The Island Institute works to sustain Maine’s island and remote coastal communities. Our core program areas—including economic development, education, community energy, marine resources, and media—are driven by the requests of community members themselves. Our core commitment to the islands of Maine includes sharing what works among these diverse communities and beyond.

Our Mission

The Island Institute works to sustain Maine’s island and remote coastal communities, and exchanges ideas and experiences to further the sustainability of communities here and elsewhere.

Our Vision

We envision that Maine’s year-round island communities will thrive and lead as examples of sustainability.

Our Values

• We respect the diversity of islanders' perspectives, cultures, and heritage.
• We celebrate island communities’ initiative and innovation, and see the islands as models for others.
• We take an entrepreneurial approach to new opportunities.
• We set the highest standards for our performance.

What We Do

Working with unique and special communities on many different projects has taught us that there is no "magic bullet" that resolves every challenge. Complex issues require multi-faceted support, and the Island Institute has developed a number of innovative and creative strategies to best support the year-round island and working waterfront communities of Maine.

Although these communities can be viewed as microcosms, they are special places that face unique challenges and have distinctive priorities. From over 30 years of collaboration with island and coastal constituents, the Island Institute has developed priorities that address needs shared by multiple island communities. In this way, our organization takes an ecological approach to supporting the island and coastal communities of the Gulf of Maine: recognizing that everything in the region—human and environmental—is connected.