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Maine Equal Justice Partners at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Maine Equal Justice Partners

Maine Equal Justice is a nonprofit legal aid and economic justice organization working to increase economic security, opportunity and equity for people in Maine.

$945k
Granted FY2024still arriving
3
Grants FY2024still arriving
2
States reached
$50k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Civil Rights$232kEmployment$173kSocial Science$95kYouth Development$75kHealth$73kCommunity Improvement$69kHuman Services$44kHousing & Shelter$24kOther$0
02FY2024 · 3 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 3 grants below total $122,000, the rows itemized in this filing. The $945,065 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $823,065 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $72k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$36,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$3.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Migration Policy Institute$50,000
Maine People's Resource Center$36,000
Maine Center for Economic Policy$36,000
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 (FY17–22, $104k) land where the poverty rate runs at 7%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%GATEWAY COMMUNITY SERVICES: $34k → 7%PROSPERITYME: $25k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $24k → 7%GATEWAY: $11k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $10k → 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.
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.

80%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$658k · 9 repeat orgs$167k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +119% since the first grant, against +85% for those funded once.

9 repeat relationships: 2 still active in FY2024, 7 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
8

Total granted

$658k
$117k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+119%
+85%

Still filing today

89%
88%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 59% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $50k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesCommunity ImprovementHealthSocial ScienceCivil RightsEmploymentOther
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

  • MP
    MAINE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE
    2× · 2017–2018 · $155k · revenue +8%
  • MA
    Maine AFL-CIO
    5× · 2017–2023 · $153k · revenue +413%
  • MC
    MAINE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY
    3× · 2017–2024 · $95k · revenue +60%

Funded once

  • CF
    CONSUMERS FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
    one grant, 2017 · $28k · revenue -60%
  • P
    PROSPERITYMEgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $25k · revenue +131%
  • ME
    MAINE EQUAL JUSTICE PROJECT
    one grant, 2017 · $20k
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
Maine Equal Justice Partners

Maine Equal Justice is a nonprofit legal aid and economic justice organization working to increase economic security, opportunity and equity for people in Maine.

Crime & Legal
2
Maine Health Access Foundation Inc
Health
3
Healthcare Purchaser Alliance of Maine

The alliance is a collaborative of private employers and public trusts dedicated to lowering healthcare costs and improving quality. through collective and innovative strategies, alliance members drive the change they want to see in…

Health
4
Maine Medical Association

To support maine physicians, advance the quality of medicine in maine, and promote the health of all maine people.

—
5
Manufacturers Association of Maine

The manufacturers association of maine is dedicated to promoting and strengthening manufacturing in maine as an informative voice for the state's manufacturing community.

—
6
Maine Primary Care Association

Maine primary care association's mission is to champion and maximize the value of the statewide network of community health centers for the health and well-being of all maine people

Health
7
Maine Donor Alliance Fund

To build a permanent and powerful progressive movement in Maine. We will promote a healthy, just, equitable democracy through research, engagement, and education of Maine's citizens. We will engage in democracy expansion, voter engagement,…

Education
8
Maine Affordable Housing Coalition

The organization advocates for the creation and preservation of affordable housing so all people in maine have a place to call home.

Civil Rights
9
Maine Access Points

To recognize the resiliency of people who use drugs and to work in collaboration to create access points for overdose prevention and harm reduction services in Maine.

Health
10
Maine Education Association

We advocate for our members by influencing government policies, building community support for public education, expanding educational employees' rights, and promoting improvements in working conditions.

—
11
The Maine Heritage Policy Center

To formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise; limited, constitutional government; individual freedom; and traditional american values.

Education
12
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation
Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Maine People's Resource Center; the most unlike its peers is Food and Medicine. 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

17 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. 17 of the 18 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/17
Grantees still filing
14/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Maine AFL-CIO: $153,365 · OtherMaine AFL-CIOMAINE PEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTER: $69,333 · OtherMAINE PEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTERUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM INC: $62,500 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM INCCONSUMERS FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE: $28,000 · OtherCONSUMERS FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CAREMAINE EQUAL JUSTICE PROJECT: $19,500 · OtherMAINE EQUAL JUSTICE PROJECT+2 more: $16,500 · OtherMAINE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE: $155,000 · Community ImprovementMAINE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCERACE FORWARD: $13,600 · Community ImprovementRACE FORWARDGateway Community Services Maine: $45,000 · Human ServicesGateway Commun…PREBLE STREET: $34,000 · Human ServicesPREBLE STREETPROSPERITYME: $25,000 · Human ServicesPROSPERITYMEMAINE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY: $94,500 · Social ScienceMAINE CENTER…MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: $50,000 · Civil RightsSOUTHERN MAINE WORKERS CENTER: $27,500 · EmploymentNEW MAINERS PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE: $16,500 · HealthCONSUMERS FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION: $6,500 · HealthUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SCHOOL OF LAW FOUNDATION: $7,500 · Education
Other$349,198Community Improvement$168,600Human Services$104,000Social Science$94,500Civil Rights$50,000Employment$27,500Health$23,000Education$7,500

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMAINE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE: $155,000 over 2y, 7.8% of budgetMaine AFL-CIO: $153,365 over 5y, 13% of budgetMAINE CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY: $94,500 over 3y, 3.1% of budgetMAINE PEOPLE'S RESOURCE CENTER: $69,333 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetMIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE: $50,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetGateway Community Services Maine: $45,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetPREBLE STREET: $34,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetSOUTHERN MAINE WORKERS CENTER: $27,500 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetPROSPERITYME: $25,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetMAINE EQUAL JUSTICE PROJECT: $19,500 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetNEW MAINERS PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE: $16,500 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetRACE FORWARD: $13,600 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetFOOD AND MEDICINE: $10,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF MAINE SCHOOL OF LAW FOUNDATION: $7,500 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetCONSUMERS FOR AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION: $6,500 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetMaine Council on Aging: $6,500 over 1y, 1.8% 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.

Maine Community Found…Maine InitiativesincMaine Health Access F…Elmina B Sewall Found…Sam L Cohen FoundationJohn T Gorman Foundat…Maine People's Resour…Community Catalyst IncHopewell FundImpactassetsincMaine Center for Econ…The Harry E Davis Par…
Maine Community Foundation IncME22.8× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Maine Initiativesinc · Maine Health Access Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Sam L Cohen Foundation · John T Gorman Foundation · Maine People's Resource Center · Community Catalyst Inc · Hopewell Fund · Impactassetsinc · Maine Center for Economic Policy · The Harry E Davis Partnership for Children's Oral Health

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 Maine Equal Justice Partners funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Maine Equal Justice Partners. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    8report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Maine Equal Justice Partners?

    Find your warmest path to Maine Equal Justice Partners 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 18 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

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    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
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    The regranting layer
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    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
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    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
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