Coastal Enterprises Incorporated
Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) headquartered in Brunswick, Maine that provides financing, advising, and policy support to grow good jobs and environmentally sustainable enterprises in Maine and other rural regions. The organization offers small business loans, real estate and equity financing, advising services, and maintains a grants resource guide.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
Maine-based child care providers, small community organizations, or local nonprofits and LLCs proposing child care infrastructure or capital projects aligned with community economic development.
Good Fit
- • Located in Maine (or serving Maine communities).
- • Project is explicitly about child care infrastructure or facility capital improvements.
- • Ability to manage capital/grant funds (construction, renovation, equipment).
- • Organizational readiness to move a project in a programmatic grant cycle (budgets, timelines).
- • Willingness to work with a CDFI-style intermediary or program administered by a nonprofit.
Geography
Giving is almost entirely state-focused: two states appear but roughly 93% of dollars and 98% of grant counts went to organizations in one state.
Recipient Variety
The latest year shows broad dispersion: 60 grants to 59 different recipients across charities and LLCs, indicating a wide and diverse recipient set for that program year.
New Applicants
Direct evidence from the latest year shows 59 new recipients, which suggests new entrants were funded; however, only two years of records exist and no formal public application instructions were identified, so long-term openness cannot be confirmed.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
