Women, Work, and Community award mini-grants

    PRESQUE ISLE – Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community recently awarded two collaborative marketing mini-grants to business networks in central Aroostook County.     Women, Work, and Community’s local grants committee awarded $300 to a tourism business group comprised of Ayo Olugbemi, owner of the lodging establishment Kingsland, Inc.; Kevin Freeman, owner of the Sled Shop; and Leo Freeman, owner of Perception Aroostook. Olugbemi notes that the group aims to “attract tourists to the area in increased numbers while offering favorable deals on accommodation and vacation activities.”
    With support from the collaborative marketing grant, the group will produce a joint brochure advertising vacation packages in The County, including winter, summer, and fall packages.
    The grants committee also awarded $100 to a group of three central Aroostook food producers to support their cooperative display booth at the Agri-Business Trade Fair in March 2010. The group includes three Fort Fairfield businesses: Organic Sam’s, Robin’s Chocolate Sauce, and Kaclyn Krafts.
    Erica Quin-Easter, microenterprise coordinator for Women, Work, and Community and the staff representative to the grantmaking committee, noted, “These small grants have a big impact on our community. Business owners who work together to create new markets and reach new customers will succeed and grow even in a slow economy. The two collaborative projects we funded will bring increased visibility and mutually beneficial marketing to Aroostook County businesses.”
    The mini-grants program at Women, Work, and Community is funded by the Maine Women’s Fund and the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. The program is part of the Aroostook Network of Entrepreneurial Women (ANEW), a larger project that aims to connect creative entrepreneurs throughout Aroostook County to strengthen business skills and success. ANEW offers networking events, skill-building workshops, and mini-grant programs throughout Aroostook County.
    For more information, contact Women, Work, and Community at 764-0050.