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New Century logoNew Century Community Program

Background

The New Century Community Program (NCCP) was created in 1999 by the Maine State Legislature to provide matching grants and services to local cultural agencies. The program is a collaboration of the Maine Arts Commission, Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Maine State Library, Maine State Museum, Maine Historical Society, Maine State Archives and Maine Humanities Council under the auspices of the Maine Cultural Affairs Council, a state coordinating entity.

In 2002, the program received recognition from The Harvard-Kennedy School / Ford Foundation Innovations in American Government Awards program as one of the nation’s most innovative government programs.

The New Century Community Program funding map of the State of Maine shows the projects for the New Century Community Program funded since 1999. Each program by one of the Cultural Affairs agencies is represented with a corresponding symbol throughout the state, within all counties.

Program Goals

The New Century Community Program has three goals to:

  • strengthen local cultural resources including community arts activities, humanities programs and historic preservation activities
  • provide educational services beyond the reach of the standard K-12 educational system such as those offered through after school programs, cultural institutions, and non arts organizations
  • preserve both the state's material culture and its built environment through grants for preservation and restoration.

Maine 2005 Cultural Facilities Needs Survey

  • Survey [PDF, 331 KB] This file requires the free Adobe Reader. If you need assistance, view our PDF Help page or contact the State Library using the feedback form at the bottom of the page or (207) 287-5620.

New Century Funds Were Used For:

  • Matching grants and technical assistance to Maine communities for the restoration, preservation, and documentation of historic buildings and archaeological sites.
  • Matching grants and professional and training services to community museums historical societies, archives, special collections, and other cultural institutions for the protection and preservation of art, artifacts, scientific specimens, architecture, documents, and records.
  • Aid to local libraries for critical construction and renovation projects, and matching grants to support library cooperation, networking and resource sharing, and technological advances in information retrieval.
  • Expansion of the Maine Center for the Book, a successful program of matching grants and services for community-based literacy programs.
  • A statewide educational service to disseminate through the Internet stories, images, maps, photographs, and documents of Maine history.
  • Statewide expansion of a proven, matching-grant program that has helped Maine towns explore their history, and has led to a variety of cultural events, exhibits, festivals, school-based programs, and other public presentations.
  • Statewide expansion of another proven matching-grant program that has helped communities inventory their cultural resources and traditions as the basis for long-range planning, development, preservation, and revitalization.
  • NCCP Funding Map.pdf (1.86 MB) This file requires the free Adobe Reader. If you need assistance, view our PDF Help page or contact the State Library using the feedback form at the bottom of the page or (207) 287-5620.

Past New Century Recipients

  • Maine State Library Recipients of the 2007/2008 New Century Construction & Renovation Grants for public libraries, grant guide, scoring rubic, and other past grant information.