Nonprofit groups get grants for gender issues

ELLSWORTH – Thanks to the Equity Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, six nonprofit organizations across the state will receive $17,000 in support for projects that support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

A grant to the Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center in Bangor will support the community-building work of the Lesbian Health Project, which helps to educate and empower lesbians to take care of their own health and to decrease the barriers they may face in obtaining health care.

The Children’s Theater of Maine in Portland received funding for its production of “Wrestling Season,” a theatrical work used to engage communities, students and educators in discussions of teen sexual identity. A grant to the Coastal AIDS Network will support its Gay Lesbian Transgender Questioning Youth Support Program in Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties.

With Equity Fund Support the Downeast Maine Chapter of the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network in Ellsworth will hold its Bridges of Respect 2002 Conference, to increase the number of educators, students and community members who are committed to reducing the harassment of students and other persons who are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or who are questioning their sexuality.

The Maine Diversity Alliance in Portland, the educational wing of the Maine Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance, will use its grant to design and maintain a Web site that will serve as a meeting place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Mainers and as a source of information on LGBT issues in Maine.

Prevention Works Harm Reduction Services in Lewiston will work with community members -youth and adults, gay and straight, in school and out of school – to create programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth in Oxford County, specifically in the Norway-South Paris area. A Community Working Group on LGBTQ Youth Issues will assess existing support for young people and make a plan for creating youth-driven, ongoing support services.

Established in 1996 with start-up funding from the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership, the Equity Fund has played a key role in building philanthropic support for organizations that serve Maine’s GLBT communities.

The fund has directed nearly $150,000 to nonprofit organizations. It also has provided training on everything from fundraising to tax issues in an effort to strengthen the many small, grass-roots organizations serving the GLBT community.

A statewide organization with offices in Ellsworth and Portland, the Maine Community Foundation is a leading resource for charitably minded residents who seek to strengthen Maine communities. In 2000, the foundation awarded $6.3 million in grants. For information, call toll-free (877) 700-6800 or visit the Web site at www.mainecf.org.