Students, donors, and nonprofit representatives reunited last week in Moulton's Main Lounge to participate in the annual awarding of Bowdoin's Common Good Grants.
Each year, students apply to participate in the McKeen Center's Common Good Grant program to gain hands-on experience with philanthropy. The students divide into two groups to be more effective: the grant committee reviews applications and researches nonprofits, while the development committee solicits additional funding from donors.
In total, the twenty-six participating students awarded over $32,000 to nine local nonprofits. Over the course of the months-long program, they conducted eleven site visits, met with over forty donors, read forty-four letters of intent, and reviewed twenty-two full grant applications.
In order to diversify the award portfolio, the committees created five categories to maximize the awards' impacts: arts, history, and culture; adult and youth education and development; environment, agriculture, and sustainability; health and basic needs; and BIPOC- or Indigenous-led organizations.
Now in its twenty-second year, the Common Good Grant program has funded a total of 191 grants and awarded over $410,000 to nonprofits in the greater Brunswick area and throughout Maine.
“The Common Good Grant Program has not only given Bowdoin students the opportunity to gain experience with grant writing, fundraising, and nonprofit operations, but has also allowed them to connect with their community and with each other,” said Sophia Li ’24 at the ceremony. Li was co-leader of the Common Good Grant committee.
“Through sitting in on panels about current issues in Midcoast Maine to conducting site visits with organizations, we have been lucky enough to get to know this community," she added.
2023 Common Good Grant recipients
After student leaders gave a brief introduction to the program and committee structures, nine student representatives from the Common Good Grant committees explained the missions and the projects that the grants will fund.
Bath Housing “has been dedicated to enhancing housing stability for older adults, people with disabilities and families in the greater Bath area for nearly four decades,” said Marco Stix ’25. “Their grant will be used toward one of Bath Housing's most impactful programs, the Free Rides Program, which provides essential transportation services to older adults and people with disabilities in the Bath area.”
Cathance River Education Alliance: “Since 2000, CREA has worked to foster ecological awareness and promote environmental stewardship among students and educators,” said Ciara Tran ’25. “This grant will be used to incorporate more Indigenous education, history and culture, and environmental knowledge into CREA’s summer day camp.” The grant will allow them to work directly with members of the Wabanaki community, developing a purposeful curriculum that incorporates Wabanaki history and language to build understanding of Indigenous people and practices.
Leaders: Sophia Li ’24, Kavi Sarna ’25
Grant Committee: Ryan Delaney ’25, Hannah Gold ’26, Charlotte Tagupa ’26, Arlenys Soler ’25, Ryan Ngo ’25, Marco Stix ’25, Sarah Conant ’24, Isaac Bediako ’24, Alexandra Tiger ’26, Caroline Vauclain ’25, Suhas Gudaru ’26, Olivia Bell ’25, Jimena Molina ’25, and Eleanor Donahue ’25
Development Committee: Pranav Vadlamudi ’26, Isabella Huang ’25, Jack Roberts ’25, Thea Aslanian ’23, Ciara Tran ’25, Nate Kelsey ’22, Karen Gonzalez ’25, Noa Winikoff ’25, Ben Johnson ’26, and Emma Gibbens ’25
College Guild: “Based in Brunswick, College Guild is committed to providing free, non-traditional education to incarcerated individuals across the United States,” focusing on correspondence courses through traditional pen-pal relationships, said Ben Johnson ’26. The Common Good Grant will cover the organization's postage costs for sending course materials to their incarcerated students.
Gardeners Growing Healthy Communities: The gardeners aim to grow and supply fresh fruits and vegetables to those in need in Western Maine. Since its establishment in 2015, they have provided fresh, nutritious food to over 14,000 people, explained Alexandra Tiger ’26. The grant will be used for soil testing in both gardens to evaluate the quality of the soil and to purchase early-season vegetables from Cooper’s Farm, a local grower. All these improvements will contribute to a more productive garden and increased morale among the volunteers.
Immigrant Welcome Center: The Center helps new Mainers acclimate to their new environment in various ways, including offering English lessons and providing access to food pantries and clothing drives, said Ryan Delaney ’25. This grant will help “expand their thriving business hub to help immigrant women move into business leadership. The initiative, called Women Lead, will empower women and girls by teaching financial literacy, marketing, and technology, as well as offer them potential office space, among other things.”
Midcoast Literacy “oversees several programs aiming to help adults and school-age children improve their language skills. The Workplace Literacy Program helps New Mainers with their literacy skills as they adapt to being a part of new communities… Additionally, Midcoast Literacy works with school-aged kids to help them make sure that they stay up to grade level with their reading,” said Olivia Bell ’25. This grant will help expand Midcoast Literacy’s Workplace Literacy Program as Brunswick prepares to welcome more immigrants to this area, improving their English language skills and helping them secure job opportunities.
Portland Housing Authority “was established in 1943 to provide decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-income citizens of the greater Portland area. Today, it owns and manages twelve housing developments totaling 1,219 units, serving families, elderly, and people with disabilities,” said Ryan Ngo ’25. “The grant will be used to fund their CHEETA project, which supports youth leadership and job-skills development through community-building activities. Part of the Common Good Grant funds will be allocated to youth to budget and apply to their events and activities. The other part will be used for food for youth training and events across three CHEETA teams. And the last portion goes toward administrative costs in relation to this grant.”
Through These Doors “is a domestic-violence resource and advocacy center that collaborates with local partners and other community members to promote safety and to challenge systems of oppression and violence. To that end, this organization offers a twenty-four-hour helpline to people affected by domestic violence, as well as an emergency shelter, transitional services, support, and education groups, safety planning, advocacy, support, and assistance with legal matters,” said Emma Gibbens ’25. This Common Good Grant supports “a transportation fund, designated for reducing transportation barriers to legal, medical, and other crucial support for survivors in crises, and an unrestricted victim’s fund allocated for the individual needs of abuse survivors.”
