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Cianbro Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cianbro Charitable Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$620k
Granted FY2025still arriving
12
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$250k
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, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$6.9MHuman Services$354kCommunity Improvement$348kHealth$323kYouth Development$244kEnvironment$51kPhilanthropy$51kEmployment$15kOther$0
02FY2025 · 12 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k3 grants · $11k
  • $10k–50k5 grants · $61k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $298k
  • $250k+1 grant · $250k
$13,420
Median grant
3
States reached
$12M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Bangor Region YMCA$250,000
Maine Central Institute$175,000
The Cianbro Companies Scholarship$73,000
The Lifeflight Foundation$50,000
The Travis Mills Foundation$15,000
Friends Of The Library$13,420
Katahdin Area Boy Scouts BSA$12,500
Educate Maine$10,000
Associated Builders & Contractors Inc$10,000
Forest Society Of Maine$5,000
Our Katahdin$3,700
Curesearch For Children's Cancer$2,500
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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–25, $253k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 99% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%Bangor Region YMCA: $250k → 15%Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute: $1k → 7%Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute: $1k → 7%Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute: $1k → 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.
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.

92%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.7M · 18 repeat orgs$641k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +24% for those funded once.

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

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
20

Total granted

$7.7M
$389k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+24%

Still filing today

72%
55%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $253k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEducationPhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesEnvironmentOther
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

  • MC
    Maine Central Institute
    5× · 2020–2025 · $6.2M · revenue +8% · 49% of their budget
  • OK
    Our Katahdin
    4× · 2022–2025 · $190k · revenue +223%
  • PD
    Pittsfield Development Corporation
    3× · 2022–2024 · $120k · revenue ×22 · 100% of their budget

Funded once

  • NL
    Northern Light Health
    one grant, 2024 · $161k
  • MM
    MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
  • HO
    HEART OF MAINE UNITED WAYgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $50k · revenue +44%
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
Wetlands Foundation
Environment
2
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation
Environment
3
Maine Technology Institute

The Institute, through a public and private partnership, shall encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products and services in Maine's technology-intensive…

Education
4
Maine Historical Society

Maine Historical Society, founded in 1822, is a private non-profit whose mission is to preserve and share Maine's story. Based in Portland, we work closely with communities and partners throughout the state, and serve a statewide and…

Arts & Culture
5
Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries

Secure a sustainable future for fisheries and fishing communities in Eastern Maine and beyond.

Science & Tech
6
Maine Veterinary Education Foundation
Education
7
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
8
Maine Maritime Museum

To connect people to the past, present, and future of Maine's waterways and their global reach.

Arts & Culture
9
Maine & Company

Maine & Company is a private, non-profit business development sales organization. Its purpose is to improve Maine's success in attracting new business and expanding and retaining existing business by providing a focused, statewide sales…

—
10
Maine Center Ventures

Support and promote the University of Maine Graduate & Professional Center ("Maine Center") of the University of Maine System through fundraising, marketing, and engagement with Maine enterprises and employers to identify and address…

Education
11
Manufacturers Association of Maine

The manufacturers association of maine is dedicated to promoting and strengthening manufacturing in maine as an informative voice for the state's manufacturing community.

—
12
Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation Inc Attn Susan Sacco
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Foundation for a Strong Maine Economy; the most unlike its peers is Maine State Troopers Foundation. 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. 28 of the 41 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

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

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/28
Grantees still filing
21/28
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Maine Central Institute: $6,183,182 · EducationMaine Central Institute+1 more: $50,000 · EducationThe Cianbro Companies Scholarship: $449,500 · OtherThe Cianbro Compan…Katahdin Area Boy Scouts Bsa: $162,000 · OtherKatahdin Area Boy …Northern Light Health: $160,722 · OtherNorthern Light Hea…Pittsfield Development Corporation: $119,774 · OtherPittsfield Develop…FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY: $108,420 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE LIB…MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY: $100,000 · OtherMAINE MARITIME ACA…BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 0218 PINE TREE COUNCIL INC: $50,000 · Other+21 more: $227,500 · Other+21 moreBANGOR YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION: $250,000 · Human Services+1 more: $3,000 · Human ServicesOur Katahdin: $190,265 · Community ImprovementFOUNDATION FOR A STRONG MAINE ECONOMY: $15,000 · Community ImprovementLifeFlight Foundation: $150,000 · Health+3 more: $12,500 · HealthTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $90,000 · Public BenefitHEART OF MAINE UNITED WAY: $50,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $1,000 · Philanthropy
Education$6,233,182Other$1,377,916Human Services$253,000Community Improvement$205,265Health$162,500Public Benefit$90,000Philanthropy$51,000

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 budgetMaine Central Institute: $6,183,182 over 5y, 49% of budgetOur Katahdin: $190,265 over 4y, 6.9% of budgetLifeFlight Foundation: $150,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetPittsfield Development Corporation: $119,774 over 3y, 100% of budgetTRAVIS MILLS FOUNDATION: $90,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetHEART OF MAINE UNITED WAY: $50,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetEducate Maine: $50,000 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 0218 PINE TREE COUNCIL INC: $50,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetForest Society of Maine: $30,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS INC: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF MAINE INC: $29,000 over 4y, 2.1% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $21,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR A STRONG MAINE ECONOMY: $15,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetGULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCAMP SUNSHINE AT SEBAGO LAKE INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFULL PLATES FULL POTENTIAL: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMOOSEHEAD MARINE MUSEUM: $7,500 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTHE ENGINEERING CENTER EDUCATION TRUST: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBangor Historical Society: $5,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetWALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES: $5,000 over 1y, 3.4% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJOE ANDRUZZI FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOlympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetMaine Appalachian Trail Club: $1,000 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.

Maine Community Found…Bangor Savings Bank F…Davis Family Foundati…Machias Savings Bank …Stephen & Tabitha Kin…Elmina B Sewall Found…Harold Alfond Foundat…The Mimi FoundationSimmons Foundation - …Sam L Cohen FoundationJohn T Gorman Foundat…Td Charitable Foundat…
Maine Community Foundation IncME31.5× affinity14 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Davis Family Foundation · Machias Savings Bank Community Development Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Harold Alfond Foundation · The Mimi Foundation · Simmons Foundation - PerkinsThompson · Sam L Cohen Foundation · John T Gorman Foundation · Td Charitable Foundation

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 Cianbro Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Cianbro Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    4report 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 Cianbro Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Cianbro Charitable 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 41 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 Cianbro’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