Since all the way back in 1995, the Maine community has had our back. Even though they were initially (and understandably) perplexed by our hazy, citrusy witbier, they soon found a love for it that has only grown with time. Because our community has given us so much support, we wanted to celebrate our 25th anniversary by giving back to them. So we created 25 Days of Giving.
From July 1st to July 25th, we ran raffles, donation drives, employee volunteer days, social media highlights, a silent auction, donations through beer sale profits, and more. Below, you’ll find an overview of all of the amazing ways that you helped us give back.
BEER SALES FOR GOOD
For our kickoff of 25 Days of Giving you helped us raise over $1,000 in one day for Falmouth Food Pantry in profits from the release of Along the Way, our 25th Anniversary beer. And on the last day, 7/25, you helped us raise over $2,400 for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in profits donated from all Allagash on the Fly sales for that entire day.
RAFFLE ON
In an online raffle, 64 raffle purchasers raised over $2,100 for In Her Presence. The raffle was for a tap handle handmade by our founder Rob himself as well as a bundle of rare Allagash collectibles.
And for folks coming by the brewery, we sold 170 raffle tickets for the prize of a case of beer every month for a year—with the proceeds benefiting Friends of Casco Bay. That was in addition to a raffle for a curated tasting with our award-winning Brewmaster, Jason Perkins, the proceeds of which went to the Maine Community Foundation People of Color Fund.
A couple examples of the 554 heartwarming pet photos we received.
WE GOT SOCIAL
We posted 125 pictures across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to support our 25 days of Giving initiatives. We also ran two spotlight features, one for Sebago Clean Waters, the other for Cultivating Community, which both went out to our 155K+ social media followers—helping our audience to learn more about their important work.
We also received 554 #allagashpetpics from the public, over the course of a single weekend, helping us hit our $500 donation goal for the excellent folks at the Animal Refuge League of Greater portland.
VOLUNTEERING WITH CHEER
Groups of Allagash employees volunteered their time on two separate occasions. The team spent a collective 27 hours repairing local trails near the brewery for Portland Trails. And then another group logged 24 hours working on Hurricane Farm, helping with all sorts of farm tasks for Cultivating Community.
The hand-carved tap handle and memorabilia from our raffle to benefit In Her Presence.
DRIVE TO GIVE
Over the course of the 25 days, we held two separate donation drives for two local nonprofits. In our first drive, guests and staff dropped off a whole bunch of school supplies for Ruth’s Re-usable Resources. And for our second drive, donors supported My Place Teen Center with a big donation of snacks and cleaning supplies like sanitary wipes, masks, and more.
WE AUCTIONED (SILENTLY)
With the help of items donated by local businesses (along with a couple from us), we were able to raise $1204 for the Indigo Arts Alliance. Ten different local organizations donated their wares for this worthy cause. We auctioned off items like a free lunch from Bite into Maine, an axe and canvas bag from Brant & Cochran, a whiskey wood checkerboard from River Drive Cooperage, a digital print from Ryan Adams, and more!
The past 25 years have been an incredible experience and we’re more than excited for the next 25. Despite the fact that the challenges and added stress that we’ve all been dealing with for months now have yet to disappear, your support has helped us feel very optimistic about the future.
Sincerely,
Your Friends at Allagash
FULL LIST OF NONPROFITS YOU HELPED US SUPPORT
If you’d like more information on any of the nonprofits that we supported during our 25 Days of Giving, here’s the full list, with more information and links to their websites.
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- Allagash Wilderness Waterway Foundation – created to enhance the wilderness character of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, protect its environment, preserve its historic and cultural values and foster knowledge and understanding of the Waterway.
- Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland – They provide temporary care and shelter for stray, abandoned, confiscated and relinquished animals, before helping them find a home. They also work to spread awareness and support for the humane treatment of animals, spaying and neutering, and general animal welfare.
- Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital – A hospital whose mission is to provide comprehensive, family-centered healthcare for all of northern New England.
- Cultivating Community – Their mission centers around food justice for all. Cultivating Community’s programs are rooted in the idea that everyone has the right to good food. They empower New Americans with sustainable farming practices and connect them to the community through their food hub. They support and manage diverse urban growing spaces. They increase access to local, healthy foods for low-income consumers. And they offer opportunities for food education, community engagement, and leadership development to Maine’s youth.
- Falmouth Food Pantry – Helping to alleviate food insecurity across our community.
- Friends of Casco Bay – An organization dedicated to preserving the water quality of Casco Bay in Portland, Maine.
- In Her Presence – A local nonprofit that hosts English-language classes and a variety of educational workshops to provide a platform for
- Indigo Arts Alliance – They’re a Portland-based nonprofit seeking to cultivate the artistic development of Mainers of African descent. Their residencies connect Black and Brown artists from across the globe to local artists of African descent. And their 4,000-square-foot facility in Portland, Maine, functions as a multi-disciplinary arts studio for professional, mid-career and emerging artists.
- Maine Community Foundation People of Color Fund – Their grant program invests in existing, new, and emerging leadership and nonprofit organizations and works to change policies and practices that negatively impact people of color, because of their race.
- My Place Teen Center – Their mission is to provide a safe haven for youth ages 10-18—sustaining them with comfort, meals, resources, and hope.
- Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute – Their mission is to help high school-age girls develop the skills required to be leaders in their lives, families, careers, and communities.
- Portland Trails – is a non-profit urban land trust that maintains 70 miles of hiking, walking, and biking trails throughout Greater Portland.
- Ruth’s Reusable Resources – Also celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, RRR aims to ensure that all students, from pre-k through high school, have the basic supplies and creative tools for literacy, STEAM, and health education.
- Sebago Clean Waters – A group of nine conservation organizations working hard to ensure our local water source stays pristine. Sebago Lake, where the water that makes up our beer comes from, is one of the fifty cleanest groundwater sources in America (out of over 13,000). But only 10% of the Sebago Lake watershed is currently conserved. Sebago Clean Waters is a group whose goal is increasing that conserved land to 25%.
