FundersMaine

Bill and Joan Alfond

Portland, ME · EIN 01-0421806. Reported 145 grants totalling $11.6M to 75 organizations across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.

Yesaccepts unsolicited requests
$18,662median grant
$11.6Mgranted, 2021-2024
75organizations funded
48%of grantees funded again the next year
$81.2Massets, latest filing

Does this foundation accept applications?

Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. Bill and Joan Alfond did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.

This is the foundation's own statement to the IRS, not our judgement, and it says nothing about whether they have a form, a deadline, or an appetite for new grantees. Treat it as the reason this foundation is worth your research time, not as an invitation. Many small foundations of this kind have no website and no application process -- a letter of inquiry is the normal first step.

How big are its grants?

The median grant is $18,662. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,661 and $50,000; the smallest was $188 and the largest $2,000,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.

Under $1,000
2 grants
$1,000 - $5,000
24 grants
$5,000 - $10,000
22 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
28 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
29 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
16 grants
$100,000 and Up
24 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which the organization received money -- more than one means a real relationship rather than a one-off.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
President and Trustees of Colby CollegeWaterville, ME$2,371,693422022
Partners Healthcare System IncBoston, MA$1,314,978332023
Bny Mellon Charitable Gift FundBoston, MA$1,084,225442024
Governor's AcademyByfield, MA$1,034,407742024
Mass General Brigham IncorporatedBoston, MA$895,000212024
Colby CollegeWaterville, ME$600,173112024
Kennebec Valley Community Action ProgramWaterville, ME$500,000112024
Maine Community Foundation IncPortland, ME$495,538432024
Thomas CollegeWaterville, ME$407,500742024
Coastal Enterprises IncBrunswick, ME$250,000332023
Childrens Discovery MuseumWaterville, ME$200,000112024
ProsperitymePortland, ME$166,666222023
Boys and Girls Club of Kennebec ValleyGardiner, ME$150,000112022
Foundation of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary IncBoston, MA$150,000332023
Maine School Administrative District #46Dexter, ME$132,775532024
Central Maine Community Betterment CollaborativeWaterville, ME$125,484632024
Beth Israel CongregationWaterville, ME$123,500432024
10TH Mountain Ski ClubFort Kent, ME$100,000112024
Friends of Quarry RoadWaterville, ME$95,000322024
Piscataquis County Economic Development CouncilDoverfoxcroft, ME$80,000222022
Kennebec Valley Community College FoundationFairfield, ME$75,000212024
Eastport Public Library AssociationEastport, ME$71,000212023
Quality Housing CoalitionPortland, ME$65,000112023
Jobs for Maine's Graduates IncAugusta, ME$53,800422024
Heart of Maine Resource CenterDexter, ME$50,000222023
Rayes Mustard Mill MuseumEastport, ME$50,000112022
The Windowdressers IncRockland, ME$50,000332024
Educare Central MaineWaterville, ME$46,731642024
Maine Immigrant Rights CoalitionPortland, ME$45,000112023
Waldo Theatre IncWaldoboro, ME$43,000112021
University of Maine FoundationOrono, ME$40,303332024
Good Shepherd Food BankAuburn, ME$40,000112021
Hope ActsPortland, ME$40,000112023
Ciee IncSouth Portland, ME$32,000222024
United States Biathlon Association IncNew Gloucester, ME$30,500432024
Alfond Youth & Community CenterWaterville, ME$30,000112021
Bozeman Deaconess Health ServicesBozeman, MT$30,000112022
Maine Childrens Home for Little WanderersWaterville, ME$30,000112023
Noble and Greenough SchoolDedham, MA$30,000112022
Quoddy Tides FoundationEastport, ME$30,000112023
Penquis Valley Community Playground Committee (msad 41)Milo, ME$28,734112021
Eastport Port AuthorityEastport, ME$25,697112024
Convent of the Sacred HeartNew York, NY$25,000112023
Elliotsville Foundation IncPortland, ME$25,000112022
Massachusetts General HospitalBoston, MA$25,000112021
Stthomas More Play Group IncNew York, NY$25,000112023
The Esplanade AssociationBoston, MA$25,000112021
Maine Grain AllianceSkowhegan, ME$24,145332024
Capital Area New Mainers ProjectAugusta, ME$21,000322023
Waterville Public SchoolsWaterville, ME$20,828112023
Maine Children's Home for Little WanderersWaterville, ME$15,000112024
The Buckley School in the City of New YorkNew York, NY$15,000112023
Town of DexterDexter, ME$15,000112024
Good Will Home AssociationHinckley, ME$14,070222023
Central Park Conservancy IncNew York, NY$10,000112023
Red Sox FoundationBoston, MA$10,000112022
USA LacrosseSparks, MD$10,000112023
Greater Eastport Ecumenical Churches AssociationEastport, ME$9,100112022
Town of CorinnaCorinna, ME$8,500112024
University of Maine SystemOrono, ME$8,000112022
Carrabassett Valley AcademyCarrabassett Valley, ME$6,500222024
7 Lakes AllianceBelgrade Lakes, ME$5,000112021
Alzheimer's Disease Research FoundationWellesley Hills, MA$5,000112023
Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteBoston, MA$5,000112024
Trustees of Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH$5,000112023
Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA$5,000112023
City of WatervilleWaterville, ME$3,000112023
Information Technology Exchangegive It Get ItWaterville, ME$3,000112023
Maine School Administrative District #41Milo, ME$2,923112022
Alfond Youth and Community CenterWaterville, ME$2,700112024
Town of WinslowWinslow, ME$2,000222024
Abbott Memorial Library Board of TrusteesDexter, ME$1,000112023
Friends of the Belgrade Public LibraryBelgrade, ME$1,000112023
Kiwanis Club of DexterDexter, ME$1,000112024
Waterville CreatesWaterville, ME$500112024

