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We’re working to ensure that everyone from every corner of the state can access meaningful experiences in the arts and the natural world.

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For an Equitable and Healthy Maine

We support organizations that are expanding our collective capacity for creativity and access to the outdoors.

Cultivate

We aim to bring people together, ensuring they feel connected to each other, the arts, and the environment.

Engage

We celebrate self expression, discovery, and activism.

Inspire

Meaningful experiences with nature lead to a deeper understanding of our environment and a stronger desire to protect it for our shared future.

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THE ENVIRONMENT

Creative expression has the power to connect people to each other, encourage critical thinking and dialogue, and advance a just society.

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THE ARTS

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Who We Fund

The Maine organizations that foster opportunities for artistic expression and connection to the outdoors are critical to sustaining the vibrancy of the state and its people. We’re proud to have supported — and to continue to support — organizations like these across all 16 counties.

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How Portland Trails Expands Equitable Access to the City’s Natural Network

Volunteer Series, Part Four: How To Recruit, Engage, and Partner With Community Volunteers

The Power of Big Lake — and the People Who Protect It

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Building community is a common goal among nonprofit organizations. After all, when the sociopolitical landscape seeds division, it’s the organizations that nurture shared experiences that bring us back together.

But how exactly does community building happen in practice? And how do we know when it’s done successfully?

 has some answers. As a community-built and community-driven making space, Rivertown has built and evolved its programming around the community’s needs. It’s become a shining example of the reciprocal relationship between a nonprofit and the people it serves.

“We’re all from a river town, from Allagash to Van Buren to the Fish River that cuts down the south,” says Jenna Jandreau, Rivertown’s founder. “Our name is an acknowledgement of this important landmark in our community.”

The nonprofit’s place-based name pays homage to what the community values, and that care and attention extends to the space itself. In addition to studio space, the organization is also home to a group lounge, where people gather to share skills, try new art forms, and participate in various clubs.

 likewise reflects the community’s interests. Jandreau and her team offer about 30 open classes on various arts — including drawing, painting, sewing, basket weaving, herbalism, and mushroom cultivation — to 

 each month. With a monthly membership, participants can take the majority of classes for free and use open studios and supplies for free at any time.

“People feel like they can try something different without having to shell out a lot of money for it,” says Jandreau. “It creates a low bar and a casual learning environment for everyone.”

Designing the arts center around inclusivity and connection was an intentional choice. As a former board member for Bar Harbor’s 

, Jandreau saw the profound impact a community-centered arts space can have on a region. When she moved back to her home to northern Maine, she knew the area needed something similar.

Her first step? Talking to the people. Jandreau shared her idea with families, parents, and community members and got not only enthusiasm but also insights on what the community wanted from an arts center.

From there, Jandreau and her team have truly walked the walk when it comes to community building. Here are the intentional decisions they’re making to center community in their day-to-day work.

Rivertown’s board of directors comprises individuals from different backgrounds — but “all with a passion for making things, whether it’s stories, poems, crafts, or pottery,” says Jandreau. Sitting next to Jandreau are two English professors from the University of Maine, Fort Kent, a college librarian, a high school art teacher, and a jiu jitsu coach and mother of two.

“It’s all about diversity of thinking. All of these people bring their background with creative experiences to the table,” says Jandreau. “That’s especially important in an isolated rural area, where it’s so easy to feel like you’re in your own bubble.”

From putting up flyers in grocery stores to posting surveys on the Mommy Goggles Facebook group with close to 3,000 moms from the area, Rivertown goes 

 the community to solicit feedback directly. The team actively gets to know people better and regularly asks what they want out of the space.

Listening to the public is vital, but it’s only the first step. As Jandreau notes, community building requires action, and she’s set the arts center up in such a way that allows her to quickly put feedback into practice. “We publish a monthly program schedule, rather than a semester or quarterly schedule, so we can be really responsive to what the community’s interested in,” explains Jandreau.

When the Rivertown team heard that people were interested in a rug-braiding class, for example, Jandreau put a call for instructors out in their regular newsletter. A rug-braiding expert responded, a group donated a large amount of wool, and classes were soon sold out.

