First Federal of Northern Michigan
Alpena, MI · EIN 20-2531733. Reported 74 grants totalling $480,827 to 55 organizations across tax years 2021-2023. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
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. First Federal of Northern Michigan did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $2,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $1,500 and $5,000; the smallest was $495 and the largest $85,366. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
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.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Alpena | Alpena, MI | $85,366 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Alpena | Alpena, MI | $75,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Thunder Bay Theatre | Alpena, MI | $35,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ama Esd | Alpena, MI | $27,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Besser Museum for Ne Michigan | Alpena, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Midmichigan | Alpena, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alpena Youth Center | Alpena, MI | $20,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thunder Bay River Center | Alpena, MI | $12,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Friends of Tb National Marine Sanct | Alpena, MI | $11,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boys and Girls Club of Alpena | Alpena, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Habitat for Humanity | Alpena, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| The Sunset Project | Alpena, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thunder Bay Arts Council | Alpena, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Friends Together | Alpena, MI | $8,500 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| United Way of Ne Michigan | Alpena, MI | $7,830 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Headwaters Land Conservancy | Gaylord, MI | $7,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Long Rapids Township | Lachine, MI | $7,365 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Thunder Bay Brown Trout | Alpena, MI | $7,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Alpena County Sheriff Department | Alpena, MI | $6,600 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Alpena County Library | Alpena, MI | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Iosco County Coats for Kids | Tawas City, MI | $5,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| County of Alpena | Alpena, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Rogers City Police Department | Rogers City, MI | $4,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Thunder Bay Folk Society | Alpena, MI | $4,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Community Foundation for Ne Mi | Alpena, MI | $3,821 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| United Way of Ne Mi | Alpena, MI | $3,500 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Oscoda County Library | Mio, MI | $3,475 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Sunrise Community Food Pantry | Alpena, MI | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Trinity Episcopal Church | Alpena, MI | $3,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Alpena Street Performers | Alpena, MI | $2,600 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Alpena Brown Trout | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Alpena Figure Skating Club | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Charter Township of Alpena Fd | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of Hubbard Lake Center | Hubbard Lake, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Friends of Tb National Marine Sanctuary | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Friends of the Aplex Courts | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Grace Lutheran Church | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Grand Lake Community Chapel | Presque Isle, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Habitat for Humanity Northeast Mi | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Hubbard Lake Bible Church Food Pant | Hubbard Lake, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Iosco Resa | Tawas City, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Mclaren Northern Michigan Fnd | Petoskey, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Presque Isle Township | Presque Isle, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Target Alpena Development Corp | Alpena, MI | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Ne Michigan Community Partnership | Alpena, MI | $1,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Long Rapids Congregational Church | Lachine, MI | $1,275 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Cheboygan County Habitat for Humani | Cheboygan, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| District Health Dept 4 | Alpena, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Junior Achievement | Grand Rapids, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bay View Center | Alpena, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Besser Pac | Alpena, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Foster Closet of Northern Michigan | Alpena, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kiwanis of Rogers City | Rogers City, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Michigan Special Olympics | Mt Pleasamt, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Lydia's Gate | Mio, MI | $495 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
15 of 55 (27%) received money in more than one year over the 3 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 35%, across 2 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.
- Boys & Girls Club of Alpena
KITCHEN REMODEL - FULL COST - Ama Esd
HANDICAP PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT - Midmichigan
SPONSOR OF A LABOR & DELIVERY ROOM - Friends of Tb National Marine Sanct
MARITIME HERITAGE WATERFRONT PARK - Alpena County Library
MAKERSPACE FOR CREATIVITY & EXPLORAT - Long Rapids Township
ROPE RESCUE HARNESS UPGRADE
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 20 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | $165,300 | $2,000 |
| 2022 | 27 | $100,199 | $2,000 |
| 2023 | 23 | $215,328 | $3,500 |
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.
Where its money goes
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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.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $2,000. Asking for ten times that is the most common way small organizations waste a submission.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
- 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.
- 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.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from First Federal of Northern Michigan's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 3 returns (tax years 2021-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred, or estimated.
Address of record on the latest return: 100 S Second Ave, Alpena, MI, 49707. 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 20-2531733 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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