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Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$7.2M
Granted FY2026still arriving
68
Grants FY2026still arriving
8
States reached
$4.8M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2026.

Philanthropy$5.1MEnvironment$3.2MArts & Culture$1.6MFood & Nutrition$1.1MEducation$832kHealth$680kHuman Services$571kYouth Development$508kOther$0
02FY2026 · 68 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2026

  • Under $10k31 grants · $139k
  • $10k–50k29 grants · $523k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $423k
  • $250k+3 grants · $6.2M
$10,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$8.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
The Ferguson Foundation$4,836,562
Conservancy of SW Florida$1,000,000
Highland Community College$317,500
Wilderness Center$118,000
Maine Environmental Education Association$100,000
Project Drawdown$100,000
Give Direct$55,000
Shelburne Farms$50,000
Eastside College Preparatory$48,000
Peninsula Bridge$30,000
Peninsula Open Space Trust$30,000
Massillon Family YMCA$27,000
Fresh Approach$25,000
University of Vermont Medical Center$25,000
University of Maine$25,000
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 (FY17–26, $271k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 75% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Girlventures: $10k → 10%Maine Needs: $10k → 7%Northern Lighthouse: $20k → 15%Girlventures: $10k → 10%Kieve-Wavus Education: $5k → 9%Core: $12k → 14%The Shelter for Abused Women & Children: $20k → 10%The Shelter for Abused Women & Children: $20k → 10%The Shelter for Abused Women and Children: $20k → 10%Commquest Services: $26k → 13%Commquest Services: $14k → 13%Youth Catalytics: $25k → 10%Youth Catalytics: $5k → 10%Kennebec Valley Community Action Program: $1k → 12%Commquest Services: $2k → 13%Knox County Homeless Coalition: $5k → 11%Caring and Serving Together CAST: $9k → 13%Caring and Serving Together CAST: $5k → 13%Mayo Street Arts: $5k → 7%The Opportunity Alliance: $5k → 7%StarVista: $15k → 7%Coastside Hope: $15k → 7%Nuestra Casa De East Palo Alto: $10k → 8%Starvista: $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
IL
NY
MA
OR
IA
OH
PA
CT
CA
CO
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 32% of Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 38% of the giving stays in OH; by stated purpose, 5%.

Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 36% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

59%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.8M · 109 repeat orgs$6.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +19% for those funded once.

109 repeat relationships: 48 still active in FY2026, 61 since wound down; 20 grantees were first funded in FY2026 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

109
97

Total granted

$8.8M
$1.0M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+19%

Still filing today

70%
52%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2026, 30% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25’26
EnvironmentHuman ServicesArts & CultureEducationYouth DevelopmentHealthOther
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

  • THE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
    8× · 2017–2026 · $1.4M · revenue +561%
  • ME
    MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
    6× · 2021–2026 · $636k · revenue +20%
  • SHELBURNE FARMS
    9× · 2018–2026 · $425k · revenue +50%

Funded once

  • FO
    Foundation of Collier County
    one grant, 2020 · $250k
  • UR
    UKRAINE RELIEF
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
  • ST
    Save the Children Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund
    one grant, 2023 · $50k
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
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
2
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
3
Kennebunk Land Trust

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

Environment
4
Maine Media College

Maine Media Workshops & College educates and inspires visual artists and storytellers to achieve their creative potential. We provide lifelong learning opportunities for those pursuing the fine arts and media-related professions. We are…

—
5
Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve

The mission of the mount desert land & garden preserve is to conserve and share the beauty of our historic lands and gardens.

—
6
Somerset Woods Trustees

To conserve lands with significant ecological or cultural resources and manage them in a sustainable way for public benefit.

Environment
7
Maine Tree Foundation

Our Mission is to educate and advocate for the sustainable use of the forest and the ecological, economic, and social health of Maines forest community

Environment
8
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust

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

Environment
9
30 Mile River Watershed Association

The mission of the 30 Mile River Watershed Association (30 Mile) is to work as a community for clean and healthy lakes, ponds and streams in our watershed. Since 2008, 30 Mile has led efforts to protect these waters from the growing…

Environment
10
Coastal Enterprises Inc

Cei integrates financing, small business and industry expertise, and policy solutions to grow a vibrant future for people and communities in maine and rural regions.