Make Space for People From All Walks of Life

“We’re really proud of the fact that we have a space that’s safe for people in the recovery community. It’s an intergenerational and cross-political space,” says Jandreau. “I know people who are on complete opposite sides of the political divide, and they’re sitting across from each other, binding books and laughing.”

Opening the studio space to the public enables the Rivertown team to create this safe space for the community. People can volunteer to teach others, share their skills, or simply talk about life while trying their hand at a new art form.

Jandreau has sound advice for other community-oriented nonprofits: community building is an art form, so it’s going to get messy. Embrace that messiness, listen to what people need, and do your best to respond quickly to it. “Don’t go into a community and say, ‘We know this is what you need.’ Be very open and flexible to what you provide,” Jandreau advises.

With a second location recently opened on Main Street in Fort Kent and a strategic planning process underway, Rivertown is well set up to continue serving the community for years to come.

And for Jandreau, that’s more important than ever: “It’s amazing how 

our entire body responds to making things

. It’s an important part of being a human. There are loud voices in our society saying the arts aren’t important. They might be loud, but so are we.”

Explore how Rivertown Community Arts Center tapped into the community's needs to build a thriving arts program for people of all ages.

Rivertown Community Arts Center: Where Community Is an Art Form

 has awarded multiple grants to more than 200 organizations offering 

 to people in Maine. In each instance, we approach the decision-making process with certain questions in mind: Who’s involved in the work? Who are the people who show up to exhibitions and performances, open to learning about different art forms, cultural traditions, and ideas? Who are the artists invited to share their work with Maine audiences? Who are the people behind the scenes who work so hard to create these intersections for their communities?

Often, we will ask organizations these direct questions to help us understand not only who benefits from these programs but also whom the organizations are engaging to share their talent, stories, and beliefs. Answering these questions accurately can be tricky for our grantees as they infrequently query their audience members, participants, and artists about their identities. Doing so requires a clear purpose, respect for people’s time and privacy, and a carefully designed approach.

We were fortunate to partner with the experienced staff at the 

 at the University of Southern Maine to consider these questions together. Our collective thinking resulted in the 

“Demographic Data Collection Toolkit for Arts and Culture Organizations,”

 a comprehensive guide for arts organizations that want to use a values-based approach to shape their programs.

 that they aim to create welcoming spaces in which people, regardless of their identities, backgrounds, and abilities, feel comfortable. The Onion Foundation shares these 

, which shape our operations and our grantmaking. We’re gratified that organizations frequently cite that they create and offer programs “for everyone.”

But how do organizations know when they’re achieving these goals? How can they accurately track who they’re engaging? In what ways can they identify their gaps and successes and continually improve upon them?

The Data Innovation Project designed the toolkit to provide step-by-step guidance for developing and implementing a demographic data collection plan to answer these exact questions. It empowers organizations not only to gather concrete participation data but also to analyze that data to create more responsive and inclusive programming.

, goals, and data sources to create mission-aligned data collection plans

Understand and implement various data collection modalities, including the pros, cons, and resources needed for each

Begin where they are, including by modifying existing tools and communications to begin this work

With interactive planning worksheets, data collection templates, and case studies, the toolkit equips organizations with technical guidance for 

 and securing informed consent, and provides advice for handling sensitive topics. It’s a unique resource for arts and culture organizations in Maine — one that will undoubtedly serve as the backbone of many nonprofits’ work going forward.

In an era in which relationships with communities require extra care and respect, we feel encouraged by our many colleagues who are working with intention and love as they design their programs. This toolkit is an invitation to center and expand that work and to pay close attention to who’s participating in programming — and, perhaps more importantly — who isn’t.

In this current moment, inclusivity is a necessity. It’s what brings us together around shared principles, and it’s what helps us open ourselves to new and different ways of thinking. The arts have always done that for makers and audiences alike. They offer us a bridge into new worlds, experiences, and perspectives. We’re heartened to see so many of our arts and culture grantees explore the expansive potential of inclusivity as they build and refine their programming and operations. We hope this toolkit, with its actionable strategies and clear commitment to empowering organizations, adds to these efforts.

