Wiscasset Creative Alliance is pleased to announce a new fund to support community initiatives which further the Alliance’s mission of advancing and connecting the cultural, historical, and creative communities within Wiscasset.

When the Alliance was founded in 2019, its primary purpose was to provide a non-profit home base for several community initiatives, none of which were non-profits, already underway in the community. Those original activities, Wiscasset Art Walk, Museum in the Streets, Marketfest, and Friends of Wiscasset Village, became the Alliance’s programs and have benefitted from being under the umbrella of a 501c3 incorporated nonprofit.
 

Several new initiatives have since joined the Alliance’s roster including Wiscasset Homes on Tour, Schoonerfest, and Wormfest; the Friends group disbanded after the conclusion of the multi-year Route One construction project in Wiscasset Village. With the Alliance programs thriving and offering their community-building activities locally and regionally, the Alliance board of directors recently considered new ways to expand the nonprofit’s reach into the community. 

The board decision was to support the good work of others in Wiscasset through philanthropy. According to board president Alissa Eason, “Our programs know how to raise funds to support their events and activities, and revenue from Homes on Tour gives us funds to support additional charitable activities, and we chose to support other programs throughout our community with goals similar to ours.”

Earlier in 2024, the Alliance tested the philanthropy world by sending small grants, unsolicited, to a small selection of local groups. These included Feed Our Scholars for general support; the Organ Society of the Congregational Church for the purchase of menstrual products which they place, free of charge, in public locations; Partners in Education (PIE) for a teacher appreciation event; Alive on the Common to support its series of free public concerts, and others. Each group responded with appreciation for the injection of new funds to more easily accomplish a specific charitable goal, and Alliance board members were hooked.

Grant applications are available immediately with a return deadline of Oct. 15. Grant recipients will be notified by Dec. 18, 2024 by mail, and funds will be disbursed after Feb. 15, 2025. Applicants may be organizations, cohort groups, or individuals. A grant maximum is not being specified at this time, but grants are likely to be within a modest range. “We’ll learn more by doing,” Eason said, “and we look forward to it.” 

To complete an application, please visit the Fund for Good page on www.wiscassetcreativealliance.org or send an
application request by email to Alliance Secretary Lucia Droby, at ludroby@verizon.net