Editor:
As a taxpayer on a fixed income who has paid into this system for years, I understand the pressure people are feeling. Rising costs are real. But I’m also the president of a very small, all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing Biddeford’s history and culture, and I think this conversation is missing something essential.
[ LETTER | Biddeford doesn’t face a false choice. It faces a necessary one; Biddeford Gazette, April 24, 2026 ]
The argument being made is that because individuals can choose which causes to support, the city should stop funding nonprofits altogether. On the surface that sounds fair, but a community doesn’t function like an individual checkbook. Public investment isn’t about personal preference, it’s about what we decide, together, is worth sustaining.
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The letter suggests that once an organization has contributed to success, public support should end, that continued funding becomes “dependency.” But that assumes the work is finished. It isn’t. Community doesn’t maintain itself. Culture doesn’t preserve itself. The very things that helped make Biddeford vibrant, events, history, shared spaces, accessibility, require ongoing care.
And not all nonprofits look like the ones being described.
Many of us are small, volunteer-run, and fiscally cautious. We provide free programming, preserve archives, collaborate to stretch every dollar, and create opportunities that are open to everyone, not just those who can afford a ticket price. We are not sustaining payrolls. We are sustaining access.
“It’s whether we recognize that some of the most valuable parts of a community aren’t profit-driven and are still worth investing in.”
The suggestion that funding should only go toward what directly grows the tax base is a narrow definition of value. A city is more than its balance sheet. The events people attend, the history they connect with, the reasons they choose to visit or stay are part of that value too, even if they don’t show up neatly in a line item.
Volunteer time in Maine is valued at $32.13 an hour. Many of us give hundreds of hours each year. That’s a significant return on investment before you even account for tourism, community engagement, and the intangible but very real sense of belonging these efforts create.
Yes, accountability matters. Yes, priorities matter. But cutting modest municipal support for small nonprofits won’t solve rising tax pressures. What it will do is quietly erode the very things that make Biddeford more than just a place to live.
The real choice isn’t between “discipline” and “community.” It’s whether we recognize that some of the most valuable parts of a community aren’t profit-driven and are still worth investing in.
Diane Cyr | Biddeford
NOTE | Diane Cyr is the president of the Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center‘s board of directors.
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