The Maine College of Art will get a large donation - $3 million - which will be used to bolster financial aid packages for students.MECA President Laura Freid says she hopes the money allows more students to attend the school which can help them become creative problem solvers.
"They help turn confusing information into something that we all can understand," Freid says. "So helping students who have that talent get the skills they need to be excellent is something really important to me and really important to all of us."
The donation comes from The Lunder Foundation, which is also challenging the school to raise an equal amount of money to grow its brand.
Freid says the Lunder Foundation gift will affect more than just the school.
"About 50 percent of all of our students stay in Maine," she says. "So Portland benefits, and the culture and vitality of the city benefits from having MECA."
School officials hope the new grant inspires more students to pursue their artistic dreams and apply to the school.
Update: a previous version of this post erroneously stated that the gift was the largest in the college's history. The gift is the largest to go toward financial aid in the school's history.