Founded in 1995, the John T. Gorman Foundation is a private foundation based in Portland with a mission of making Maine a more equitable place where all children and families can thrive. This focus reflects the recognition of founder Tom Gorman that his personal success and achievement were largely derived from the support provided to him by his family and community, as well as his desire to provide those with fewer advantages opportunities to succeed.

To carry out its mission, the foundation partners with organizations across the state to develop, implement, and advance solutions to the longstanding issues that Maine children and their families face. Many of the efforts supported by the foundation take a two-generation approach to serve children and their parents/caregivers simultaneously. Practiced across the country, this evidence-based approach recognizes that a child’s well-being is inextricably linked to that of their parents, families and caregivers. In short, kids do best when the people who care for them are able to provide what they need to succeed.

The foundation supports several two-generation strategies across the state that are working to improve outcomes for whole families. Examples include Moving Families Forward, a program in Bangor helping parents in public housing strengthen their family’s economic security as their children access youth development programs. Through the Supporting Families Growing Together program, MaineHealth pediatric clinics in Portland and Rockland are giving caregivers the tools they need to support their child’s healthy development amid adversity. And Frances Warde House provides transitional housing and services to improve the health outcomes of unhoused expectant mothers of color and their young children.

In addition, the foundation supports the work of organizations to strengthen and supplement the systems that children and their families rely on. This important work includes bolstering the education system, from early learning to postsecondary opportunity; creating greater access to mental health services; and removing barriers to entering and advancing in the workforce.

Foundation partners at Educate Maine, for example, are working to recruit and train prospective teachers so students across the state can receive a high-quality education. Maine Behavioral Health and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine are collaborating to deliver mental health supports to children in new ways. And, with foundation support, Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) has expanded its Child Care Business Lab program to increase the number of child-care options available to families in underserved communities like Lewiston.

The foundation’s work to support these key organizations is not just financial. The foundation also creates opportunities for its partners to learn new ways to advance their work and for stakeholders to connect so they can better align their efforts. This includes the John T. Gorman Fellowship, an intensive, yearlong program to grow the capacity of Maine leaders and their organizations to make a statewide impact on Maine people.

While the foundation works to improve outcomes of the children and families served by the strategies and initiatives it funds, it also seeks to learn from these initiatives and share those lessons broadly so they can have a wider impact. Its approach is specifically designed to test and evaluate strategies that, if effective, can be taken to greater scale by through practice and policy change. In highlighting key issues affecting Maine children and sharing strategies for addressing them, the Building Brighter Futures series is part of that approach.

To learn more about the John T. Gorman Foundation’s work, go to jtgfoundation.org.