With Colleagues and Expand the Reach of Your Programs!

Learn how the Demographic Data Collection Toolkit for Arts and Culture Organizations helps organizations take a values-based approach to shaping their programs.

Who’s Involved in the Work? Inside an Empowering Toolkit for Arts Nonprofits

In 2010, Drew Dumsch, President and CEO of the 

, took the first steps toward an ambitious goal of ensuring every student in Maine had the chance to go to outdoor school. These programs are multi-day, interactive trips that teach students the fundamentals of environmental science in coordination with school curricula and state education standards.

Dumsch knew that reaching this objective would require more resources than the Ecology School alone could provide, so he partnered with the 

University of Maine’s 4-H Camps and Learning Centers

 to form what was initially called the Environmental Living and Learning for Maine Students (ELLMS) program.

Over the years, the program blossomed into a widespread collaborative of outdoor school providers. Yet, despite more organizations joining the collective, far too many students throughout the state still lacked access to outdoor programming — so Dumsch and his partners took their efforts to the next level.

Eight outdoor education organizations — U Maine’s 4-H Learning Centers, the Ecology School, the Chewonki Foundation, the Schoodic Institute, Kieve Wavus Education, Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership, Cobscook Institute, and Maine Local Living School — combined forces to transform ELLMS into the 

 network, an immersive learning initiative for students in grades four through eight.

When Things Look Grim, Turn to Your Partners

In early 2025, the network came together to petition bill LD895, which would lock in state support for its goals. In many ways, the bill was a rousing success. A number of Maine-based nonprofits backed the bill, and it ultimately garnered support on both sides of the political aisle. “Senator Rick Bennett sponsored it, and we had more than 100 cosponsors. It was probably one of the most popular bills of the 

Indeed, the bill passed with bipartisan support in May 2025. “Part of our goal was to try to transcend politics,” Dumsch says. “Getting kids outside shouldn’t be a Republican or Democrat thing, especially in Maine where the environment, farming, marine resources, and forestry are huge parts of who we are.”

 — a massive difference from the $1.5 million the collective needed to run a pilot project for half a grade level of students. Ever adaptable, Dumsch and his partners turned to private funding sources to make up as much of the difference as possible.

The Onion Foundation, the Betterment Fund, the Horizon Foundation, the Leonard C. & Mildred F. Ferguson Foundation, and the Quimby Family Foundation each made grants adding up to $450,000 to pilot the Maine Outdoor School for All program to 1,000 students.

But much work is needed to reach the initiative’s original goal. Dumsch and his partners have already launched a campaign to raise $1 million for the 2025-2026 school year, and they hope to scale that work to $6 million and eventually reach 14,000 students throughout Maine.

“I’m a glass-half-full person at all times,” says Dumsch. “You have to prioritize and show collective impact, and we’re doing that. I think another million [dollars] is feasible.”

Part of Dumsch’s optimism for a statewide, fully funded program is due to the fact that models for this kind of initiative already exist. Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota have all passed bills to establish experiential outdoor learning programs.

While those programs are largely backed primarily by state dollars, they’re programmatically similar to Maine’s initiative. Students supplement what they’re learning in their science classrooms with 

hands-on, interactive engagement with natural habitats

 and environmental processes. They develop communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, and come to understand the importance of environmental stewardship.

The programs bring entire classes or even grade levels on 

, not just those who opt in to out-of-school programs.

Piloting the Outdoor School for All in Sanford

In September 2025, the Ecology School led seventh-grade students from Sanford Middle School on a three-day excursion near the Saco River. “Diana Allen is a seventh-grade teacher at Sanford, and she was on the Nature-Based Education Consortium’s Climate, Education, and Advocacy group with me,” says Dumsch. “She recently won the state science teacher of the year award, so the minute we got funding, I knew Sanford would be the first place to focus on.”

During the retreat, students visited various ecological sites, learning about natural processes, food waste, and waste management. Students were excited to experience their lessons outdoors alongside their friends, and teachers walked away feeling as if they knew their students more deeply. The shared experience strengthened not only students’ knowledge, but also their relationships with their teachers and each other.

