Volunteer Maine, the state service commission, builds capacity and sustainability in Maine's volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing managers of volunteers, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy.
The 25 board members of the Volunteer Maine Commission are appointed by the governor to three-year terms and each represents a specific segment of Maine's volunteer sector.
Volunteer Maine is Maine government’s partner for the federal Corporation for National Service.
On October 16, 2019, the Maine Commission for Community Service adopted Volunteer Maine as its new public identity.
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Enabling Statute
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Volunteer Maine was established in 1994 by Executive Order and under state statute in 1995.
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Our mission
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Foster and inspire community service and volunteerism to address critical needs in the State of Maine.
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Our vision
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Vibrant, productive communities with involved, responsible citizens.
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Our values
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• Service is community-building strategy, harnessing the energy of a few to the benefit of many;
• Service is a state- and nation-building strategy , cultivating a sense of community identity and greater common purpose;
• Service is a problem-solving strategy, extending the effort and energy of full-time professionals with the vision and sense of mission offered by part- or full-time volunteers;
• Service benefits those who serve, in terms of improved well-being, health outcomes, skills acquisition, and increased civic responsibility;
• Service is a cornerstone of learning;
• Service builds mutual understanding, empathy, shared purpose, and the likelihood of future engagement;
• Service is an opportunity to expand resources, increasing the likelihood of producing tangible outcomes;
• Service generates social connections through participation;
• Service fosters a strong sense of meaning, mattering, and resilience for participants and by building bridges within communities.
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Our convictions
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• Service is a fundamental building block of a civil society;
• Service is a strategy for solving a range of community, state, federal, and global problems;
• Service varies in intensity from part-time volunteerism to full-time compensated service;
• Service, when it is well-conceived and implemented, can be a cost-effective complement to the work of professionals;
• Service includes a range of activities performed by different people using different means, leading to a sense of inclusion through shared experiences;
• Service represents pooled resources to get more done;
• Service is a lifelong commitment that can be most easily acquired early in life;
• Service works well when it is community-led and government-supported;
• Service is foundational to the American identity;
• Service builds a better future.