Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X X V I N OV E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 2 3 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Immigrant Welcome Center seeks director e Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center is searching for a new leader, now that Reza Jalali has resigned as executive director. Jalali, who took the helm of the Welcome Center nearly three years ago, will serve as an adviser to the nonprofit through the end of the year and will assist in the transition to new leadership, accord- ing to the nonprofit group. He did not publicly offer a reason for leaving and attempts by Mainebiz to reach him on ursday morning were unsuccessful. In a statement posted on social media Oct. 12, the Welcome Center said, "We appreciate all the hard work Reza has done over the past three years. His extraordinary talent for making connec- tions and developing relationships with partners, communicating with many local immigrant communities GPIWC serves and highlighting the value of the GPIWC to potential funders will be deeply missed. N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N The NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund, a commercial real investment fund established by NBT Bank and CEI- Boulos Capital Management in Brunswick, announced it made a $3.84 million equity investment for a major- ity ownership stake in two of the three components of the Flanigan Square Transformation Project, a $75 million development that will provide afford- able, workforce housing and a grocery store for residents in Troy, N.Y. ORPC, a Portland-based renewable energy company, said it signed a contract with Shell Technology Marine Renewable Program for the purchase of two of its Modular RivGen devices. The devices will be deployed as a technology demonstration at a Shell facility on the Lower Mississippi River in 2024 following detailed site charac- terization work this fall. Creative Portland announced that Greater Portland's nonprofit arts and culture industry generated $86 million in economic activity in 2022, ac- cording to the newly released Arts & Economic Prosperity 6, an economic and social impact study conducted by Americans for the Arts. The town of Yarmouth announced that Nat Tupper, town manager since 1991, will retire in January. The Foundation for Portland Public Schools awarded a total of $64,299 to 73 Portland Public Schools teach- ers, ed techs, librarians and other staff members to be used for classroom resources and student experiences. The Greater Portland Board of Realtors said it raised $25,000 for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland at its annual fundraiser. Food lab on the menu for Skowhegan Main Street Skowhegan has been awarded a $99,000 grant towards a planned community kitchen and business incubator that could build the town's cachet as a food and agri- culture hub. e grant, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was announced at a Main Street Skowhegan event by Rhiannon Hampson, the USDA's Maine state director. e non- profit will use the grant to help establish the Kitchen at 185 in a historic down- town building, at 185 Water St. It is due to be renovated and open in late 2024. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Dirigo Labs in Waterville received a $150,000 Phase II SBA Catalyst grant from the National Small Business Administration Catalyst Grant Competition to encourage ecosystem development throughout the state of Maine for rural and underserved entrepreneurs. B R I E F Colby College rolls past fundraising goal, sets higher mark B y A l e x i s W e l l s W A T E R V I L L E — Colby College raised the target for its ongoing Dare Northward fundraising campaign to $1 billion, after exceeding the original goal of $750 million. The Waterville school announced the revised goal after reaching the $780 million mark, and called the effort "one of the most ambitious fundraising initiatives in the United States by a liberal arts college." The campaign, which began in 2016 and was formally announced the next year, was scheduled to finish at the end of 2023. Now the school expects it to continue through 2027. "Dare Northward has elevated Colby's academic pro- grams, provided unprecedented support and opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff, dramatically expanded and improved our facilities, and catalyzed a historic revi- talization of our hometown, Waterville," said David Greene, Colby's president. Over the next four years, the top priorities for this money will include support for the college's science research and technology programs, expanding financial aid, and upgrading the student's residential experience and facilities. The Dare Northward program has also supported several arts programs and facilities at the college, including the newly opened Gordon Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center, the Lunder Institute for American Art, the Greene Block + Studios and the Paul J. Schupf Art Center. The Dare Northward program has also helped in the revi- talization of downtown Waterville. "The world is changing at a rapid pace and it's imperative that the liberal arts are always at the leading edge of these important changes," Greene said. "That means constantly evolving to ensure our programs are deeply relevant, support- ing our faculty so they can shape new intellectual fields and approaches to education, and keeping our commitment that Colby graduates will be prepared to lead across enterprises that require nimbleness of mind and rigorous approaches to addressing the most vexing challenges." Established in 1813, Colby College is the 12th-oldest liberal arts college in the United States and has an enroll- ment of 2,300 undergraduates. The school tied for No. 25 in U.S. News & World Report's 2023 rankings of the country's best colleges. C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The world is changing at a rapid pace and it's imperative that the liberal arts are always at the leading edge of these important changes. — David Greene Colby College The Paul J. Schupf Art Center is one of the products of Colby College's Dare Northward fundraising campaign. F I L E P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R

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