For Dumsch, it all comes down to connectedness: “What we’re trying to do is give kids at those pivotal ages joyful, amazing, inspirational experiences that can set them up to understand how conservation, food systems, and climate action are connected.”

Leaders from the eight collaborating organizations have met every month for the past 15 years to keep the foundational program running in Maine. And with the passing of LD895, they have even more motivation and resources to grow the Maine Outdoor School for All program statewide.

The Quest for Outdoor School for All Continues

When Dumsch first started partnering with other organizations to support the Maine Outdoor School for All program, he was met with some skepticism from Ecology School staff. When resources are limited, why share them with competitors?

But Dumsch saw things in a different light: “You have to have a growth mindset. Only 15-20% of kids in Maine are getting this type of experience now. What about the other 80%? Organizations like Chewonki aren’t our competitors. They’re our colleagues.”

And it’s true. Without collaboration — in terms of the network offering high-quality outdoor programs and a number of foundations awarding grants to launch the initiative — the Maine Outdoor School for All bill likely never would’ve passed. It’s this abundance mindset that fuels the program and makes Maine’s nature-based learning field so fruitful.

Moving forward, the collective is focused on securing more private grants and lobbying for state funding. It’s an uphill quest, but one already in motion. “We’ve got the ball rolling, the engine running,” says Dumsch. “Now, we just need more fuel.”

See what Sanford Middle Schoolers had to say about their time at the Ecology School! 

Learn how collaborative grantmaking made the Maine Outdoor School for All program happen.

Watch the Video

Collaboration and Adaptability: The Tickets To Getting All Maine Students Into Outdoor Education Programs

Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood is one of the most culturally diverse areas in Maine. Located in the center of the peninsula, the neighborhood has become a safe settlement for many immigrant communities, and thanks to organizations like 

, it offers valuable resources for cultural connection.

A vibrant haven for visual, performing, and literary arts, Mayo Street Arts serves immigrants who’ve traveled to Maine from all around the world. The opportunity the center provides people to embrace their cultural traditions is exactly why 

 — a Maine nonprofit that supports tribal cultures — sought Mayo Street out for a powerful partnership nearly five years ago.

With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, and the Maine Community Foundation, Mayo Street Arts formed the 

, a consortium designed to help artists preserve and share their cultural practices. Since its founding, TAN — an 

 — has reached dozens of New Mainers in East Bayside and beyond, helping uplift and pass unique cultural traditions onto the next generation.

“Since 1993, our primary mission at Cultural Resources has been to work and collaborate with communities to identify and sustain their cultural traditions,” says Kathleen Mundell, Director of Cultural Resources. As Mundell explains, the nonprofit has developed exhibits, hosted artist convenings, and supported apprenticeship programs for more than 30 years.

Mundell chose Mayo Street Arts as a partner for TAN not only because of the center’s proximity to East Bayside, but because it had a proven reputation as an inclusive space for New Mainers. “Mayo Street was known as a welcoming place for immigrants,” Mundell says. “It’s a true community arts center.”

The TAN program started with a process of coming together. Cultural Resources, Mayo Street Arts, and 18 Albanian, Burundian, Congolese, French, Guinean, and Rwandan artists met for a cultural sharing session. The artists danced, drummed, and sang — and many became initial members of the TAN Advisory Council.

After that initial session, Mundell and the Mayo Street Arts team solidified the TAN program, modeling it on Cultural Resources’ 

, a successful initiative that emphasized listening and relationship-building as central tenets of program development.

“You go to those communities, ask who knows about a particular art form, and get to know them,” says Mundell. “It’s not just about getting names and addresses. It’s really about forming relationships.”

Building on this initial work, the TAN team later hired professional folklorist Laura Marcus Green to conduct significant field work. Green led three intensive sessions through which she immersed herself in Afghani, Cambodian, Ukrainian, and Congolese communities, hearing from community leaders and artists alike. Through these sessions, Green met with musicians, dancers, folklorists, calligraphers, hair stylists, and other traditional artists.

More importantly, however, she learned that these communities were in need of financial resources, materials, and ways to 

. To meet these needs, TAN offers three kinds of support:

 provides grants of up to $1,000 to help support traditional artists. A Burundi drumming company, for example, received $600 grant to ship a drum to Portland. Somali Bantu weavers used their grant to send specific materials from Somalia to the U.S.

Part of what makes the fund work is the simplicity of its application process. Applicants don’t need to submit the many supporting materials required by so many artist grant opportunities. “I find that, with a lot of traditional artists, if they go to the trouble of writing a big grant application, but they don’t get the funding, they don’t come back,” says Mundell. “You lose a lot of trust, so this is a way for us to make grants more accessible and further our relationships with the artists.”

“The biggest thing that surfaced in our conversations with the artists was that they wanted to be able to pass on their arts to their kids,” Mundell explains. “They were afraid of losing their language and cultural traditions. “

 was created to help alleviate that fear. Mentor artists — who are always from the same community as their mentees — receive up to $3,000 to engage their apprentices in hands-on art making. By giving artists these resources, as well as time and space, the program fosters cultural pride and helps pass art practices along to the next generation. “These artists are proud of their culture, and they don’t want to lose it. They’re inspirational,” says Mundell.

 are where artists share their traditions with individuals from other immigrant communities. Participants each get 10 minutes to discuss or perform their art form, and the group shares more about what they need from community resources like TAN. It’s a vital time to learn from and connect with others.

Supporting Immigrants When They Need It Most

For Mundell, discovering and connecting with traditional artists is the best part of the work: “I love the developmental end of this work because I get to know the artists and work directly with them.”

But shining a light on artists who aren’t always in the mainstream cultural landscape is equally as important to Mundell and the TAN team. “A lot of people have walked away from immigrant artists because of the current climate,” she says. “But I think it’s all the more important that we support them. These arts are central to their identities, and it’s important that we recognize the connection to their culture.”

As Cultural Resources and Mayo Street Arts grow the TAN program, the organizations remain committed to supporting immigrant communities. Eventually, Mundell and the team hope to hand over ownership to Mayo Street Arts and the traditional artists themselves, though the near future requires the team to focus on funding: “This is a tough time to ask for funding to support immigrant arts,” says Mundell.

Despite this challenge, Mundell says that TAN remains strong, largely due to support from Maine-based funders like the 

 and connections with organizations with shared values. “Mayo Street Arts is a great partner. Cultural Resources never could have done this without it,” says Mundell. “It just shows that, when people come together, you get more done.”

Learn all about Mayo Street Arts's Traditional Arts Network, a program designed to celebrate cultural arts traditions from Maine's migrant community.

Cultural Resources, Mayo Street Arts, and the Importance of Supporting Multigenerational Traditional Arts

At the Onion Foundation, one overarching goal guides our programs: to ensure that everyone from every corner of the state can access meaningful experiences in the arts and the natural world. Our 

 lays out our part in this vision and how we aim to make progress toward universal outdoor access.

Universal access is about designing systems, programs, and structures for maximal inclusion. For our 

, it’s about ensuring everyone — regardless of their ability, background, or identity — has equitable access to outdoor programs. Even in Maine, with its relatively small population, universal access is a big, ambitious goal — and it’s not one we can achieve alone.

, we focus our universal access efforts on the individuals most impacted by barriers, primarily people of color, Indigenous communities, and people living with disabilities. Here’s why.

Two Essential Components of Environmental Access

In our Environment Program, we zero in on people and place, employing two approaches to improving access to the outdoors.

“Place” refers to the lands and waters in which we explore, learn, recreate, and connect with the earth and one another. To make sure that natural places are protected, thriving, and accessible to all Mainers, we support the lake and watershed nonprofits and land trusts that care for them and create opportunities for people to enjoy them.

, provides thought leadership and funding to land trusts as they work to serve their local communities and create more opportunities for more Mainers to enjoy the natural resources they protect. We are also fortunate to have statewide and local watershed protection organizations dedicated to safeguarding the health of lakes while working to create more welcoming, inclusive spaces.

