About MPA

Issue Areas, History, Accomplishments, Budget & Funding

MPA's purpose is to bring individuals and organizations together to realize shared goals. We focus on leadership development to increase the number of citizen leaders prepared to work for positive social change.

We are known for our ability to do grassroots organizing and education that reaches more than 100,000 Mainers each year with direct personal contact and quality leadership development work that has yielded dozens of leaders and staff for MPA and other organizations. MPA maintains offices in Bangor, Lewiston and Portland.

Issue Areas

We are currently conducting campaigns for Universal Single Payer Health Care coverage, successful implementation of Dirigo Health, eliminating mercury from the Penobscot River, affordable housing, adoption of an integrated chemicals policy in Maine, defending the initiative and referendum processes from attack, protecting the civil justice system, and increasing voter participation. In the past, we have worked on utility rate reform, campaign finance reform, child care issues, economic development, land use, housing, cleanup of toxic dumpsites, totally chlorine free paper production, and voter registration. back to top

History

MPA was founded in 1982 (and officially incorporated in 1983) in the Lewiston/Auburn area with a focus on housing, rent and utility rate reform issues. In 1984, our sister organization, Maine People's Resource Center, was created. Following in the tradition of concerned neighbors, new chapters of MPA were formed in Bangor and Portland, with the most recent, the Montville chapter, being formed in 2005. back to top

Accomplishments

MPA has been a powerful force for progressive social change for twenty-five years. Some of our recent accomplishments include:

• Working with the Alliance for a Clean and Healhy Maine, MPA helped pass a bill that bans the use of the toxic flame retardant Deca in mattresses and furniture beginning in 2008 and phases out its use in televisions and other plastic-cased electronics by 2010... read more
• Helping to stop TABOR, which would have devastated Maine communities and severely limited opportunities to make progress on issues like universal healthcare, affordable housing, and environmental protection (2006)... more on TABOR
• Receiving an award from Fur Cultural Revival in recognition of our work on the Sudan Divestment bill (2006)... read press release
• Releasing the "Fox in the Henhouse" report revealing Anthem's failure to sell the DirigoChoice health insurance product fairly and enthusiastically (2006)... read more
• Helping defeat Question 1, keeping discrimination illegal in Maine (2005);
• Working with the Visible Community to stop a plan to build a boulevard and demolish the lowest income and most ethnically diverse neighborhood in Lewiston (2005)... read more
• Registering 12,339 new Maine voters through door-to-door outreach in communities from Kittery to Fort Kent (2004);
• Working with coalition partners to defeat Question 1, the Palesky Tax Cap, which would have cut public services and weakened citizen control of local budget decisions (2004);
• Securing the pledge of Governor John Baldacci to make the cleanup of the mercury-contaminated HoltraChem site a top priority of his administration (2004)... read more
• Passing legislation mandating the recycling of electronic waste (2004);
• Successfully testifying and lobbying for the passage of a law banning the most toxic forms of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (2004);
• Supporting the Maine Jobs, Trade and Democracy Act, which will examine the impact of international trade agreements on Maine and make policy recommendations to protect Maine jobs (2004);
• Releasing a Citizen Report Card on Maine hospitals and consumer pricing accessibility, analyzing hospital compliance with Maine law requiring posting of the costs of the top inpatient and outpatient procedures (2004);
• Creating Small Businesses for Universal Single Payer Health Care and building the group’s membership to more than 1,600 Maine businesses, several of which were placed on key health care policymaking committees (2002-2004);
• Stopping an attack on local use of the Citizen Initiative and Referendum process, a campaign led by real estate developers. This was the second time in three years that MPA helped to defeat this bill, supported by some of the most powerful interests in the state (2003);
• Being named, along with our ally the Dirigo Alliance, Affiliates of the Year by USAction, a national progressive umbrella organization with affiliates in over 30 other states (2003).
  back to top

Budget and Funding

MPA's 2006 projected budget is $662,216. Our funding comes primarily from direct public support (approximately 90%) and contracts and program services (10%). In 2004, of each dollar donated to MPA, 87% went for program services (i.e. issue organizing, outreach and education), 9% for administration and 4% for fundraising (source: IRS form 990, 2004). back to top

Maine People’s Alliance—Organizing for a Better Maine!

565 Congress St., Suite 200, Portland, Maine 04101; (207) 797-0967; mpa@mainepeoplesalliance.org
27 State Street, Suite 44, Bangor, Maine 04401; (207) 990-0672; jesse@mainepeoples alliance.org
145 Lisbon Street, Suite 200, Lewiston, Maine 04240; (207) 782-7876; kate@mainepeoplesalliance.org