#DOGE terminates grant for #Maine #FilmArchive in #Bucksport
April 14, 2025
BUCKSPORT, Maine (WABI) - "A Hancock County non-profit says the Trump Administration abruptly terminated a six-figure federal grant this month.
"Northeast Historic Film in Bucksport has been dedicated to preserving Maine history for four decades.
"Executive Director David Weiss says he received a letter from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, around 1:00 a.m. on April 2nd. That’s how they learned a $341,000 grant from the National Endowment for the #Humanities was canceled.
"The money was funding a project to catalog, digitize, and publish material NHF has collected from Maine television stations over the last 35 years. Weiss says they’re now looking at a $104,000 budget deficit and the paychecks of all seven archives staff members are taking a hit.
" 'The only good thing about it is that I don’t feel singled out, you know? I feel like this is just a broad thing that happened, and we got caught up in it. It’s not like they said, ‘You are bad.’ It’s just like, ‘Well, you’re all bad.’ So, safety in numbers, maybe that’s the best I can say,' Weiss said.
"While Weiss says an appeal wouldn’t do any good, there is the potential for them to be involved in a lawsuit to hopefully get some of the funding back.
"In the meantime, they’ve launched a #fundraising push to try to cover some of the losses. It’s raised $15,000 in just two days.
"If you’d like to contribute, visit oldfilm.org and click on 'GIVE.' "
Source:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/doge-terminates-grant-for-maine-film-archive-in-bucksport/ar-AA1CUQf2
#PreservingOldFilms #PreservingHistory #FilmArchives #Maine #NortheastHistoricFilm #History #Histodon #BadDOGE #CharacteristicsOfFascism #Fascism #ErasingHistory #PreservingMaineHistory #USPol #MainePol #BucksportME
