Seventeen nonprofits will pitch their grant requests to the Maine Township Board on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at a special agency funding meeting called by Supervisor Kimberly Jones.
The hearing begins at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 1700 Ballard Road, Park Ridge. Each organization gets a 10-minute slot to make its case for 2026-27 funding, according to the meeting agenda signed by Township Clerk Peter Gialamas.
The list grew by one from last year's 16 applicants and includes a mix of returning groups and organizations that sat out the 2025 cycle.
Who's presenting
Eight groups also appeared at the Oct. 7, 2025, agency funding meeting: Advocate Lutheran Older Adult Services, Orchard Village, East Maine School District 63 Foundation, Turning Point, Maine-Niles Association for Special Recreation (M-NASR), Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault (NW CASA), Life Span and Empowering Women.
Eight others were absent from the 2025 round but are back on this year's list: Oakton Educational Foundation, KAN-WIN, Avenues to Independence, Josselyn, Glenkirk, Arts of Life, Family Behavioral Health Clinic at Maryville and Center for Enriched Living. Several of those, including Josselyn, Avenues to Independence, KAN-WIN and Oakton, last presented at the Oct. 22, 2024, meeting, township minutes show.
The full presentation schedule runs from 6 p.m. to roughly 8:30 p.m., with a break after the ninth presenter.
Earlier than usual
The Sept. 22 hearing falls weeks ahead of recent precedent. The 2025 cycle hearing was held Oct. 7, 2025. The 2024 cycle hearing was Oct. 22, 2024. The year before that, the board did not hear pitches until Nov. 9, 2023.
What happens next
At the Oct. 7, 2025, agency funding meeting, MaineStay Agency and Program Coordinator Iain Parker said staff and department heads submit their own funding recommendations after the presentations. Those are averaged with trustees' recommendations, with grants approved in December and contracts issued in January. That timeline has not been confirmed for the 2026-27 cycle.
The next regular Maine Township Board meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The meeting is open to the public.
