skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Networking: Key to Keeping Maine a Quality Place?

play audio
Play

Monday, May 6, 2013   

ELLSWORTH, Maine - Saving fish populations described as "at rock bottom;" helping kids learn how to grow vegetables in three-foot by five-foot gardens; and turning a vacant lot in the town of Biddeford into a public park and gathering place: just some of the wide-ranging work to come out of the Quality of Place Initiative. The idea of the collective action that unfolded over a three-year period was to coordinate the efforts of 16 very diverse groups and fund them to the tune of $1.5 million.

According to Jo D. Saffeir, coordinator at the Environmental Funders Network, these are groups that have proven records.

"If you drill down into the work of all of the different non-profits funded, there's no doubt that they made significant accomplishments in their own particular field," she stated.

The goal of the unique funding effort was to improve not only Maine's renowned landscapes and recreational attractions, but also its forests, farms and waterfronts, and its historic downtowns. So it's not entirely a "green" initiative, but more broadly, a "quality" one.

To test the idea that pooling resources can lead to greater impact, the Maine Philanthropy Center and the Maine Community Foundation assembled the Environmental Funders Network. Jo D. Saffeir explained what's meant by "quality of place."

"All the qualities that make Maine unique and attractive for people to live" go into that, she declared. "So, it's making sure that Maine's natural environment is protected, but also its historic downtowns."

Saffeir said that what stands out is the diversity of the groups that were grantees in the Quality of Place Initiative.

"When looked at individually, they seem like they're working on very different things," she remarked. "When taken together, you see that all of them have an impact on what makes Maine unique."

The initiative concluded - among other things - that "a collective vision is ultimately more powerful than that of any one organization or funder," and pointed out, "In an era of finite resources, no one has the luxury of going it alone."





get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021