Mission, Vision and Long-term Goals

The mornings’ newspaper headlines give daily urgency to the need to recreate a culture of compassion, accountability, transparency, fairness, respect for the planet, and peace-making in a seemingly violent, corrupt and self-interested world. Engage Maine is a serious strategy to address those threats to the common good. Collaborative, strategic and visionary, Engage Maine seeks to produce practical results:

• A progressive vision that successfully articulates and inspires an active, compassionate public policy process and government that provides innovative programs for its citizens;
• Positive public policy change that signals a new era in government in which a diverse, bi-partisan legislature passes laws and programs that bring affordable health care to all citizens, a cleaner, healthy environment, schools that produce graduates that want to stay in Maine and can earn good wages;
• A sustainable network of public interest organizations that effectively reach out to large numbers of people and galvanize citizens to be active, to vote and to take leadership in public affairs;
• Development of a bold broad-based policy agenda that challenges existing positions and engages popular support for cohesive social change;
• A refreshed public discourse that delivers clear messages and enables a shift in public debate around socially just values and ideas;
• Greater collaboration between local, regional and national funders who join together to expand the social change philanthropic sector in Maine;
• The recruitment of and support for effective new leadership to advance this work;
• Increased capacity for existing organizations in fundraising, media, and member mobilization, making a demonstrable difference in their leadership, impact and effectiveness.

Engage Maine was born out of deep concern for democracy and belief in the progressive community’s potential to work together for sustainable and positive social change. Engage Maineplan of action is the product of complex discussions, meetings with over-flowing agendas, late night conversations, research and tenacious determination to “do it differently” and better than we have before. With a spirit of excitement, creativity and hope, we are beginning the construction process.