When you celebrate with The Maine Barns, we amplify your love to support our community.
Through our Love/Give program, a share of our proceeds from every event is donated to organizations that are making a difference for Maine’s people and places. After celebrating at Flanagan Farm or Walnut Hill, you can choose which group most resonates with you and we’ll direct a donation there in your honor.
Every year, we choose organizations that are doing incredible work on five key issues in Maine. Share your values with us, and we’ll share your love with groups that are making a real impact in these crucial areas.
we’ve pledged 1% of our proceeds to:
Social Justice & Equity
The ACLU of Maine is the state's guardian of liberty. They are active in the courts, the legislature and the public sphere to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and to extend their promises to all Mainers. Their priority issues include criminal legal reform, racial justice, immigrants' rights, LGBTQ rights, reproductive freedom, women's rights, voting rights, freedom of expression, freedom of speech and religion, and privacy.
LGBTQIA Rights
EqualityMaine is the state's oldest and largest advocacy organization leading the fight for full equality for LGBTQ Mainers since 1984. Through education, advocacy and community building, EqualityMaine is working to create safer and more inclusive communities for the most vulnerable within Maine's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and non-binary communities.
The Environment
The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is Maine’s leading nonprofit membership organization protecting, restoring, and conserving the state’s environment, now and for future generations. NRCM works to improve the quality of Maine’s rivers, lakes, streams, and coastal waters, and to promote sustainable communities through initiatives that reduce toxic pollution and waste. They also work to decrease climate-changing pollution through energy efficiency, renewable sources, and electric transportation; to conserve Maine lands and wildlife habitat, including our treasured North Woods, and to defend the federal environmental policies and programs that help protect Maine. Since 1959, NRCM has led efforts to keep Maine a special place.
Wellbeing of Children & Families
Spurwink Services provides a broad range of mental health, education, and residential services for children, adolescents, adults, and families. Spurwink offers specialized programs throughout Maine with a commitment to caring relationships and treatment expertise, grounded in evidence-based, best and promising practices.
Food Insecurity
Good Shepherd Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in Maine. The organization provides for Mainers facing hunger by distributing nutritious food to more than 500 partner agencies across the state, including food pantries, meal sites, schools, health care centers, and senior programs. Together with its network, the Food Bank leads a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. In 2020, the Food Bank distributed more than 29 million meals to families, children, and seniors in need throughout Maine.
“Many of our couples are drawn to Flanagan Farm or Walnut Hill because of their deep love for Maine. Through Love/Give, couples get to put a tangible portion of that love right back into this special state simply by celebrating with us.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How does it work?
Once your wedding is complete, we’ll reach out to you to determine which of our key issue areas means the most to you and your partner—then we’ll donate 1% of our proceeds from your celebration to our relevant partner organization, in your honor, by the end of the year. That’s it!
How did you choose these organizations?
We believe Maine’s greatest assets are its people and its environment. We care deeply about preserving Maine’s unique landscape and supporting the people who live here—especially those who’ve traditionally been underserved and under-represented. With our backgrounds in social impact work, we not only intimately understand these areas of need, but our experience helps us to select established and especially high-performing non-profit organizations who are making a measurable impact.
Can we choose a beneficiary that’s not on your list?
In an effort to make our donations as effective as possible, we’ve carefully selected a handful of organizations that are making a real impact here in our home state. We hope to build long-term relationships with our partners, because we believe that’s the best way to make a meaningful difference over time. If you’d prefer not to select just one of our partners, we will spread your allocation among all five. We understand you might have other issues areas or causes that you're passionate about as well and think that's fantastic. When we all give love, we all get love!
Do we have to participate?
Love/Give is a part of every wedding at The Wedding Barns of Maine. Giving back is important to us personally, as business owners and members of our community. That’s why we’re funding all donations out of our own revenue. It doesn’t cost couples a penny more when we give. If you’d prefer not to choose a specific organization to receive our donation, we will spread your allocation among all five. We hope when you look back on your wedding day, you’ll see that your love continues to ripple outward!
I love this! How can we do even more?
Some couples have expressed interest in exploring how their wedding can go even further to reflect their values and giving back. If that's something that resonates with you, we'd be happy to discuss and brainstorm! We can even provide materials for you to use in invitations and programs to further incorporate this spirit into your celebration.
