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Maine · Public charity

Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Maine Coast Heritage Trust advances the conservation of lands and waters in Maine to ensure ecological well-being and foster thriving communities. MCHT provides statewide conservation leadership through its work with land trusts, coastal communities and other partners.

$3.7M
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
16
Itemized grants FY2024
11
Organizations funded FY2023
45%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Itemized, FY2024
$3.3M
The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2024
$115,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$1,205,465
Organizations funded a year
6 to 11
FY2017 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
5
Total assets, FY2024
$312M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 45% of the organizations Maine Coast Heritage Trust funded were first-time grantees, receiving 94% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 6% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $8.5M went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23
EnvironmentAnimalsEducationHousing & ShelterFood & NutritionInternationalOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving15$2.6M53%
FY202311$9.1M45%
FY202210$2.0M40%
FY20219$479k44%
FY20209$892k67%
FY20196$689k67%
FY20188$1.0M50%
FY20178$2.7Mn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$21MHousing & Shelter$160kPublic Benefit$24kArts & Culture$20k

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Biddeford Pool Land Trust$9,372,2192n/a
Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park$1,980,479137%
Downeast Salmon Federation$1,331,990729%
York Land Trust$1,250,941432%
Frenchman Bay Conservancy$783,294417%
The Community School of Mount Desert$650,800218%
Coastal Mountains Land Trust$592,680511%
Blue Hill Heritage Trust$515,282312%
Midcoast Conservancy$313,11355%
Forest Society of Maine$200,00014%
Show all 37 grantees
All grantees of Maine Coast Heritage Trust by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Biddeford Pool Land Trust$9,372,2192n/a
Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park$1,980,479137%
Downeast Salmon Federation$1,331,990729%
York Land Trust$1,250,941432%
Frenchman Bay Conservancy$783,294417%
The Community School of Mount Desert$650,800218%
Coastal Mountains Land Trust$592,680511%
Blue Hill Heritage Trust$515,282312%
Midcoast Conservancy$313,11355%
Forest Society of Maine$200,00014%
Town of Machias$174,0001n/a
Island Housing Trust$160,000218%
Maine Farmland Trust$154,65021%
Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust$145,00024%
The Kennebec Land Trust$140,660115%
Friends of Acadia$137,77213%
RF Jordan & Sons Construction$133,1111n/a
Crabtree Neck Land Trust$125,000141%
Niweskok$115,000110%
Downeast Coastal Conservancy$113,33438%
Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust Inc$106,64644%
Wright Pierce$94,3801n/a
Town of Stonington$81,0001n/a
Atlantic Challenge Foundation Inc Dba the Apprenticeshop$80,000112%
Royal River Conservation Trust$65,00016%
Town of Lubec$63,2151n/a
Friends of Hope Cemetery & Woods$50,00016%
Wabanaki Cultural Preservation Coalition$43,10024%
Northeast Wilderness Trust Corporation$30,00010%
Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary$25,00016%
Georges River Land Trust$24,75021%
Town of Brunswick$23,5001n/a
Harpswell Heritage Land Trust$22,9801n/a
Mi'Kmaq Nation$20,0001n/a
New England Forestry Foundation Inc$15,00010%
New Learning Journey Inc$10,00011%
Legacy Philanthropy Works$10,00010%

Plus 6 recipients with no EIN on record ($300k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

Maine Coast Heritage Trust supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 4 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 28 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSchoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $1,980,479 over 1y, 37% of budgetDowneast Salmon Federation: $1,331,990 over 7y, 29% of budgetYork Land Trust: $1,250,941 over 4y, 32% of budgetFrenchman Bay Conservancy: $783,294 over 4y, 17% of budgetThe Community School of Mount Desert: $650,800 over 2y, 18% of budgetCoastal Mountains Land Trust: $592,680 over 5y, 11% of budgetBlue Hill Heritage Trust: $515,282 over 3y, 12% of budgetMidcoast Conservancy: $313,113 over 5y, 4.5% of budgetForest Society of Maine: $200,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetIsland Housing Trust: $160,000 over 2y, 18% of budgetMaine Farmland Trust: $154,650 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetCoastal Rivers Conservation Trust: $145,000 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetThe Kennebec Land Trust: $140,660 over 1y, 15% of budgetFriends of Acadia: $137,772 over 1y, 3.0% of budgetCrabtree Neck Land Trust: $125,000 over 1y, 41% of budgetNiweskok: $115,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetDowneast Coastal Conservancy: $113,334 over 3y, 7.8% of budgetBrunswick-Topsham Land Trust Inc: $106,646 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetAtlantic Challenge Foundation Inc Dba the Apprenticeshop: $80,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetRoyal River Conservation Trust: $65,000 over 1y, 5.5% of budgetFriends of Hope Cemetery & Woods: $50,000 over 1y, 6.2% of budgetWabanaki Cultural Preservation Coalition: $43,100 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetNortheast Wilderness Trust Corporation: $30,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSomes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary: $25,000 over 1y, 5.9% of budgetGeorges River Land Trust: $24,750 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetNew England Forestry Foundation Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNew Learning Journey Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetLegacy Philanthropy Works: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 28.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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…Davis Conservation Fo…The Nature ConservancyOnion FoundationQuimby Family Foundat…Elmina B Sewall Found…John Sage FoundationMomentum ConservationFields Pond Foundatio…Morton-Kelly Charitab…Edward C Johnson FundBafflin Foundation
Maine Community Foundation IncME62.1× affinity32 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Davis Conservation Foundation · The Nature Conservancy · Onion Foundation · Quimby Family Foundation · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · John Sage Foundation · Momentum Conservation · Fields Pond Foundation Inc · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Edward C Johnson Fund · Bafflin 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.

Compare Maine Coast Heritage Trust with peer funders

About Maine Coast Heritage Trust

How much does Maine Coast Heritage Trust give?
Maine Coast Heritage Trust reported 16 itemized grants totaling $3,308,716, out of $3,664,989 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 6 and 11 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2023.
What does Maine Coast Heritage Trust fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (99%), Housing & Shelter (1%), Public Benefit (0%).
Who are Maine Coast Heritage Trust's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: Biddeford Pool Land Trust ($9.4M), Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park ($2.0M), Downeast Salmon Federation ($1.3M).
Does Maine Coast Heritage Trust fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 45% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Maine Coast Heritage Trust?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Maine Community Foundation Inc, Davis Conservation Foundation, The Nature Conservancy.
Where is Maine Coast Heritage Trust based?
Maine Coast Heritage Trust is based in ME.

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 45 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Maine Coast Heritage’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