Housing & Shelter
11
Eastern Maine Conservation Initiative

The Eastern Maine Conservation Initiative (EMCI) is a non-profit organization with broad conservation interests that seeks to: 1) Foster environmentally sustainable communities of the eastern Maine coast; 2) Encourage an appreciation of…

Animals
12
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation
Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Shelter for Abused Women & Children Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Ferguson Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

145 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. 145 of the 226 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)
57
Early backer (in before they grew)
140/145
Grantees still filing
106/145
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: $1,353,000 · OtherTHE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDAHighland Community College: $675,000 · OtherHighland Community CollegeMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $636,000 · OtherMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONProject Drawdown: $300,000 · OtherMassillon Family YMCA: $278,465 · OtherFreeport Art Museum: $260,000 · OtherFoundation of Collier County: $250,000 · OtherEastside College Preparatory: $233,500 · Other+112 more: $2,878,665 · Other+112 moreThe Ferguson Foundation: $4,836,562 · PhilanthropyThe Ferguson Foundation+3 more: $32,000 · PhilanthropySHELBURNE FARMS: $425,000 · EnvironmentSHELBURNE …PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST: $230,000 · EnvironmentPENINSULA …SAVE THE RIVER INC: $174,000 · EnvironmentSAVE THE R…THE WILDERNESS CENTER INC: $148,200 · EnvironmentTHE WILDER…THOUSAND ISLANDS LAND TRUST INC: $95,000 · EnvironmentTHOUSAND I…GROWSMART MAINE: $64,500 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon Society: $49,375 · Environment+14 more: $215,640 · Environment+14 moreFREDERIC REMINGTON ART MUSEUM: $188,000 · Arts & CultureTHEATREWORKS SILICON VALLEY: $62,500 · Arts & CulturePENOBSCOT THEATRE COMPANY: $47,355 · Arts & CultureNORTHERN FOREST CANOE TRAIL INC: $40,000 · Arts & CultureEnriching Lives Through Music: $40,000 · Arts & Culture317 Main St Community Center Inc: $28,000 · Arts & CultureMaine Maritime Museum: $20,500 · Arts & CultureARTIS-NAPLES INC: $20,000 · Arts & CultureMaine Alliance for Arts Education: $19,000 · Arts & Culture+7 more: $56,500 · Arts & CulturePEER HEALTH EXCHANGE INC: $128,500 · Youth DevelopmentISLESFORD BOATWORKS: $61,000 · Youth DevelopmentAPEX YOUTH CONNECTION: $61,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE COASTSIDE: $44,000 · Youth DevelopmentLIAHONA MOTU FOUNDATION: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentHEARTY ROOTS INC: $32,500 · Youth DevelopmentTeens to Trails: $31,000 · Youth DevelopmentOGDENSBURG BOYS & GIRLS CLUB INC: $30,500 · Youth Development+4 more: $23,000 · Youth DevelopmentSEA CHANGE YOGA: $69,000 · Human ServicesTHE SHELTER FOR ABUSED WOMEN & CHILDREN INC: $60,000 · Human ServicesGIVEDIRECTLY INC: $55,000 · Human ServicesCOMMQUEST SERVICES INC: $41,500 · Human ServicesYOUTH CATALYTICS INC: $30,000 · Human ServicesGIRLVENTURES: $20,000 · Human ServicesTHE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesStarVista: $17,000 · Human ServicesCOASTSIDE HOPE: $15,000 · Human ServicesCaring and Serving Together - CAST: $14,000 · Human Services+7 more: $52,000 · Human ServicesAROOSTOOK MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INC: $93,500 · HealthTHE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER: $75,000 · HealthNCH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM INC: $75,000 · HealthCHILDREN'S HEALTH COUNCIL INC: $40,000 · HealthSONG FOR CHARLIE INC: $20,000 · HealthCLAXTON-HEPBURN MEDICAL CENTER: $20,000 · Health+4 more: $19,500 · Health
Other$6,864,630Philanthropy$4,868,562Environment$1,401,715Arts & Culture$521,855Youth Development$446,500Human Services$393,500Health$343,000