But just opening up places to the public doesn’t necessarily make them accessible. Even in a state where natural resources and outdoor activities seem abundant, there are many people who face significant barriers that keep them from taking advantage of Maine’s outdoors.

The “people” side aims to eliminate the seen and unseen barriers that make it difficult for some people to enjoy those places, including:

Lack of materials, resources, and equipment:

 Many families can’t afford transportation, footwear, warm clothing, or other equipment needed to experience the outdoors.

Many natural areas have been developed with local, English-speaking, able-bodied people in mind and are therefore less accessible to others.

It’s often difficult to know where to look for information about trail locations and conditions, required equipment, and water access, which can be particularly challenging for non-English speakers, people living with disabilities, and people new to the area.

People who don’t know Maine’s environment or weather, or those historically excluded from outdoor activities, might not feel safe or comfortable in environmental spaces.

 Outdoor activities often demand lots of gear, which first-time users may not understand or may find difficult to obtain, transport, use, maintain, and store, especially large and seasonal equipment such as kayaks, snowshoes, and bicycles.

Some Maine residents are physically distanced from green spaces. In the U.S., 74% of non-white people live in a nature-deprived area, according to the 

In our quest to make progress toward universal access, we focus on the people in Maine who tend to face the most barriers to enjoying the outdoors: people living with disabilities and people of color. We apply a 

approach, which is a framework that holds the same end goal for all people, but recognizes that people take diverse paths to outdoor experiences and that approaches tailored to their circumstances are needed to help them gain access. This approach can reveal and address the inequities that have kept those barriers in place.

Universal Access and Our Grantmaking Process

 program, we don’t require or expect that a program or organization exclusively serves people of color or people living with disabilities, though there are times when that makes sense.

Instead, we keep a close eye on how programs are built to be inclusive and create a spirit of belonging. We ask three key questions about each proposal:

Does this program address specific barriers that keep people of color and people living with disabilities from accessing the outdoors?

Was this program designed with the guidance of people who are BIPOC or live with disabilities, be them staff, consultants, or close partners?

Is program outreach conducted in a way that specifically makes BIPOC and people with disabilities feel welcome?

Asking these questions of each proposal helps ensure we’re prioritizing inclusive programs and not drifting away from our Equitable Outdoor Access strategy.

, also has a universal goal: trail access for every Portland resident. To achieve this objective, the nonprofit uses a targeted universalism approach to understand what different communities need for trail access, and it focuses its energy on the communities that are not taking advantage of the local trail system.

 works neighborhood-by-neighborhood in areas with diverse populations and concentrations of low-income housing and shelters. In these communities, people might not realize that trails are nearby, know how to use them, or feel comfortable and safe doing so. Portland Trails works with community partners to raise awareness about the trail network and identify the unique barriers keeping people from using the trails. Then, they join forces to make accessibility improvements while building community and a spirit of stewardship.

, another Onion Foundation grantee, also recognizes that people take many unique paths to access the ocean. For people who are ready to get out on the ocean without much additional support, it runs a high school racing team, offers boat rentals, and provides skipper certification. For people who have a harder time getting out on the ocean, SailMaine runs two key sailing access programs:

 partners with other nonprofits that work with underserved youth. Together with those nonprofits, the SailMaine team designs specific activities that will be meaningful to and meet the needs of each unique group. Then, they make it happen at no cost for participants, with all gear, transportation, and food included.

. Every week in the summer, SailMaine provides the boats and the sailing expertise, and AOEC provides the accessibility know-how to get people with disabilities out on the ocean.

At the Onion Foundation, we focus on the people for whom barriers to the outdoors are the greatest, because that’s where dedicated grant resources and long-term partnerships are essential to making a meaningful impact.

But it’s also a strategic step in service of the universal goal. Eliminating barriers for the people who are furthest from the opportunity tends to make it easier for many other people along the way. We all belong, and we all have a right to feel connected to special places throughout the state.

Learn why the Onion Foundation's Equitable Outdoor Access strategy prioritizes those most burdened by barriers to outdoor access.

