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Bronson Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Bronson Family Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$28k
Granted FY2025still arriving
10
Grants FY2025still arriving
4
States reached
$4k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Environment$86kRecreation & Sports$53kFood & Nutrition$44kAnimals$19kCrime & Legal$11kArts & Culture$9kInternational$9kCivil Rights$8kOther$0
02FY2025 · 10 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$2,667
Median grant
4
States reached
$709k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ROCHESTER AREA SPORTS TRAILS ALLIANCE$4,333
VERMONT LAND TRUST INC$4,000
MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC$4,000
CULTIVATING COMMUNITY$3,000
NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION INC$2,667
PORTLAND TRAILS$2,666
MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION$2,333
KILHAM BEAR CENTER INC$2,000
GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE$1,833
LONDONDERRY VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD$1,333
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 83% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION INC: $3k → 8%THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3k → 7%DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA INC: $7k → 17%METRO CARING: $2k → 12%READING CONNECTION INCORPORATED: $2k → 7%ROCHESTER AREA SPORTS TRAILS ALLIANCE: $4k → 9%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $5k → 9%ALL BREED RESCUE INC: $3k → 10%THE BOMA PROJECT INC: $2k → 11%VERMONT ADAPTIVE SKI & SPORTS: $3k → 12%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $3k → 9%KILHAM BEAR CENTER INC: $2k → 10%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 13%HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO: $4k → 16%AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $3k → 17%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 9%VERMONT ADAPTIVE SKI & SPORTS: $2k → 12%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $3k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 13%HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO: $4k → 16%AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $3k → 17%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 9%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $3k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 13%HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO: $4k → 16%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 9%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $3k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $3k → 13%HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO: $3k → 16%NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION INC: $2k → 8%VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO INC: $2k → 12%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 9%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $3k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $3k → 13%HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO: $3k → 16%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $4k → 9%GRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $2k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $3k → 13%VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $3k → 9%MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 7%MAHOOSUC LAND TRUST INC: $3k → 13%PORTLAND TRAILS: $3k → 7%MAINE AUDUBON SOCIETY: $2k → 7%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NH
NY
MA
CT
CA
CO
VA
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$228k · 18 repeat orgs$32k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +49% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
7

Total granted

$228k
$25k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+49%
0%

Still filing today

100%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 75% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $7k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentRecreation & SportsInternationalArts & CulturePublic Safety & DisasterHuman ServicesOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • VERMONT LAND TRUST INC
    8× · 2017–2025 · $28k · revenue +67%
  • ML
    Mahoosuc Land Trust Inc
    7× · 2019–2025 · $24k · revenue +169%
  • CC
    CULTIVATING COMMUNITY
    6× · 2020–2025 · $20k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INCgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue +98%
  • Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
    one grant, 2017 · $7k · revenue +17%
  • AB
    ALL BREED RESCUE INC
    one grant, 2017 · $3k · revenue -5%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust

To preserve and protect land surrounding the appalachian trail in maine for public benefit.

Environment
2
Kennebunk Land Trust

Kennebunk Land Trust's mission is to permanently conserve and steward land to benefit natural and human communities.

Environment
3
Midcoast Conservancy

The mission of Midcoast Conservancy is to protect vital lands and waters on a scale that matters and to inspire wonder and action on behalf of all species and the Earth.

Environment
4
The Vermont River Conservancy Inc

Protect land along rivers, lakes and wetlands of vt; protect public access, wildlife habitat, scenic natural beauty, and ecological integrity.

Human Services
5
Upper Saco Valley Land Trust

The Organization works with local landowners to permanently protect natural land and waters that define its community and enrich the quality of life by purchasing, managing, negotiating and developing conservations easements in the Upper…

Food & Nutrition
6
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust

The mission of the SRLT is to recognize and conserve the rich wild and workinglandscape of Central Maine's Sebasticook River watershed through conservation,stewardship and education. Our focal programs are land conservation for…

Environment
7
Boothbay Region Land Trust

To conserve for the public benefit natural habitat, scenic beauty, and working land of the Boothbay region of Maine by providing stewardship, public access, and environmental programs.

Environment
8
Chebeague & Cumberland Land Trust

Our mission is to permanently conserve and steward natural resources across our island and mainland communities for the benefit of current and future generations.

—
9
Coastal Mountains Land Trust

We conserve land permanently to benefit the natural and human communities of western the Penobscot Bay region.

