MaineStream Finance

Category: Press Release

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Penquis receives $269,500 grant from The TD Ready Challenge to address the impacts of COVID-19

Bangor, ME, January 27, 2021 – Penquis has been named one of six U.S. winners of the 2020 TD Ready Challenge presented by TD Bank.

  A grant in the amount of $269,500 was awarded to Penquis, Maine’s largest community action agency, serving primarily Penobscot, Piscataquis and Knox counties with additional economic empowerment services to Hancock, Waldo and Washington counties. Penquis will use the TD Ready Challenge grant to improve the financial stability of low-income individuals and families through the Rural Maine Financial Coaching Collaborative by training frontline staff in social service organizations to integrate basic financial coaching and housing counseling into their case management services.   The Rural Maine Financial Coaching Collaborative will serve Eastern, Central, Mid-Coast and DownEast Maine. The collaboration will work with over 10 agencies and train more than 30 providers in helping hundreds of low-income clients to weather financial difficulties, prioritize bills and budgeting, and develop and negotiate   payment plans, in addition to supporting case managers in understanding the basics of the foreclosure and rental eviction processes to help keep clients in their homes or find reasonable alternatives.  

“Penquis has brought forward a creative and scalable solution to help those disproportionately impacted by the effects of COVID-19,” said Sheryl McQuade,TD Bank. “Being a winner of the TD Ready Challenge is a testament to the skill, ingenuity and vision of its creators, as well as their dedication to ensuring our communities emerge from the pandemic more resilient, inclusive, vibrant and ready for the continually changing future.”

The TD Ready Challenge is an annual initiative, laddering up to the TD Ready Commitment, TD’s corporate citizenship platform, aimed at opening doors to a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow. Acting as a springboard for social innovation, TD established the TD Ready Challenge to identify and support scalable solutions that address societal issues identified within the four drivers of the TD Ready Commitment: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on society and that’s why the 2020 TD Ready Challenge encouraged organizations across TD’s North American footprint to create innovative solutions to help create accelerated, sustained and equitable recovery in the face of COVID-19.

“This collaboration comes at just the right time to help us strengthen our communities through our partnerships as we navigate these challenging times,” said Chris Linder, CEO, MaineStream Finance, a subsidiary of Penquis. “Training frontline social service workers in financial coaching and housing counseling capitalizes on the trust already established with the clients. This approach avoids the logistics of referring the client for a separate, unfamiliar service and advocate. As a result, the client learns about strategies for dealing with housing insecurity and eviction, reducing debt, improving credit and obtaining additional financial resources from someone they trust, while we at Penquis support the frontline worker.”

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MaineStream Turns 20 in 2020!

It’s hard to believe that MaineStream Finance (MSF) turns 20 this year! MaineStream Finance was actually incorporated by Penquis in 2000 and became a fully-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2001. MSF existed even before 2000, when housing counseling and a small business loan fund began in the mid-1990s. Since that time, MaineStream Finance has grown into three primary categories of services and financial products:

  • Home Ownership with housing counseling and home lending
  • Small Business with advisory, workshops and loans
  • Personal Finance with FDA savings accounts and financial coaching

Originally, pre-COVID-19, we were going to hold a 20th anniversary bash to celebrate, but that will not be happening. We will be providing updates and outreach on our website and with Penquis’ website over the next few months. In the meantime, check out our website’s MaineStream Finance history and timeline and reach out to some of the great staff members below to say congratulations to MaineStream Finance in attaining organizational adulthood. Happy Birthday, MaineStream Finance, and thank you so much to Penquis and staff for such great support and making us part of the family 20 years ago!

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Not Your 1970s Mobile Home Anymore – MaineStream Launches a Manufactured Home Loan Product

An affordable and livable alternative to the housing affordability crisis

MaineStream Finance would often have clients come through our doors asking if we could finance manufactured housing/ mobile homes. Because of our funding source requirements, we always had to say no. There were enough clients and partners asking that we investigated whether we should create a specific product and funding source to finance manufactured housing. Manufactured Housing (fka mobile homes) has greatly improved
over the years with extensive oversight by HUD at the manufacturing facility and now often retain their value like stickbuilt homes, as long as general maintenance is kept. Manufactured homes can often cost less than $100,000, which is often a maximum price point that low income clients have that they can afford. Right now throughout Maine, there is a lack of supply of homes for sale and very high demand – and many low income homebuyers are being priced out of owning their own home despite rates being historically low.


MaineStream Finance believes manufactured homes can be a good alternative for an affordable and livable home for low income families. and we have now launched a new manufactured home/mobile home loan! Some highlights of our new manufactured home loan product are:

  • Our loans can finance manufactured homes on owned land or in residentowned-communities (ROCs).
  • Can be up to 30 years for full maturity.
  • Our rates are typically much lower than some of the major, national lenders with rates that can well exceed 10%.
  • Much lower down payments and closing costs requirements as well.
  • No minimum credit score – we will work with clients on issues to address.

Give our loan officer, Roberta Teeto, a shout if you know someone who might be interested in this new type of home and financing at MSFInfo@penquis.org and visit the new Manufactured Home Loan page!

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Penquis launches Rental Counseling and Eviction Intervention Services

The Penquis Housing Counseling team announce the offering of rental counseling services for Eastern Maine. We and other service providers are deeply concerned there may be significant evictions starting in August and beyond once the courts open up, moratoriums are lifted and certain relief funds, including unemployment, end. We are on weekly calls with other CAP agencies, Pine Tree Legal and the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (BCCP) to monitor the situation.

Our rental counseling services will include:
-Understanding tenants’ rights and responsibilities and good rental practices
– Understanding rental leases and deposit requirements
– Maintaining a good relationship with landlords and resolving tenant-landlord disputes
– Budgeting and credit skills of tenants and assisting in the creation and negotiation of payment plans
– Navigating the formal eviction process in the courts
– Resolving Fair Housing issues related to possible discrimination

Check out our new webpage for rental counseling and to contact the team if you have any further questions or if you would like us to speak to your team about this and other housing counseling services.