Helen R Coe Trust
Bridgton, ME · EIN 01-0351827. Reported 64 grants totalling $417,961 to 28 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. Helen R Coe Trust 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 $8,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $4,533 and $9,000; the smallest was $700 and the largest $12,000. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maine | Orono, ME | $87,506 | 10 | 3 | 2023 |
| University of Southern Maine | Portland, ME | $61,330 | 8 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lovell Historical Society | Lovell, ME | $30,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Fryeburg Rescue | Fryeburg, ME | $26,170 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lovell Recreation Department | Lovell, ME | $25,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lovell Brick Church for the Performing Arts | Lovell, ME | $19,318 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Emmanuel College | Boston, MA | $17,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Paul Smith College | Paul Smiths, NY | $17,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Charlotte Hobbs Memorial Library | Lovell, ME | $15,951 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Sunshine Backpack Food Program | Brownfield, ME | $13,500 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Lovell United Church | Lovell, ME | $12,033 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| New Suncook School | Lovell, ME | $11,533 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Fryeburg Academy | Fryeburg, ME | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Great Bay Community College | Portsmouth, NH | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| National University of Ireland | Galway | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| White Mountain Community College | North Conway, NH | $8,500 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, GA | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Thomas College | Waterville, ME | $8,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Maine | Lovell, ME | $6,200 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | $6,020 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Giving Tree Foundation | Fryeburg, ME | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Saco Valley Fire Dept | North Fryeburg, ME | $3,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lewis Dana Hill Memorial Library | Lovell, ME | $2,200 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| New Suncook PTA | Lovell, ME | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Stoneham Rescue | Stoneham, ME | $2,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Maine Electrical Institute | Portland, ME | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| United Ambulance Service | Lewiston, ME | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Kennebec Girl Scous Council | Bridgton, ME | $700 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
14 of 28 (50%) 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 70%, across 2 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is about typical. 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.
- University of Maine
SCHOLARSHIP - COURTNEY DUTTON - University of Southern Maine
SCHOLARSHIP - ALANNA NATALUK - Lovell Historical Society
SUPPORT OF LOCAL HISTORICAL PROGRAMS - Fryeburg Rescue
SUPPORT OF LOCAL EMERGENCY RESCUE SQUAD - Lovell Recreation Department
SUPPORT OF LOCAL YOUTH SKIING PROGRAM AND SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS - Fryeburg Academy
SUPPORT OF LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the recipient's own IRS classification, for the 43 grants where we could identify the organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | $125,844 | $6,020 |
| 2022 | 23 | $152,250 | $8,000 |
| 2023 | 22 | $139,867 | $7,100 |
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
Foundations concentrate geographically far more than their mission statements suggest. 86% 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.
Find more foundations like Helen R Coe Trust
We email you newly filed foundations whose giving matches your state and cause, as the IRS publishes them. Free.
No spam, unsubscribe in one click. We never sell or share your address.
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 $8,000. 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 Maine.
- 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 Helen R Coe Trust'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: Co Michael Friedman Esq Po Box, Bridgton, ME, 04009. 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 01-0351827 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email hello@funderscope.com and we will correct it.