26 of 75 (35%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.

Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 48%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. A high number means its list is close to settled and a newcomer has to displace someone; a low one means it is still moving money around, which is where an opening is.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 108 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.

Education
40 grants
Philanthropy & Grantmaking
10 grants
Community Improvement
8 grants
Arts & Culture
7 grants
Housing & Shelter
7 grants
Human Services
7 grants
Health Care
6 grants
Religion
5 grants

Giving by year

Tax yearGrantsTotalMedian grant
202126$4,327,524$38,865
202230$1,641,810$25,000
202348$2,158,029$10,000
202441$3,440,607$13,625

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.

Already committed for future years

Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. Bill and Joan Alfond has 16 of them, worth $1,540,240. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back -- and it also tells you how much of the next year's budget is already spoken for.

OrganizationLocationApproved
Central Maine Community Betterment CollaborativeWaterville, ME$634,374
Kennebec Valley Community Action ProgramWaterville, ME$500,000
Friends of Quarry RoadWaterville, ME$75,659
Thomas CollegeWaterville, ME$60,346
Central Maine Community Betterment CollaborativeWaterville, ME$57,600
Jobs for Maine's Graduates IncAugusta, ME$50,000
Friends of Quarry RoadWaterville, ME$34,155
Eastport Port AuthorityEastport, ME$30,000
Maine State MuseumAugusta, ME$29,973
Waterville Public SchoolsWaterville, ME$20,953
Beth Israel CongregationWaterville, ME$17,500
University of Maine SystemOrono, ME$16,000
Greater Eastport Ecumenical Churches AssociationEastport, ME$9,100
Kiwanis Club of DexterDexter, ME$2,000
Beth Israel CongregationWaterville, ME$1,800

Where its money goes

Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 59% of this one's giving went to organizations in Maine. If you are outside its footprint, that matters more than how well your programme fits.

Maine
$6.9M
Massachusetts
$4.6M
New York
$75K
Montana
$30K
Maryland
$10K
New Hampshire
$5K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are the strongest available signal that two funders have overlapping priorities, and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund39 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc33 shared recipientsMaine Community Foundation Inc30 shared recipientsVanguard Charitable Endowment Program25 shared recipientsAmerican Online Giving Foundation Inc22 shared recipientsMorgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc21 shared recipients

How to approach this foundation

  1. Check you are its size. The median grant is $18,662. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
  2. Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Maine.
  3. Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
  4. Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.

Related guides

Foundations funding education in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding arts & culture in MassachusettsEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Bill and Joan Alfond's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.

Address of record on the latest return: Co Dexter Entrps Two Monument Sq, Portland, ME, 04101. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.

EIN 01-0421806 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Foundation returns are published about a year after the tax year ends. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this foundation has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next -- and a much better basis for deciding whether to write to them than a mission statement.

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