Maine Preservation, partnering for a fourth year with The 1772 Foundation, awarded one-for-one matching grants totaling $128,952 to 17 non-profit organizations maintaining historic buildings in Maine, including Maine Art Gallery on Warren Street in Wiscasset at the former Wiscasset Academy.

 

According to Maine Preservation’s Brad Miller and MAG’s board of trustees president Richard Riese, MAG won the highest possible grant the organization was giving out, $10,000, and it and matching funds will go to exterior painting and preparation for exterior painting. 

 

"Maine Preservation is honored to partner with The 1772 Foundation to deliver support to non-profit organizations that steward historic buildings integral to the fabric of communities across Maine," said Tara Kelly, Executive Director of Maine Preservation. “We are pleased to direct much-needed capital improvement funds to organizations for rehabilitation projects – enhancing accessibility and improving energy efficiency and climate resilience. The 1772 Foundation funds supplement the limited in-state grant resources currently available to support preservation efforts in Maine." 

 

The president of The 1772 Foundation, Margaret Waldock, commented on the importance of these grants to the preservation community. "With these grants, The 1772 Foundation continues its investment in preservation efforts that protect assets of community importance. While the individual grants may seem small, we have found they leverage considerable local resources and opportunities—community-provided matching dollars, support for local businesses and tradespeople, and the long-term power of incremental, small-scale capital investments in roofs, windows, and structural improvements that protect and maintain the value of assets over time."