Southern Midcoast Grantmaking Committee adds new members

The Maine Community Foundation’s has announced the newest members of its Southern Midcoast Grantmaking Committee, which serves Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties.

They include Jeremy Cluchey of Bowdoinham, Nicole Evans of Bath, Kerry Lupien of Waldoboro, Meg Taft of Alna and Alex Zipparo of Newcastle.

MaineCF’s county and regional committees are made up of community members who live or work in the county and serve as local ambassadors for the foundation, sharing their knowledge and providing on-the-ground local leadership for the foundation, according to a news release from Taylor Mace with the foundation.

Cluchey is director of public affairs for The Nature Conservancy. Evans is the executive director of United Way of Mid Coast Maine, formerly the executive director of American Red Cross of Central and Mid Coast Maine and director of development at Midcoast Humane.

Lupien is a mother, part-time farmer with Moose Crossing Garden Center and board president of The Waldo Theatre. Taft is the vice president of equity and impact at Good Shepherd Food Bank and co-founder of Twin Villages Food Bank Farm. Zipparo is a community development officer at the Island Institute and board member of the Maine Food and Beverage Education Center.

Other committee members include Mari Eosco of Bath, Robert Ives of Pemaquid, Julie Lamy of Nobleboro, Will Neilson of Arrowsic and Ross Wollen of Newcastle.

The committee’s volunteer county advisors review grant proposals for MaineCF’s Community Building Grant Program and recommend grant awards from the Lincoln County Fund and Sagadahoc County Fund.

Community Building supports a broad range of projects and organizations across the state, including arts, education, environment, economic development, and human services. The Southern Midcoast Committee has this year awarded 15 grants totaling $121,294.