MaineStream/Penquis in the News
- MaineStream Finance and several other CDFIs in Maine were awarded capital and grants from the US Treasury for the Rapid Response Program (RRP) to help low-income homebuyers and small business owners recover and thrive post-COVID-19. (June 15, 2021)
- MaineStream recently joined the Cooperative Maine Business Alliance (CMBA) and CMBA’s Emmy Anderson wrote a nice article on MaineStream and Ken Greenleaf’s work. 6/17/21
- Our very own Heather Massow spoke on the 5 PM news at WABI TV5 on Home Ownership in June and our homebuyer education classes! 6/8/21 https://www.wabi.tv/2021/06/08/first-time-home-buyers-class-offered/
- Organized by EMDC for the Maine Philanthropy Center Annual Conference, CEO, Chris Linder, and partners spoke about working with immigrant entrepreneurs in Greater Bangor. (video, June 8, 2021)
Press Releases
- Penquis receives $269,500 grant from The TD Ready Challenge to address the impacts of COVID-19 (January 2021)
- Our wonderful partners at Machias Savings Bank put together this great video to congratulate us on being awarded the TD Ready Challenge grant!
Blog Articles
Housing during COVID-19
- Quick Housing Updates from December 2020 Relief Bill and Agency Mortgage Changes (Dec. 22, 2020 – updated 4/12/21)
Personal Finance during COVID-19
- Everyone Hates the ‘B’ word! (June 20, 2021)
- Teaching Young People to $ave (June 10, 2021)
- Managing Finances: dropping the judgmental and prescriptive & shifting to personal goals and small actions (March 25, 2021)
Small Business during COVID-19
- Small Business Relief Grants Available in January 2021 (SBA and DECD) and Local Partner Support for Grant Prep (January 21, 2021 – updated 6/3/21)
- Piscataquis and Katahdin Region Economic Task Force Penquis and MaineStream Finance, the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC), the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce, the Katahdin Chamber of Commerce, Destination Moosehead Lake, and EMDC partnered together to form the Piscataquis and Katahdin Region Economic Recovery Task Force to bring information, resources, and advice to small business owners in Piscataquis County and Northern Penobscot County, in an understandable way. Here are the resources we have put together:
- Grant Prep Packet: The full partnership Grant Prep Packet provides more details on who can apply, what to prepare, what each program entails, and how and when to apply and can be found here.
- February 2021 Webinar on Relief Programs (recording) with guests from banks, SBA, DECD, and SBDC on 2/4/21.
- April 15 2021 Webinar on Business Relief Updates (recording) with the help of Eaton Peabody.
- April 22 2021 Webinar on Succession Planning for Retiring Business Owners (recording) with the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) and Bangor Savings Bank.
- April 23 2021 Pre-recorded Q&A session with Jim Pineau of Maine SBA and our partner, Denise Buzzelli of the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce on the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF)