grants to organizations, through a process of participatory grantmaking.
Barriers to outdoor access this Fund seeks to address:
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Generational wealth and land access disparities
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Nature-deprived living spaces in BIPOC communities
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Costs of outdoor gear, clothing, transportation, passes, etc
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Lack of opportunity for communities to lead themselves
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Disconnection and displacement from land and traditional nature-based practices
Examples of work this Fund seeks to support:
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Leadership development and mentoring
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Farming and gardening programs
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Outdoor expeditions
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Hunting/fishing trips
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Outdoor learning or environmental education school-based experiences
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Therapeutic and trauma-informed nature programs
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Land-based cultural continuation & preservation
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Land-back and land return projects
We prioritize process
What is participatory grantmaking?
"Participatory grantmaking cedes decision-making power about funding— including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions—to the very communities that funders aim to serve."
-from Deciding Together: Shifting Power and Resources Through Participatory Grantmaking
Aspects of our participatory grantmaking process:
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Underrepresented community members making decisions
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Peer learning and relationship building
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Creating and sharing organizational resources, partnerships, leadership and professional development opportunities
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Building community, organizational, and sector capacity
The Nature Based Education Consortium (NBEC) is a diverse, multi-sector network of organizations and individuals focused on building support for equitable access to outdoor spaces and learning opportunities for all Maine youth. NBEC believes that all Maine youth deserve the opportunity to learn in ways that connect them to their community and the natural world.
To learn more, visit nbeconsortium.com
Maine Initiatives is a participatory grantmaking organization. It is a network of individuals supporting greater social, economic, and environmental justice in Maine through informed, intentional, and collective philanthropy. Maine Initiatives’ community-based approach to philanthropy explicitly honors the voice, vision, and values that each person can contribute in the pursuit of justice and equity.
To learn more, visit maineinitiatives.org
For inquiries about the Outdoor Equity Fund, and to get involved, contact oef@maineinitiatives.org
Climate change affects everyone, and has unbalanced impacts across race and class. The Climate Education Advocacy working group is invested in these questions of climate justice in working for state-level policy changes.