An Inside Look at Our Approach to Equitable Outdoor Access

In November, several of my philanthropy colleagues and I completed a 

13-month journey toward better understanding Wabanaki experiences

, cultures, and histories. Known as Confluence, this third iteration of the 

 was designed to help non-native conservation organizations reconsider their land conservation efforts in the context of Indigenous history.

The course helped my colleagues and me see our grantmaking in a new light. It was a reminder that, as much as the Onion Foundation strives to build a more equitable and healthy Maine, we remain guests on this land. Unless we take action, our equity and inclusion goals simply fall flat, and we remain complicit in the continued relegation of Indigenous people.

 to name our specific goals and commitments to the Wabanaki communities, the original and continued stewards of these lands. More recently, we awarded grant funding to the 

 and we’re actively encouraging our land-based grantee organizations to do the same. While some nonprofits might be hesitant to put grant dollars toward the fund, we want to affirm that such contributions are consistent with — even vital to — conservation missions.

Managed by the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, the Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund is intended to support Wabanaki land relationships. Its grants go directly to Wabanaki tribal governments, Wabanaki-led nonprofits, and Wabanaki culture keepers who are working to fulfill Indigenous caretaking responsibilities for the lands and waters of Maine.

The Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund is entirely Wabanaki-led. The purposes of the fund were determined by an extensive community engagement process, and Wabanaki people make all grant decisions. A contribution to the fund recognizes Wabanaki sovereignty by returning to the Wabanaki Nations decision-making authority over financial resources.

The fund’s mission, therefore, resonates deeply with that of the Onion Foundation’s Environment Program: to support work that builds meaningful, equitable connections between people and the outdoors. For Wabanaki communities that consider the lands, waters, and the creatures within them as kin, those relationships are central to their culture. They’ve motivated the Wabanaki’s deep sense of responsibility to steward these lands and waters for 10,000 years before the arrival of European settlers and still to this day.

Compared to typical land trust duties, Indigenous stewardship involves a more reciprocal exchange of care and nourishment that supports the health of the land while supporting the health of the community. It creates a virtuous circle in which the land and the people nurture and are nurtured in return.

As a foundation, we have considerable means and responsibility to uplift this exchange of care, and we can do so by supporting nonprofits that allow access for hunting and harvesting, traditional forest management, the transmission of cultural practices, artistic expression, and ceremony. We believe 

 share that responsibility, and we, therefore, also support conservation organizations that financially contribute to the Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund.

Some Maine-based organizations are well on their way toward returning land to Wabanaki communities. The 

 project, for example, will soon add more than 50,000 acres of wetlands, woodlands, islands, and waterfront to the lands that have already been returned to Wabanaki communities. This is a tremendous act of repair for non-native people’s relationships to Wabanaki communities and for Wabanaki relationships to the land.

As significant as it is to transfer ownership of the land, that’s just the first step. The Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund resources the many stewardship activities that restore Wabanaki kin relationships to the land that were interrupted by land theft and generations of exclusion. In English, the Passamaquoddy phrase “Wolankeyutomone kisi apaciyewik” means “Let us take good care of what is returned.” The grants from this fund enable land caretaking and relationship rebuilding in all its forms.

The Nonprofit’s Role in the Act of Return

A nonprofit board is the fiduciary of the nonprofit, and board members are rightly careful to ensure that financial resources are spent wisely in service of the organization’s mission and to avoid mission creep.

We believe wholeheartedly that the work of the Wolankeyutomon Kisi Apaciyewik Fund is a legitimate part of any conservation mission in Maine. Seeing the many land trusts and other nonprofits that have made contributions to the fund — with some even including contributions into their operating budgets — we’re heartened to know that many nonprofits agree. 

 encourages our conservation grantees to put a portion of our general operating support grants towards this vital cause. Other foundations, including 

The First Light Learning Journey inspired us to look both outward at the systems that uphold injustice and inward at our own actions to dismantle those systems. As we move forward, we’re committed to putting our resources, time, and energy toward this mission — and we hope conservation organizations will as well.

Learn why the Onion Foundation values the Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund and encourages conservation-focused grantees to contribute to the fund.