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Cornelia Bessie Memorial Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Cornelia Bessie Memorial Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$287k
Granted FY2026still arriving
30
Grants FY2026still arriving
11
States reached
$25k
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.

Arts & Culture$486kFood & Nutrition$285kInternational$125kHealth$112kEnvironment$110kAnimals$65kHuman Services$55kEducation$50kOther$0
02FY2026 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k15 grants · $86k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $201k
$10,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$6.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF THE LYMES SENIOR CENTER INC$25,000
VALLEY SHORE YMCA WESTBROOK$20,000
CARE$15,000
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS USA INC$15,000
WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN$15,000
ZARA MANZUR FOUNDATION$15,000
PETERBOROUGH UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION (PUUC)$13,000
CLASSICAL UPRISING$12,600
PETERBOROUGH FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY$10,000
TRI TOWN YOUTH SERVICES BUREAU INC$10,000
WOODSHED ARTS$10,000
LEEWAY FOUNDATION INC$10,000
EQUALITY HEALTH CENTER$10,000
HOUSE OF BREAD$10,000
RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC$10,000
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 (FY20–26, $173k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 12% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%NEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RESOURCE FUND: $15k → 8%NEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RELIEF FUND: $20k → 16%ROCHESTER COMMUNITY CARE HOME INC: $20k → 9%NEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RELIEF FUND: $10k → 8%NEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RELIEF FUND: $10k → 8%NEW LONDON HOMELESS HOSPITALITY CENTER INC: $20k → 9%NEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RESOURCE FUND: $8k → 8%RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $10k → 7%RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $10k → 7%FRIENDS OF THE LYMES SENIOR CENTER INC: $25k → 9%RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $10k → 7%RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $10k → 7%RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $5k → 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
IL
MI
NY
MA
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
MD
DC
AL
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.

71%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 27 repeat orgs$474k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against 0% for those funded once.

27 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2026, 12 since wound down; 15 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

27
25

Total granted

$1.2M
$324k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
0%

Still filing today

89%
84%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 48% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $150k went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
Arts & CultureInternationalHuman ServicesHealthFood & NutritionYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • CU
    CLASSICAL UPRISING
    6× · 2021–2026 · $123k · revenue +300%
  • WW
    Words Without Borders Inc
    5× · 2021–2026 · $68k · revenue +33%
  • 2S
    240 STRINGS
    4× · 2022–2025 · $55k · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • SP
    SEYMOUR PINKINC
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue -5%
  • RC
    ROCHESTER COMMUNITY CARE HOME INC
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue -32%
  • AL
    A LEG TO STAND ON INC
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +7%
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
New York City Center Inc

The mission of new york city center is to be new york city's leading center for dance and musical theater. dedicated to making the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience, city center seeks to create a welcoming environment and…

Arts & Culture
2
Heartbeat Opera Ltd

Grounded in the belief that excellent opera making should build community and radiate beauty, Heartbeat Opera creates incisive adaptations, revelatory arrangements of classics, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We reckon with the…

Arts & Culture
3
Connecticut Humane Society

The connecticut humane society is the leading resource in the state for companion animal welfare, enriching the lives of families and communities through adoption services, medical care, education, and prevention of cruelty.

Animals
4
The New York Festival of Song Inc

NYFOS is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty and originality, weaving music, poetry, history and humor into unforgettable evenings of compelling theater, entertaining, educating and creating community among…

—
5
Bargemusic Ltd

For 45 years bargemusic continues to be dedicted to enhancing the cultural life of new york city by presenting concerts year round making the entire canon of chamber music accessible to everyone in a unique floating concert hall.

Arts & Culture
6
Fine Arts Radio Inc

Fine Arts Radio, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to supporting classical and classic music in Connecticut and New York

—
7
World Music Institute Inc

World music institute is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world to enrich lives through the arts, promote awareness and appreciation of the worlds rich cultural traditions and…

Arts & Culture
8
Florentine Opera Company Inc

The florentine opera company is driven to produce the full range of operatic works reflecting the highest musical and theatrical standards, and to support community and education programs that foster the current and next generation of…

Arts & Culture
9
En Garde Arts Inc

To produce bold theatre experiences that reach across artistic, physical and social boundries. We aim to increase empathy and open-mindedness by illuminating nuanced perspectives and unspoken truths behind the salient issues of our time.…

Arts & Culture
10
Connecticut Foodshare Inc

The mission of the connecticut foodshare is to deliver an informed and equitable response to hunger by mobilizing community partners, volunteers, and supporters.

—
11
Boston Baroque Inc

The organization operates america's first permanent period orchestra and chorus which reach local, national, and international audiences through a subscription series, touring engagements, recordings, and broadcasts.

Arts & Culture
12
The 24 Hour Company

The organization's mission is to bring together creative communities to produce plays and musicals that are written, rehearsed and performed in 24 hours.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Covenant Soup Kitchen Inc; the most unlike its peers is Pat Mac's Pack 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

