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Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc

Its FY2023 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$70k
Granted FY2023
6
Grants FY2023
4
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2023.

Environment$89kAnimals$73kArts & Culture$53kHealth$49kInternational$35kHuman Services$34kPublic Safety & Disaster$25kEducation$14kOther$0
02FY2023 · 6 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k3 grants · $15k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $55k
$15,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$506k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE TREVOR PROJECT$20,000
OCEAN CONSERVANCY$20,000
TYEF$15,000
MIDCOAST HUMANE$5,000
DOUGLASTON MANOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC$5,000
OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM$5,000
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 (FY17–21, $18k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $2k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $2k → 7%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $3k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $3k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $3k → 11%NEW HOPR FOR WOMEN: $2k → 11%NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN: $2k → 11%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
IL
NY
WY
CA
NE
MD
DC
TX
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$339k · 24 repeat orgs$72k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +93% since the first grant, against +54% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2023, 20 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2023 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
12

Total granted

$339k
$52k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+93%
+54%

Still filing today

79%
17%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 71% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $20k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23
EnvironmentAnimalsHuman ServicesEducationArts & CultureInternationalOther
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

  • TREVOR PROJECT INC
    7× · 2017–2023 · $46k · revenue +802%
  • MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC
    4× · 2019–2022 · $30k · revenue +79%
  • TO
    The Owls Head Transportation Museum
    5× · 2018–2023 · $25k · revenue +105%

Funded once

  • WF
    WILDLIFE FUND
    one grant, 2022 · $20k
  • CA
    COMMERATIVE AIR FORCE INC
    one grant, 2018 · $5k
  • OH
    OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION FUND
    one grant, 2017 · $5k
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
The Quebec-Labrador Foundation Inc

The program mission of the quebec-labrador foundation u.s. is defined by a regional component (new england and eastern canada), and an international component, which ties our regional model to a global conservation network. qlf's program…

Philanthropy
2
World Animal Protection

World animal protection is a global organization working to end factory farming and wildlife exploitation. we expose cruel systems, promote animal-friendly alternatives, and influence policy change. for over 75 years, we've been rewriting…

Animals
3
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
4
Conservation Law Foundation Inc

Conservation law foundation, inc. (clf) protects new england's environment for the benefit of all people and future generations. we use the law, science, and markets to create solutions that preserve and restore our natural resources,…

Environment
5
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation

To engage and catalyze global seafood supply chains in rebuilding depleted fish stocks and reducing the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming.

Animals
6
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
7
Animal Wellness Action

To prevent cruelty to animals, we promote enacting and enforcing good public policies. enacting good laws depends upon electing good lawmakers, and we remind voters which candidates care about and support animal issues.

Human Services
8
Maine Audubon Society

Maine Audubon works to conserve Maine's wildlife and habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation, and action. We are helping the people of Maine become the nation's most informed and effective stewards of wildlife and…

Environment
9
National Audubon Society Inc

We work towards a future where birds thrive across the americas because audubon is a powerful, diverse, and ever-growing force for conservation. (continued on schedule o).

Environment
10
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
11
Massachusetts Audubon Society Inc

To protect the nature of massachusetts for people and for wildlife through education, land conservation, advocacy, scientific research, and habitat stewardship/restoration.

Environment
12
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Rock Springs Community Chest. 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

21 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. 21 of the 38 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
9
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
18/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

AOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATION: $25,000 · OtherAOPA AIR SAFETY FOUNDATIONWILDLIFE FUND: $20,000 · OtherWILDLIFE FUNDTRANS YOUTH EQUALITY FOUNDATION: $17,000 · OtherTRANS YOUTH EQUALITY FOUNDATIONTYEF: $15,000 · OtherTYEFLINCOLN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER: $12,000 · OtherLINCOLN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTERDIVERSIONARY THEATRE: $7,500 · OtherCOMMERATIVE AIR FORCE INC: $5,000 · OtherOWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION FUND: $5,000 · OtherDOUGLASTON MANOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOC: $5,000 · OtherSHEEPSCOT VALLEY CHILDRENS HOUSE: $5,000 · Other+11 more: $24,500 · Other+11 moreOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $45,000 · EnvironmentOCEAN CONSERVANCYENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $12,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE …Rainforest Action Network: $10,000 · EnvironmentRainforest Action Netw…WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $10,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUND IN…NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $4,500 · EnvironmentNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOU…TREVOR PROJECT INC: $45,500 · Civil RightsTREVOR PROJE…The Owls Head Transportation Museum: $25,000 · Arts & CultureThe Owls Hea…THE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE: $20,000 · Arts & CultureTHE COMMEMOR…THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $15,000 · AnimalsTHE AMERIC…MIDCOAST HUMANE: $9,500 · AnimalsMIDCOAST H…ANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND: $7,000 · AnimalsANIMAL REF…Wildlife Conservation Society: $7,000 · AnimalsWildlife C…MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $29,500 · InternationalMEDECINS …UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $5,000 · InternationalUNITED ST…NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC: $11,500 · Human ServicesPREBLE STREET: $6,500 · Human ServicesEqualityMaine Foundation: $6,000 · Human Services
Other$141,000Environment$81,500Civil Rights$45,500Arts & Culture$45,000Animals$38,500International$34,500Human Services$24,000

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 budgetTREVOR PROJECT INC: $45,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetOCEAN CONSERVANCY: $45,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $29,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Owls Head Transportation Museum: $25,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE: $20,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: $15,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $12,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC: $11,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetRainforest Action Network: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMIDCOAST HUMANE: $9,500 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND: $7,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $7,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPREBLE STREET: $6,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetEqualityMaine Foundation: $6,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetSHEEPSCOT VALLEY CHILDRENS HOUSE: $5,000 over 3y, 0.9% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $4,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetROCK SPRINGS COMMUNITY CHEST: $4,000 over 2y, 43% of budgetWISCASSET PUBLIC LIBRARY: $2,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING: $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.

  • Who funds TREVOR PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds OCEAN CONSERVANCY ↗
  • Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC ↗
  • Who funds The Owls Head Transportation Museum ↗
  • Who funds THE COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ↗
  • Who funds ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds NEW HOPE FOR WOMEN INC ↗
  • Who funds Rainforest Action Network ↗
  • Who funds WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds MIDCOAST HUMANE ↗
  • Who funds ANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND ↗
  • Who funds Wildlife Conservation Society ↗
  • Who funds PREBLE STREET ↗
  • Who funds EqualityMaine Foundation ↗
  • Who funds SHEEPSCOT VALLEY CHILDRENS HOUSE ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ROCK SPRINGS COMMUNITY CHEST ↗
  • Who funds WISCASSET PUBLIC LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ↗

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…The Bank of America C…Paypal Charitable Giv…National Philanthropi…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Maine Community Foundation IncME15.1× affinity5 shared granteesties to 8 of 8Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · National Philanthropic Trust · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Downeast Conservation Foundation Inc 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 38 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 2023, released 2023. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Downeast Conservation’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