OVERVIEW: Kennebunk Savings is a bank funder that awards art, civic initiatives, education, environmental protection and preservation, and human services grants in Maine and New Hampshire.
FUNDING AREAS: Art, civic initiatives, education, environmental protection and preservation, human services
IP TAKE: This funder gives broadly, but has a narrow geographic focus.
PROFILE: Kennebunk Savings is a bank with a grantmaking agenda that serves Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire. Founded in 1871, the banking institution is headquartered in Kennebunk, Maine and has 19 regional locations. The bank contributes at least 10 percent of its annual earnings to local charitable groups and also volunteers. The funder aims to “enhance our communities and improve quality of life for the people within them.” Grantmaking includes art, civic initiatives, education, environmental protection and preservation, and human services.
Kennebunk Saving offers direct service grants in each of these five program areas. It also funds sponsorships in these areas. In addition to the general community investment program, the bank created the Huntington Common Charitable Fund for Seniors in 2006 with proceeds of the sale of Huntington Common Retirement Living. This program supports organizations that serve adults over age 65 who live in York County.
Grants often range between $50,000 and $100,000 each. The bank does not provide an online database of past grants on its website, but it does publish information about new awards in its News section. Past grantees include Friends of Hope Cemetery & Woods and the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Initiative. The foundation restricts grantmaking to the region between Kennebunk, Maine and Hampton, New Hampshire. The bank has an investment committee that meets to review new grant requests. It makes grant decisions based on the expected impact in the local community and support already gained from other public and private sources.
Kennebunk Savings accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry from nonprofits and has an online application system. Grantseekers can direct general questions to the bank funder at 800-339-6573 or via online form.
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