Your support can help our friends and neighbors stay safe and warm in their homes this winter.
Every winter, thousands of Mainers struggle to heat their homes. 40% of Maine households live paycheck to paycheck and struggle with difficult financial decisions, like whether to pay for heat instead of putting food on the table, filling prescriptions, or keeping up with housing costs.
United Way’s Keep ME Warm, the only statewide heating assistance fundraising effort in Maine, provides emergency heating assistance to families across the state who have nowhere else to turn. Your support ensures that families, older adults, and individuals living on limited incomes can remain safe and warm without sacrificing other essentials.
Thank you for helping to make the winter warmer and safer for Maine families.
The need
Half
of Maine households rely on heating oil as their primary fuel source.
$1,200
average cost to fill a 200-gallon home heating oil tank (October 2026)
33%
increase in 211 Maine calls related to heating assistance in September 2026, compared to 2025.
Give Help
Get Help
Do you or someone you know need help? Dial 2-1-1 or visit 211maine.org for information on heating assistance and weatherization services near you. 211 Maine is a statewide health and human services information and referral service created by the United Ways of Maine, in partnership with The Opportunity Alliance and the State of Maine.
Special Thanks To Our 2026-27 Corporate Partners
$10,000-$19,999
$20,000-$30,000
Additional corporate support from: M&T Bank and Pro Search Inc.
FAQs
The Keep ME Warm fund was established in 2008 and is a statewide partnership of the 6 United Ways in Maine and the 10 Community Action Programs to supplement fuel assistance programs. Donations are distributed through a formula based on federal Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) percentages and population, and are used to assist individuals directly, or designated to local organizations that provide emergency fuel assistance, including faith-based programs and nonprofit agencies.
Yes. Please consult your tax professional for questions about individual deductions.
Your donations to Keep ME Warm will provide emergency heating assistance. Community Action Agencies will use the funds to help households with fuel assistance that may not be eligible for limited federal, state, or local fuel assistance programs. United Ways and 211 Maine will use the funds to support additional organizations and agencies that can help those in need of fuel assistance.
211 Maine call specialists will work with callers to ensure they are aware of and have applied for any available home heating assistance resources in their area. Keep ME Warm is an emergency safety-net resource that may be administered after all other avenues for fuel have been exhausted.
Issues with the donation page? You can also donate to Keep ME Warm at https://givebutter.com/keepmewarm.
Yes, checks made payable to United Way of Southern Maine can be mailed to:
Keep ME Warm
c/o United Way of Southern Maine
550 Forest Avenue, Suite 100
Portland, ME 04101
Please put Keep ME Warm in the memo.