PORTLAND

Coffee By Design, which has a location at L.L. Bean in Freeport, is now accepting applications for its annual Rebel Blend Fund Grant program, which has been awarding art grants to projects in Maine for 19 years.

Submissions are due by midnight on Aug. 31. Applications are available online at coffeebydesign.com or in any Coffee By Design coffeehouse. Since the program began, CBD has contributed nearly $80,000.

Rebel Blend was created as Coffee By Design’s Community Arts Fund Blend and combines beans from all three major growing regions: Asia, the Americas and Africa. Funds for the grant program are collected throughout the year through sales of each pound of Rebel Blend beans sold or brewed in Coffee By Design coffeehouses, at wholesale accounts, and online.

The Rebel Blend Fund is open to nonprofit arts projects taking place within the state. Interested organizations or individuals must apply with a specific project and submit an application detailing how the Rebel Blend Fund would help accomplish project goals, how the project will engage the local community, and how it will spark an interest in Maine art.

In the fall, a team of Coffee By Design employees will gather to review proposals and decide which submissions will receive grant money from the Rebel Blend Fund.

Applications should be submitted to: Coffee By Design, 1 Diamond St., Portland, ME 04101, ATTN: Mary Allen/Rebel Blend Fund.

2015 winners

Four grants totaling $5,900 were awarded in 2015. The recipients were:

• “Cultivating A Pollinator- Friendly Yard: A Seasonal Guide for Mainers,” a positive call to action by Hannah Rosengren, addressing the issue of the declining bee population.

• “White Like You, Mommy,” Lesley MacVane’s documentary story about raising biracial children; her goal was to introduce people to the art of documentary storytelling through video and to create a visual, personal piece that reflects a part of the population that is not normally recognized.

• Salvaged Crafts is managed by Enactus at the University of Southern Maine and offered through Creative Works Systems and their “YES Art Works” program; this project offered an opportunity for individuals living with developmental disabilities to generate their own source of income.

• Maine Burundi Drumming World Connect is a group of Burundians living in Portland and trained in the ritual dance of Burundi drum; their group, the Batimbo Beats, uses performance to promote societal development and grow awareness of cultural diversity in Maine.

In addition, Rebel Blend winners received visibility through Coffee By Design’s partnership with Androscoggin Bank, which announced the winners in its MaineBiz advertising. Plans for a similar announcement are in place for 2016 winners.

For any questions on the Rebel Blend Fund, contact Mary Allen Lindemann at (207) 879-2233, ext. 207.

About the business

Coffee By Design, a Maine owned and operated coffee company since 1994, is dedicated to serving customers sustainably sourced, traceable, quality coffee. Owners Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear were named Maine SBA Small Business Person of the Year, 2014. Coffee By Design operates a roastery and coffeehouse at One Diamond St., Portland, and has locations on Portland’s India Street, Congress Street and Washington Avenue, in addition to Freeport at L.L. Bean. For more information, go to coffeebydesign.com.