The Greater East Grand Economic Council wants to inspire local people to invest in themselves instead of waiting for a large out-of-state employer to come in and save them.
The recently announced $50,000 2026 Business Grant Challenge is part of that initiative.
“Our theory of change [is] we don’t believe that a manufacturer is going to come in and create a lot of jobs. We don’t have the housing, we don’t have the amenities and we don’t have the workforce,” said Christoper Hinshaw, the council’s executive director. “We want the local people to own their future.”
The council aims to help spur economic growth and job creation in 15 towns located in northern Washington and southern Aroostook counties. Designed to support new business development and growth in the greater East Grand Lake region, this year’s grant provides financial assistance to early-stage businesses of up to $50,000.
People living in the East Grand Lake Region come from hardscrabble roots in logging, hide tanning and the railroad. But the economic opportunities these businesses once offered have shuttered, leaving many to piece together seasonal jobs to feed families and forcing young people to leave the area. The average annual income per person is just over $30,000 and essential services like grocery stores are an hour or more away.
The ideal 2026 Business Grant Challenge candidate would be someone who could fill gaps in essential services: mobile auto mechanics, carpenters, builders, home repair, electricians and plumbers, Hinshaw said.
“For people that have been so economically depressed for so long it is hard for them to dream,” he said. “When you are in generational poverty like so many people are up here, the idea of tomorrow is remote, surviving for today. We have to think outside the box about how to make an economy work.”
The grant offers budding entrepreneurs a low-barrier funding option that is often difficult to obtain from traditional sources such as banks.
The council started grants last year with an $18,000 pilot that funded a woman-owned startup insulation business, owned by Tammi Matula, and a Maine guide, William Apgar, who was expanding his ice fishing shack operation.
The council is funded by the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, The Charles F. and Beatrice D. Adams Charitable Trust and the Prism Fund.
As the non-profit moves forward, the board remains sensitive to the kinds of businesses they fund to preserve the region’s physical beauty, Hinshaw said.
“It’s a challenge to create new jobs and opportunities that don’t destroy the very nature of the rural remote existence we love,” Hinshaw said.
The council’s grassroots beginnings started with an effort to save the East Grand School about eight years ago and evolved from there.
At the time, the school’s budget was going to raise taxes and a number of residents fought the rate increase. A small group created an economic feasibility study about the impact on the community if the school closed. The school was saved and, buoyed by their success, the group, along with municipal leaders, then brought high-speed broadband to everyone living in the region.
“We were one of the first areas in the state to have 15 communities receiving the highest quality internet anywhere,” Hinshaw said.
Such access also made it possible for remote workers, such as Hinshaw, to move to the area, he said. Hinshaw’s wife inherited a cabin on Spednic Lake that they visited from their St. Louis home. Eventually, the couple bought a small homestead on the edge of Vanceboro and moved to Maine.
When he first started working with the council just over two years ago, Hinshaw knocked on hundreds of doors to ask people how fiber broadband was affecting or changing their lives.
“We have surveyed over 500 people literally going door to door,” he said. “One thing that is very clear: people move up here in part to get away from urban crowds and concrete and noise so there is not a lot of interest in growth. We are very sensitive to the reality of the cultural climate of the region.”
Last year the council limited grant applications to people who lived and worked in the region. This year, they’ve opened the opportunity to anyone who lives in Maine – on the condition they can provide services to the region.
“We are getting a number of inquiries from people who have aspirations that may not be a viable business for the region, such as a candy shop,” Hinshaw said. “We need the basic things first like a grocery store or a hardware store. We are looking for businesses that meet critical needs.”
The application deadline is June 7.
To qualify, projects must define how the grant would support business growth and job creation and provide a needed service. The applicant must have lived in the region or Maine for at least a year. East Grand area businesses will have priority, but outside businesses will be considered if they can provide the area a needed service.
The grant committee will review all applications and selected finalists will be required to give a 20-minute presentation with feedback from the committee. The finalist has the opportunity to make revisions and resubmit.
The awards will be announced on June 26.
For more information or to request an application contact Christopher Hinshaw, [email protected] or call 207-952-4648. Email applications or send to: GEGEC, PO Box 465, Danforth, ME 04424.
