As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $25,000 challenge grants to 19 nonprofits in Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis, Aroostook, Washington and Hancock counties to establish new permanent endowments or expand existing endowments. The challenge grants recognize the foundation’s origins in rural Maine and in Hancock County, where the foundation has been headquartered since its founding in 1983.

Receiving Endowment Challenge grants are the following winners:

. Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust, Orland.

. Northeast Historic Film, Bucksport.

. Salt Pond Community Broadcasting, East Orland.

. Acadia Senior College, Mount Desert Island.

. Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft.

. Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Hancock.

. Great Auk Land Trust, Milbridge.

. Healthy Island Project, Deer Isle.

. Mahoosuc Land Trust, Bethel.

. Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Limestone.

. Milbridge Public Library, Milbridge.

. Opera House Arts, Stonington.

. Penobscot East Resource Center, Stonington.

. Pierre Monteux School, Hancock.

. Rangeley Region Health Center Inc., Rangeley.

. Robert Frost Memorial Library, Limestone.

. Western Mountains Alliance, Farmington.

. Whitneyville Library and Whatnot Association Inc., Whitneyville.

. Woodie Wheaton Land Trust, Durham.

“We could think of no better way to mark the occasion than to provide support to help sustain these nonprofits into the future,” said Henry Schmelzer, foundation president.

“The challenge grants are supported by MaineCF donors who share our belief in strong nonprofits and in the power of endowments,” he said.

The Endowment Challenge is a one-to-one matching opportunity that requires selected organizations to raise $25,000 in new funds within 18 months in order to secure the challenge grant, resulting in $50,000 of new or additional endowment dollars. Selected nonprofits will receive technical assistance from the foundation to help them develop a case for support for their endowment building campaigns and to explore new advancement opportunities such as bequests and other planned gifts.

The foundation received 57 applications for the grants. A committee of foundation county and regional program advisers and several staff members reviewed the applications and made the selections.