Environment
10
Maine Rivers

Maine Rivers is a statewide advocacy organization. Our mission is to protect, restore and enhance the ecological health of Maine's river systems. We support and direct efforts to conserve and improve the health of Maine's rivers and…

Environment
11
Mt Ascutney Outdoors Inc

Mt. Ascutney Outdoors, Inc's mission is to promote vitality within the community by providing affordable and unique recreational, cultural and educational activities to local residents and visitors from the Upper Valley region of Vermont…

Recreation & Sports
12
Islesboro Islands Trust

The mission of Islesboro Islands Trust is to enhance the quality of residents' lives through the preservation of open space, educate all residents as to the value of the island's natural ecosystems, and act as an environmental advocate on…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Vermont Land Trust Inc; the most unlike its peers is Work Vessels for Vets Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

28 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/28
Grantees still filing
21/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

VERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $28,334 · EnvironmentVERMONT LAND TRUST INCMahoosuc Land Trust Inc: $23,501 · EnvironmentMahoosuc Land Trust IncMaine Island Trail Association: $18,415 · EnvironmentMaine Island Trail AssociationMaine Audubon Society: $6,832 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon Society+2 more: $4,333 · EnvironmentGRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $18,665 · Recreation & SportsGRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIAN…VERMONT ADAPTIVE SKI AND SPORTS: $14,833 · Recreation & SportsVERMONT ADAPTIVE SKI AND S…NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION INC: $10,667 · Recreation & SportsNEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE …VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO: $9,999 · Recreation & SportsVOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COL…RIDGELINE OUTDOOR COLLECTIVE: $4,333 · Recreation & SportsRIDGELINE OUTDOOR COLLECTI…Maine GearShare: $3,167 · Recreation & SportsLondonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad Inc Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad: $7,666 · OtherLondonderry Volunteer Resc…METRO CARING: $6,000 · OtherMETRO CARINGTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3,000 · OtherALL BREED RESCUE INC: $2,500 · OtherMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $7,250 · OtherMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES U…Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: $7,250 · OtherColonial Williamsburg Foun…AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $8,166 · OtherAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES U…OUTRIGHT VERMONT: $6,667 · OtherOUTRIGHT VERMONTWORK VESSELS FOR VETS INC: $6,666 · OtherWORK VESSELS FOR VETS INC+3 more: $6,000 · Other+3 moreCULTIVATING COMMUNITY: $20,166 · Food & NutritionHand in Hand Mano en Mano: $17,833 · EducationTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $11,001 · Crime & LegalTHE KILHAM BEAR CENTER INC: $9,666 · Animals
Environment$81,415Recreation & Sports$61,664Other$61,165Food & Nutrition$20,166Education$17,833Crime & Legal$11,001Animals$9,666

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetVERMONT LAND TRUST INC: $28,334 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetMahoosuc Land Trust Inc: $23,501 over 7y, 0.9% of budgetCULTIVATING COMMUNITY: $20,166 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetGRANITE BACKCOUNTRY ALLIANCE: $18,665 over 7y, 2.5% of budgetMaine Island Trail Association: $18,415 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetHand in Hand Mano en Mano: $17,833 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetVERMONT ADAPTIVE SKI AND SPORTS: $14,833 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetTHE BAIL PROJECT INC: $11,001 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION INC: $10,667 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetVOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO: $9,999 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE KILHAM BEAR CENTER INC: $9,666 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $8,166 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLondonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad Inc Londonderry Volunteer Rescue Squad: $7,666 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $7,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetColonial Williamsburg Foundation: $7,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Audubon Society: $6,832 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetOUTRIGHT VERMONT: $6,667 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetWORK VESSELS FOR VETS INC: $6,666 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetMETRO CARING: $6,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMaine GearShare: $3,167 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALL BREED RESCUE INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetTHE BOMA PROJECT INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE READING CONNECTION INC: $2,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetINLAND WOODS TRAILS: $1,667 over 1y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

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.

Onion FoundationMaine Community Found…Quimby Family Foundat…Davis Conservation Fo…Elmina B Sewall Found…Leonard C & Mildred F…The Widgeon Point Cha…Horizon Foundation IncNational Life Group C…New Hampshire Charita…ImpactassetsincThe Pfizer Foundation…
Onion FoundationME23.9× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Onion Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Quimby Family Foundation · Davis Conservation Foundation · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation · The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation · Horizon Foundation Inc · National Life Group Charitable Foundation Inc · New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Impactassetsinc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Bronson Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Bronson Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Vermont Land Trust Inc: 42% of income from government
  • Outright Vermont: 13% of income from government
  • Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Bronson Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Bronson Family Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 28 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Bronson Family’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home