"Everyone needs to know how giving changes lives in Maine." That’s one of the conclusions of Giving in Maine: A Report on Philanthropy 2008.

As a psychiatrist who has worked in Maine's prisons, Diane Schetky knows that illiteracy is more than just embarrassing. It can ruin lives.

So when her father, a publisher and great supporter of libraries, died, Schetky sought to honor him in a way he would appreciate: through a fund for literacy at the Maine Community Foundation. In 2003, with the help of family and her father's friends, she created the Andrew Heiskell Memorial Literacy Fund, which has, thus far, focused on Knox County where she now lives. It was a natural endeavor, Schetky says, linking her own passion for books, poetry and writing to her father's lifelong love of the written word. The fund also happens to serve some of the deepest needs of Maine.

As a seasoned estate planner with a statewide practice, Richard LeBlanc stresses the importance of being a good listener, so that a client’s values and objectives can be understood and appreciated as early as possible in the estate planning process.

In a conversation at his Portland office, LeBlanc expanded on the importance of listening and also shared some success stories with Jennifer Southard, MaineCF’s director of philanthropic services.

At a press conference held May 28, 2008, at the Tides Institute and Museum of Art in Eastport, Henry Schmelzer, president of the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF), announced a gift of $1 million to the Washington County Fund, a permanent charitable endowment that supports nonprofits in Washington County.