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Jack and Deborah Daw Heffernan Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Jack and Deborah Daw Heffernan 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.

$39k
Granted FY2025still arriving
24
Grants FY2025still arriving
11
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Arts & Culture$77kEnvironment$61kHealth$36kFood & Nutrition$31kEducation$12kScience & Tech$6kHuman Services$5kInternational$4kOther$0
02FY2025 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k23 grants · $14k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
$140
Median grant
11
States reached
$296k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY$25,000
LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION$3,580
RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM$3,000
MAINE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION$2,750
LOON ECHO LAND TRUST$1,218
SCAD ALLIANCE$512
COMMON CAUSE$450
PLAN USA$420
MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING$300
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY$200
VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY$200
BOSTON MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS$140
Individual grant recipient$118
PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART$118
MATTHEW 25 HOMELESS SHELTER$104
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 7%, against an area that typically sits at 6%. 98% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 6%MASS BIO EDUCATION: $1k → 8%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $2k → 16%G: $1k → 6%MT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $3k → 9%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $2k → 16%SCADALLIANCE: $1k → 6%MT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $1k → 9%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $2k → 16%MT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $1k → 9%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $2k → 16%NETWORK FOR GOOD: $2k → 14%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $1k → 16%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $1k → 16%MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $1k → 16%MAINE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%MAINE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $1k → 7%RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM: $27k → 7%BRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY: $25k → 7%BRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $20k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $20k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $10k → 7%BRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $10k → 7%RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM: $6k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $6k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $5k → 7%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $5k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $4k → 7%RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM: $3k → 7%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3k → 7%BRIDGTON COMMUNITY CENTER: $2k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $2k → 7%BRIDGTON LIBRARY: $2k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 7%LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $2k → 7%BRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY: $1k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $1k → 7%RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM: $1k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $1k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $1k → 7%BRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY: $1k → 7%LOON ECHO LAND TRUST: $1k → 7%RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM: $1k → 7%BRIDGTON COMMUNITY CENTER: $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.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
NH
MN
IL
NY
MA
PA
RI
CA
CO
NE
MO
VA
MD
NC
DC
OK
GA
FL
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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$228k · 44 repeat orgs$10k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +63% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

44 repeat relationships: 19 still active in FY2025, 25 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

44
45

Total granted

$228k
$9k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+63%
+22%

Still filing today

64%
18%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $406 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureEducationEnvironmentHealthFood & NutritionRecreation & SportsOther
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

  • LE
    LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $41k · revenue +47%
  • RP
    RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM OF ART AND INGENUITY
    8× · 2017–2025 · $40k · revenue +298%
  • BH
    BRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
    4× · 2019–2024 · $31k · revenue +161%

Funded once

  • G
    G
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $1k
  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2018 · $800
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
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
2
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
3
Native Plant Trust Inc

The organization's mission is to conserve and promote new england's native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes.

Environment
4
MaineGeneral Health

To enhance, every day, the health of our patients, our families and our communities. We do that through a range of health care services for people of all ages, in a variety of care settings.

Health
5
Central Maine Healthcare Corporation

To provide exceptional healthcare services in a safe and trustful environment through the expertise, committment, and compassion of our family of caregivers.

Health
6
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
7
Bartlett Arboretum Association Inc

To cultivate and develop an expansive collection of trees, gardens, and plants for all to explore, enjoy and study; and to provide through education and stewardship, a greener, healthier, more beautiful environment.

Environment
8
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
9
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
10
Maine Maritime Museum

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

Arts & Culture
11
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
12
Florence Griswold Museum Inc

The florence griswold museum seeks to promote a greater understanding of connecticut's contribution to american art and history through public exhibitions and educational programs.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Young Mens Christian Association of Southern Maine; the most unlike its peers is National Geographic Society. 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

39 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. 39 of the 95 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
39/39
Grantees still filing
34/39
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

BRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $31,250 · OtherBRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETYMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: $11,000 · OtherMASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITALMAINE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION: $3,750 · OtherBRIDGTON LIBRARY: $3,000 · OtherPLAN INTERNATIONAL USA INC: $2,970 · Other+69 more: $23,595 · Other+69 moreLAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $41,180 · EnvironmentLAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIA…Loon Echo Land Trust Inc: $17,386 · EnvironmentLoon Echo Land Trust Inc+2 more: $655 · EnvironmentRUFUS PORTER MUSEUM OF ART AND INGENUITY: $39,570 · Arts & CultureRUFUS PORTER MUSEUM …Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation: $1,760 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $1,748 · Arts & CultureBRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY: $29,771 · Food & NutritionBRIDGTON FOOD …Good Shepherd Food Bank: $1,100 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $300 · Food & NutritionAmerican Heart Association Inc: $15,405 · HealthAmerican …SCAD ALLIANCE: $3,523 · HealthSCAD ALLI…BRIDGTON HOSPITAL: $1,100 · HealthBRIDGTON …+1 more: $102 · HealthMOUNT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $5,400 · Science & TechBRIDGTON COMMUNITY CENTER: $5,250 · Community Improvement
Other$75,565Environment$59,221Arts & Culture$43,078Food & Nutrition$31,171Health$20,130Science & Tech$5,400Community Improvement$5,250

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 budgetLAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $41,180 over 8y, 1.7% of budgetRUFUS PORTER MUSEUM OF ART AND INGENUITY: $39,570 over 8y, 2.4% of budgetBRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $31,250 over 4y, 8.9% of budgetBRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY: $29,771 over 6y, 2.1% of budgetLoon Echo Land Trust Inc: $17,386 over 8y, 1.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $15,405 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $5,400 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetBRIDGTON COMMUNITY CENTER: $5,250 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetSCAD ALLIANCE: $3,523 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetPLAN INTERNATIONAL USA INC: $2,970 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetNETWORK FOR GOOD: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Public Broadcasting Corporation: $1,760 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Susan L Curtis Foundation: $1,266 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetCOMMON CAUSE: $1,250 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBRIDGTON HOSPITAL: $1,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGood Shepherd Food Bank: $1,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSwim Across America Inc: $674 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $578 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: $550 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FURNITURE SOCIETY: $517 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB: $500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCoastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc: $455 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: $371 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetVILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: $350 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BRIDGTON ART GUILD INC: $350 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetDENMARK ARTS CENTER: $203 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetNatural Resources Council of Maine Inc: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Farmland Trust: $200 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRHODE ISLAND 4-H CLUB FOUNDATION: $100 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAGRARIAN LAND TRUST: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS INC: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHARVEST HILLS ANIMAL SHELTER INC: $100 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe George Washington University: $50 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $50 over 1y, 0.0% 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 LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds RUFUS PORTER MUSEUM OF ART AND INGENUITY ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGTON FOOD PANTRY ↗
  • Who funds Loon Echo Land Trust Inc ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds MOUNT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGTON COMMUNITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds SCAD ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds PLAN INTERNATIONAL USA INC ↗
  • Who funds NETWORK FOR GOOD ↗
  • Who funds Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation ↗
  • Who funds The Susan L Curtis Foundation ↗
  • Who funds COMMON CAUSE ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGTON HOSPITAL ↗
  • Who funds Good Shepherd Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds BRIDGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ↗
  • Who funds Swim Across America Inc ↗
  • Who funds Portland Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE FURNITURE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB ↗
  • Who funds Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Inc ↗
  • Who funds NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds THE BRIDGTON ART GUILD INC ↗

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 Carl M Lindberg F…Davis Family Foundati…The Robert and Doroth…Stephen & Tabitha Kin…Reny Charitable Found…Libra FoundationDavis Conservation Fo…Onion FoundationElmina B Sewall Found…Amica Companies Found…The Pfizer Foundation…
Maine Community Foundation IncME24× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · The Carl M Lindberg Family Foundation Inc · Davis Family Foundation · The Robert and Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Reny Charitable Foundation · Libra Foundation · Davis Conservation Foundation · Onion Foundation · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Amica Companies Foundation · 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 Jack and Deborah Daw Heffernan Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Jack and Deborah Daw Heffernan Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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.

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 95 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 Jack and Deborah Daw Heffernan’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