Blair Marvin leads a workshop at the Kneading Conference. The Maine Grain Alliance was among 12 nonprofit organizations to receive grants from the Western Mountains Committee of the Maine Community Foundation. Photo courtesy Maine Grain Alliance

The Western Mountains Committee of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $72,613 in grants to 12 nonprofit organizations.

Grant recipients include:

• Literacy Volunteers of Franklin and Somerset counties, to empower adults who are less literate to achieve progress on self-selected goals and improve foundational literacy with community education programming.

• Maine Grain Alliance, to support essential workers in grain-based businesses to survive and thrive through and beyond the disruptions of the 2020 worldwide pandemic.

• The town of Strong, to rebuild a bridge and create a multi-use trail to provide a safe outdoor space in the COVID-19 environment.

MaineCF donors made an additional four grants totaling $32,500 from donor-advised funds.

The Western Mountains Fund is a permanent endowment supporting projects and nonprofits that strengthen communities in Franklin and Somerset counties. Proposals are submitted through MaineCF’s Community Building Grant Program and are reviewed by a committee of local leaders.

The next proposal deadline is Feb. 15, 2022. Application, guidelines and a complete list of 2021 grants can be found at mainecf.org.

The Western Mountains Fund is built through donations from the community. For more information about the fund, call Senior Foundation Officer Laura Reed at 207-564-3236 or email lreed@mainecf.org.