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetTHE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: $1,353,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $636,000 over 6y, 20% of budgetSHELBURNE FARMS: $425,000 over 9y, 0.6% of budgetPENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST: $230,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFREDERIC REMINGTON ART MUSEUM: $188,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetSAVE THE RIVER INC: $174,000 over 5y, 11% of budgetTHE WILDERNESS CENTER INC: $148,200 over 6y, 0.8% of budgetFRESH APPROACH: $145,000 over 8y, 0.9% of budgetLIVE EARTH FARM DISCOVERY PROGRAM: $130,000 over 9y, 7.3% of budgetPEER HEALTH EXCHANGE INC: $128,500 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetTHE PENINSULA BRIDGE PROGRAM: $111,000 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetTHOUSAND ISLANDS LAND TRUST INC: $95,000 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetSECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY: $95,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetAROOSTOOK MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INC: $93,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetMaine Development Foundation: $90,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetPIE RANCH: $85,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetLIFEMOVES: $82,500 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER: $75,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNCH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM INC: $75,000 over 2y, 3.0% of budgetSEA CHANGE YOGA: $69,000 over 8y, 6.5% of budgetGROWSMART MAINE: $64,500 over 6y, 9.3% of budgetTHEATREWORKS SILICON VALLEY: $62,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetISLESFORD BOATWORKS: $61,000 over 9y, 18% of budgetAPEX YOUTH CONNECTION: $61,000 over 7y, 4.0% of budgetTHE SHELTER FOR ABUSED WOMEN & CHILDREN INC: $60,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTREKKERS INC: $55,000 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetMaine Audubon Society: $49,375 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetPENOBSCOT THEATRE COMPANY: $47,355 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetISLAND READERS & WRITERS AN INITIATIVE FOR MAINE CHILDREN: $46,000 over 9y, 2.2% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF THE COASTSIDE: $44,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetCOMMQUEST SERVICES INC: $41,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCOLLECTIVE ROOTS: $40,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetNORTHERN FOREST CANOE TRAIL INC: $40,000 over 4y, 3.8% of budgetEnriching Lives Through Music: $40,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetCHILDREN'S HEALTH COUNCIL INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetCULTIVATING COMMUNITY: $39,500 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetGREATER LOVELL LAND TRUST INC: $36,000 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetLIAHONA MOTU FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetMaine Mathematics & Science Alliance: $33,340 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetHEARTY ROOTS INC: $32,500 over 4y, 5.5% of budgetTeens to Trails: $31,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetOGDENSBURG BOYS & GIRLS CLUB INC: $30,500 over 5y, 2.1% of budgetKIDS ON THE BALL INC: $30,000 over 3y, 4.6% of budgetYOUTH CATALYTICS INC: $30,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetST MATTHEWS HOUSE INC: $29,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget317 Main St Community Center Inc: $28,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $27,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $27,750 over 6y, 3.2% 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 The Ferguson Foundation ↗
  • Who funds THE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ↗
  • Who funds MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds SHELBURNE FARMS ↗
  • Who funds PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST ↗
  • Who funds FREDERIC REMINGTON ART MUSEUM ↗
  • Who funds SAVE THE RIVER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE WILDERNESS CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds FRESH APPROACH ↗
  • Who funds LIVE EARTH FARM DISCOVERY PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds PEER HEALTH EXCHANGE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE PENINSULA BRIDGE PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds THOUSAND ISLANDS LAND TRUST INC ↗
  • Who funds SECOND HARVEST OF SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds AROOSTOOK MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INC ↗
  • Who funds Maine Development Foundation ↗
  • Who funds PIE RANCH ↗
  • Who funds LIFEMOVES ↗
  • Who funds THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER ↗
  • Who funds NCH HEALTHCARE SYSTEM INC ↗
  • Who funds SEA CHANGE YOGA ↗
  • Who funds GROWSMART MAINE ↗
  • Who funds THEATREWORKS SILICON VALLEY ↗
  • Who funds ISLESFORD BOATWORKS ↗
  • Who funds APEX YOUTH CONNECTION ↗
  • Who funds THE SHELTER FOR ABUSED WOMEN & CHILDREN INC ↗
  • Who funds GIVEDIRECTLY 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.

Onion FoundationMaine Community Found…Elmina B Sewall Found…Davis Family Foundati…Horizon Foundation IncBangor Savings Bank F…Quimby Family Foundat…Morton-Kelly Charitab…Stephen & Tabitha Kin…Davis Conservation Fo…Fisher Charitable Fou…John T Gorman Foundat…
Onion FoundationME84× affinity41 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 · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Davis Family Foundation · Horizon Foundation Inc · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Quimby Family Foundation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Davis Conservation Foundation · Fisher Charitable Foundation · John T Gorman 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 Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 2%
  • Northern Forest Canoe Trail Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Shelburne Farms: 3% of income from government
  • The Shelter for Abused Women & Children Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
  • The University of Vermont Medical Center: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
48report 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.

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 226 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 Leonard C & Mildred F Ferguson’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