The A.D. Makepeace Company today announced that application packages for grants from the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund are now available. Applications are due March 14, 2011.

The Makepeace Neighborhood Fund was established in 2005 as a way for the A.D. Makepeace Company to provide significant support to community groups providing services the company finds important. In the past five years, the company has awarded more than $1 million in grants for 170 local projects and programs.

“The Company and the Makepeace family have a long history of supporting our communities,” said Michael P. Hogan, president and CEO of the A.D. Makepeace Company. “This charitable foundation enables us to make meaningful contributions to those programs and projects we feel really benefit our communities.”

To date, the Wareham Public Schools have been the greatest beneficiary of the Fund, receiving approximately $112,000 for special programs and equipment over six years.

Among the 30 grants awarded in 2010 was a special award to the Cranberry Research Station, marking its 100th anniversary and the first time the Makepeace Neighborhood Fund awarded a grant in the newly eligible category of agriculture research and support.

Grants are available on a competitive basis to non-profit organizations and governmental agencies which provide services to residents of Wareham, Plymouth, Carver, and Rochester. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $10,000 and must be in one of the following disciplines: education, health care, community housing, historic preservation, environmental protection, or agriculture.

Grants are not available to individuals.

The Makepeace Neighborhood Fund is unusual in that grant funding recommendations are made by company employees across all disciplines, including cranberry operations, real estate development, and administrative staff.

Organizations seeking information about the grant program can visit the A.D. Makepeace Company web site, www.admakepeace.com, or contact Linda Burke at 508-322-4103.