A 501(c)(4) advocacy organization
Who we are
Mainers First identifies common-ground issues, educates the public about them, and supports moderates in both parties.
The board is balanced among moderate Republicans, moderate Democrats, and independents.
We're a grassroots Maine nonprofit, run entirely by Mainers who volunteer their time. No one is paid, and not one dollar goes to salaries.
We take the case to the people who make the rules: the Legislature in Augusta, city councils, and the agencies in between.
Articles of Incorporation
Our purposes
These are the purposes set out in the Articles of Incorporation, written out in plain sentences.
The board is reviewing these purposes. One purpose in the filed Articles is not shown here while that review is underway. The filed document controls.
Advocate for representative democracy, constitutional self-government, individual liberty, free enterprise, and the rule of law, in Maine and in the United States.
Support public safety, law enforcement, and the fair and firm administration of justice in Maine.
Advocate for sound homelessness strategies that deal separately with three different groups: people with serious mental illness, people caught in addiction or the criminal justice system, and people who are out of work and without housing.
Influence legislation and ballot questions at the state and local level.
Support other organizations that advance these purposes, to the extent the law permits a 501(c)(4) organization to do so.
Establish community chapters and action councils, so that supporters in particular Maine communities can pursue these purposes where they live.
Advocacy first
Promoting social welfare is the primary activity of Mainers First. That is the governing document's language, and it is how the organization is built: the work is policy.
Mainers First may take part in political campaigns for or against candidates for public office only to the extent that such activity, together with anything else that does not promote social welfare, is not its primary activity, and only in compliance with federal and state election law.
We may support more than one PAC that shares these goals. None is ours.
This website does not support or oppose any candidate for public office.
Where the line is. Mainers First may also engage in political activity to the extent the law permits a 501(c)(4) organization, but that is not its primary purpose. Contributions are not earmarked for any candidate or election. Mainers First alone decides how its funds are used.
How we are organized
Mainers First is governed by its own board of directors.
It has no members within the meaning of Title 13-B of the Maine Revised Statutes. Supporters, however they are described, have no voting rights and no other rights of members under that Title.
The board may establish chapters and action councils as unincorporated divisions of the corporation, under charters the board adopts. A chapter or action council has no legal existence separate from the corporation, and everything held for one is the property of the corporation, held subject to the policies of the board.
Contributions or gifts to Mainers First are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.