55 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 55 of the 67 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)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
54/55
Grantees still filing
30/55
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CLASSICAL UPRISING: $123,000 · Arts & CultureCLASSICAL UPRISING240 STRINGS: $55,000 · Arts & Culture240 STRINGSNEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $45,000 · Arts & CultureNEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVA…ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INCPETERBOROUGH FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY: $27,000 · Arts & CulturePETERBOROUGH FOLK MUSIC SOCI…JUSTICE ARTS COALITION INC: $24,000 · Arts & CultureJUSTICE ARTS COALITION INCKEENE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $21,000 · Arts & CultureGRAND MONADNOCK YOUTH CHOIRS: $20,000 · Arts & CultureEUGENE O'NEILL MEMORIAL THEATER CENTER INC: $15,000 · Arts & Culture+8 more: $61,700 · Arts & Culture+8 morePETERBOROUGH HUMAN SERVICES FUND (AKA PETERBOROUGH FOOD PANTRY): $42,500 · OtherPETERBOROUGH HUMAN SERVICES FUND (…INTEGRATED REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES: $35,000 · OtherINTEGRATED REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT S…NUDAY: $30,000 · OtherNUDAYPETERBOROUGH UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION (PUUC): $24,000 · OtherVALLEY SHORE YMCA WESTBROOK: $20,000 · OtherPat Mac's Pack Inc: $27,000 · OtherPat Mac's Pack IncSEYMOUR PINKINC: $20,000 · OtherKeeping Track Inc: $56,100 · OtherKeeping Track IncHARRIS CENTER FOR CONSERVATION EDUCATION INC: $48,000 · OtherHARRIS CENTER FOR CONSERVATION EDU…+20 more: $199,500 · Other+20 moreWords Without Borders Inc: $67,500 · InternationalWords Without …MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $45,000 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS …WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $25,000 · InternationalWORLD CENTRAL …AMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $25,000 · InternationalAMERICAN NEAR …OXFAM-AMERICA INC: $15,000 · InternationalOXFAM-AMERICA …COOPERATIVE FOR ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF EVERYWHERE INC: $15,000 · InternationalCOOPERATIVE FO…HUMAN APPEAL: $15,000 · InternationalHUMAN APPEALPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $10,000 · InternationalNEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RESOURCE FUND INC: $62,500 · Human ServicesNEW ENGLAND…RAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $45,000 · Human ServicesRAY OF LIGH…FRIENDS OF THE LYMES SENIOR CENTER INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesFRIENDS OF …ROCHESTER COMMUNITY CARE HOME INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesROCHESTER C…NEW LONDON HOMELESS HOSPITALITY CENTER: $20,000 · Human ServicesNEW LONDON …HOUSE OF BREAD: $60,000 · Food & NutritionHOUSE OF B…COVENANT SOUP KITCHEN INC: $50,000 · Food & NutritionCOVENANT S…CITY SEED INC: $35,000 · Food & NutritionCITY SEED …THE SHORELINE SOUP KITCHENS & PANTRIES INC: $15,000 · Food & NutritionTHE SHOREL…FOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $92,500 · Community ImprovementHUNTS POINT ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN: $55,000 · Youth DevelopmentA LEG TO STAND ON INC: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentTRI-TOWN YOUTH SERVICES BUREAU INC: $10,000 · Youth Development
Arts & Culture$421,700Other$502,100International$217,500Human Services$172,500Food & Nutrition$160,000Community Improvement$92,500Youth Development$85,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCLASSICAL UPRISING: $123,000 over 6y, 7.5% of budgetFOOD BANK FOR NEW YORK CITY: $92,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetWords Without Borders Inc: $67,500 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetNEW ENGLAND MUSICIANS RESOURCE FUND INC: $62,500 over 5y, 31% of budgetHOUSE OF BREAD: $60,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetKeeping Track Inc: $56,100 over 3y, 13% of budgetHUNTS POINT ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN: $55,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budget240 STRINGS: $55,000 over 4y, 22% of budgetCOVENANT SOUP KITCHEN INC: $50,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetHARRIS CENTER FOR CONSERVATION EDUCATION INC: $48,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetNEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetRAY OF LIGHT FARM INC: $45,000 over 5y, 2.3% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetINTEGRATED REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT SERVICES: $35,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetCITY SEED INC: $35,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INC: $30,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetNUDAY: $30,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPat Mac's Pack Inc: $27,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetPETERBOROUGH FOLK MUSIC SOCIETY: $27,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetAMERICAN NEAR EAST REFUGEE AID: $25,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJUSTICE ARTS COALITION INC: $24,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetKEENE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA INC: $21,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetGRAND MONADNOCK YOUTH CHOIRS: $20,000 over 2y, 54% of budgetSEYMOUR PINKINC: $20,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetROCHESTER COMMUNITY CARE HOME INC: $20,000 over 1y, 3.8% of budgetA LEG TO STAND ON INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetNEW LONDON HOMELESS HOSPITALITY CENTER: $20,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetOXFAM-AMERICA INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BLUE DOOR FOUNDATION INC: $15,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetTHE SHORELINE SOUP KITCHENS & PANTRIES INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetNORTH BRANCH NATURE CENTER INC: $15,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetRED BULL THEATER INC: $12,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetPEN AMERICAN CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFCANCER: $10,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetPALESTINE CHILDREN'S RELIEF FUND: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCOLORADO FELINE FOSTER RESCUE: $10,000 over 1y, 4.7% of budgetFRACTURED ATLAS INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDIGS WITH DIGNITY CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 0.7% 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.

Cornelia and Michael …The Community Foundat…Chelsea Groton Founda…Liberty Bank Foundati…The Pfizer Foundation…Dominion Energy Chari…Aetna Foundation IncThe Ford FoundationThe Bank of America C…The Blackbaud Giving …Network for GoodVanguard Charitable E…
Cornelia and Michael Bessie FoundationCT47.4× affinity20 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Cornelia and Michael Bessie Foundation · The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut Inc · Chelsea Groton Foundation · Liberty Bank Foundation Inc · The Pfizer Foundation Inc · Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation · Aetna Foundation Inc · The Ford Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Network for Good · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 80%4%15%34%60%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 37%
  • City Seed Inc: 87% of income from government
  • New London Homeless Hospitality Center: 47% of income from government
  • Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services: 37% of income from government
  • North Branch Nature Center Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Eugene O'neill Memorial Theater Center Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Oxfam-America Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
8get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 Cornelia Bessie Memorial Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Cornelia Bessie Memorial 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 67 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Cornelia Bessie Memorial’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