New Ventures Maine (NVME) has announced the winners of the statewide 2026 Marketing Mini-Grant Competition. Nine Maine businesses won cash grants of $1,000 for new or expanded business marketing and promotion projects through a competitive application process.
The nine 2026 grant recipients include:
- Riversbend Paddle Company – Johanna Johnston, Houlton
- Timber Candle Bar & Boutique – Geraldine Nadeau, Caribou
- Paradox Design Company – Ryan and Ashlee Scully, Westfield
- Aroostook Garage Doors – Tyler & Lydia Bresett, Houlton
- Next Wave Preparedness – Emily Kaster, Wells
- Victoria Flynn Consulting – Victoria Flynn, Ebeemee Township
- Grazy Acres – Anna Zlotkowski & Kim Grindle, Islesboro
- Rabbit’s Foot Farm – Jamie Hasenfus-Smith, Monmouth
- Sunshine Nutrition – Bill & Angela Gagne, Poland
Awardees were celebrated at an event–Making It Happen 2026–at the University of Maine at Augusta on March 26.
Sponsoring institutions for this year’s mini-grant competition were Katahdin Trust, Northern Maine Development Commission, Kennebec Savings Bank, and Norway Savings Bank.
Nearly 90 eligible applicants included individual microenterprise owners, business partners, or groups of business owners. Application criteria included: 1) Five or fewer full-time equivalent employees; 2) sales in the past 12 months; and 3) gross annual sales of no more than $150,000 (previous calendar year).
The next NVME Marketing Mini-Grant competition is planned for late Fall, 2026.