I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Ken Greenleaf to talk one on one about MaineStream Finance, one of our newest CMBA Members. Ken is a very approachable business advisor, happy to connect with you to explore your business and financial needs.

Ken and his fellow staff are uniquely positioned and tasked with filling the needs unmet in the communities served by their organization. Ken is a business advisor, financial coach, and a HUD certified counselor, which adds versatility to the services he can provide. Others on his team focus on lending, housing and financial coaching. MaineStream is a nonprofit community development financial  institution (CDFI) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Panquis Community Action Program. Penobscot, Aroostook, Knox, and Hancock Counties are all included in their service area, where they also provide credit, capital, and financial services that are often unavailable from traditional institutions. 

With a mission to help “…ALL Maine home-buyers, business owners, and consumers secure advice and financing to grow and thrive,” MaineStream Finance provides an invaluable niche and finds creative ways to serve Maine people. Ken highlights a financial capability Train the Trainers program in one of the state’s minimum security prisons as an example of one of the current programs offered to meet a significant need. Through that program MaineStream’s flexibility and innovative solutions help build resilience for returning members of the community. Serving Mainer’s in this way since 1999, MaineStream has also assisted co-ops in the state. They were, for example, instrumental in designing and providing a flexible loan product that helped the employees of Rock City Coffee Roasters become Employee Owners in 2018. More recently, MaineStream also added manufactured home loans to their portfolio, helping to provide access to affordable housing in Maine. This can directly benefit the many residents of Maine’s 10 Resident Owned Communities. The organization is also providing homebuyer classes as well as pre-purchase, rental, and foreclosure prevention counseling. Ken underlined that he and fellow staff are excited for the opportunity to work with ROCs. Although they have done some counseling with ROCs in the past, they are eager to find out how they can better support these co-ops and their individual member-owners moving forward.

Homeowner, homebuyer, consumer, entrepreneur, co-op member-owner? Ken invites you to reach out for support related to any services MaineStream offers. He and his fellow staff are always looking to meet the needs of the communities they serve and offer to explore your options for free. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MAINESTREAM’S SERVICES VISIT: WWW.MAINESTREAMFINANCE.ORG

Bangor – Headquarters (covering southern Penobscot as well as Washington-Hancock / Downeast counties)

262 Harlow St., Bangor, ME 04401

Email: MSFInfo@penquis.org

Tel: (207) 973-3500

Dover (covering Northern Penobscot and Piscataquis) – Jim Macomber

50 North St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426

Tel: (207) 974-2476

Rockland (covering Knox, Lincoln, and Waldo Counties) – Ken Greenleaf

315 Main St #205, Rockland, ME 04841

Tel: (207) 974-2437