Michigan · Private foundation
Besser Foundation
Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.
- $1.2M
- Granted FY2024(still arriving)
- 16
- Grants FY2024
- 15
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 33%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Median grant, FY2024
- $22,000
- Largest grant, FY2024
- $343,554
- Organizations funded a year
- 15 to 26
- FY2017 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2024
- 1
- Total assets, FY2024
- $17M
- Applications
- Takes unsolicited applications
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 33% of the organizations Besser Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 7% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 93% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $61k went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024still arriving | 10 | $1.2M | 0% |
| FY2023 | 15 | $906k | 33% |
| FY2022 | 16 | $1.1M | 25% |
| FY2021 | 15 | $950k | 13% |
| FY2020 | 17 | $1.0M | 24% |
| FY2019 | 21 | $1.8M | 14% |
| FY2018 | 23 | $921k | 26% |
| FY2017 | 26 | $933k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys and Girls Club of Alpena | $1,680,000 | 8 | 52% |
| Northeast Michigan Family Resource Center Inc | $315,250 | 8 | 9% |
| Mymichigan Medical Center Alpena | $300,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Habitat for Humanity | $247,516 | 7 | 24% |
| Thunder Bay Theatre Inc | $133,000 | 3 | 45% |
| Child Advocacy Center of Lapeer Co | $105,000 | 7 | 5% |
| Thunder Bay Arts Council | $92,956 | 8 | 21% |
| Alpena Community College | $35,650 | 4 | n/a |
| Friends Together | $28,432 | 3 | 3% |
| Council of Michigan Foundations | $15,400 | 3 | 0% |
Show all 18 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys and Girls Club of Alpena | $1,680,000 | 8 | 52% |
| Northeast Michigan Family Resource Center Inc | $315,250 | 8 | 9% |
| Mymichigan Medical Center Alpena | $300,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Habitat for Humanity | $247,516 | 7 | 24% |
| Thunder Bay Theatre Inc | $133,000 | 3 | 45% |
| Child Advocacy Center of Lapeer Co | $105,000 | 7 | 5% |
| Thunder Bay Arts Council | $92,956 | 8 | 21% |
| Alpena Community College | $35,650 | 4 | n/a |
| Friends Together | $28,432 | 3 | 3% |
| Council of Michigan Foundations | $15,400 | 3 | 0% |
| Northeast Michigan Center for Fine Arts Inc | $7,500 | 1 | 3% |
| Hospice of Michigan Inc | $6,000 | 1 | 0% |
| United Way of Northeast Michigan | $5,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Salvation Army | $3,500 | 1 | n/a |
| Temple Beth El | $3,500 | 2 | n/a |
| Target Alpena Development Corporation | $2,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Alpena Figure Skating Club | $2,000 | 1 | 6% |
| Alpena City Band | $1,000 | 1 | n/a |
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 32 recipients with no EIN on record ($5.8M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Besser Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 2 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 14 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Open a dossier: First Federal of Northern Michigan Legacy Foundation · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
About Besser Foundation
- How much does Besser Foundation give?
- Besser Foundation reported 16 grants totaling $1,178,199 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 15 and 26 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
- What does Besser Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (34%), Youth Development (20%), Education (16%).
- Who are Besser Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Boys and Girls Club of Alpena ($1.7M), Northeast Michigan Family Resource Center Inc ($315k), Mymichigan Medical Center Alpena ($300k).
- Does Besser Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 33% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does Besser Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Besser Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include First Federal of Northern Michigan Legacy Foundation, Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc, Amazonsmile Foundation.
- Where is Besser Foundation based?
- Besser Foundation is based in MI.
Play a game based on Besser’s filings →