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Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory

To improve human health by discovering fundamental mechanisms of tissue repair, aging and regeneration, translating our discoveries for the benefit of medicine and society, and developing the next generation of scientific leaders.

$3.9M
Granted FY2024still arriving
16
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$328k
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, FY2018 to 2024.

Education$1.3MScience & Tech$1.1MHealth$1.0MPublic Benefit$30kEnvironment$14k
02FY2024 · 16 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 16 grants below total $1,696,254, the rows itemized in this filing. The $3,899,509 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $2,203,255 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–50k6 grants · $145k
  • $50k–250k9 grants · $1.2M
  • $250k+1 grant · $328k
$119,122
Median grant
4
States reached
$31M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UT Southwestern Medical Center$328,027
University of Maine$223,197
President and Trustees of Bates College$184,454
The Rogosin Institute Inc$170,003
University of Maine Machias$136,115
Southern Maine Community College$125,186
Bowdoin College$119,377
President and Trustees of Colby College$119,122
College of the Atlantic$82,105
University of Maine Farmington$63,476
University of New England$37,607
University of Maine Fort Kent$28,294
Trustees of Dartmouth College$24,380
University of Maine Presque Isle$21,602
University of Maine Augusta$20,971
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 (FY18–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 81% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%The Rogosin Institute Inc: $267k → 17%Gordon Research Conferences: $7k → 7%Trustees of Dartmouth College: $40k → 10%MAINE MEDICAL CENTER: $12k → 7%University of New England: $38k → 9%Island Institute: $14k → 11%College of the Atlantic: $83k → 11%University of Maine Augusta: $21k → 12%President and Trustees of Bates College: $189k → 13%University of Maine Farmington: $63k → 14%University of Maine: $300k → 15%University of Maine Presque Isle: $35k → 15%University of Maine Machias: $136k → 16%The Rogosin Institute Inc: $170k → 17%Trustees of Dartmouth College: $24k → 10%MAINE MEDICAL CENTER: $6k → 7%UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND: $10k → 9%College of the Atlantic: $82k → 11%President and Trustees of Colby College: $177k → 12%President and Trustees of Bates College: $184k → 13%University of Maine Farmington: $49k → 14%University of Maine: $223k → 15%University of Maine Presque Isle: $22k → 15%Bowdoin College: $138k → 7%Jackson Laboratory: $38k → 11%President and Trustees of Colby College: $119k → 12%UNIVERSITY OF MAINE: $14k → 15%University of Maine Fort Kent: $28k → 15%Bowdoin College: $119k → 7%TOWN OF BAR HARBOR: $10k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF MAINE: $11k → 15%University of Southern Maine: $12k → 7%Town of Bar Harbor: $10k → 11%University of Maine Orono: $9k → 15%Southern Maine Community College: $125k → 7%TOWN OF BAR HARBOR: $10k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF MAINE: $9k → 15%Southern Maine Community College: $90k → 7%Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park: $20k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF MAINE: $8k → 15%THE JACKSON LABORATORY: $10k → 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.
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.

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$3.2M · 15 repeat orgs$239k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against -3% for those funded once.

15 repeat relationships: 11 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

15
3

Total granted

$3.2M
$41k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
-3%

Still filing today

53%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 88% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $198k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthEnvironmentScience & TechOther
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

  • TR
    The Rogosin Institute Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $437k · revenue +4%
  • PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE
    2× · 2023–2024 · $374k · revenue +26%
  • The President and Trustees of Colby College
    2× · 2023–2024 · $296k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • SI
    SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARKgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $20k · revenue +26%
  • II
    Island Institute
    one grant, 2023 · $14k · revenue -3%
  • GR
    GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES INC
    one grant, 2023 · $7k · revenue -6%
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
Reed Institute

The mission of Reed College is to provide education in the liberal arts and sciences.

Education
2
Roger Williams University

At Roger Williams University, students are prepared to be thinkers and doers ready to solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. RWU offers robust offerings of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across eight…

Education
3
Marine Biological Laboratory

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is a world-renowned center for biological discovery and training that is notably affiliated with more than 60 Nobel Prize winners. Research is conducted by full-time faculty as well as hundreds of the…

Science & Tech
4
Boston Architectural College

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

—
5
William Marsh Rice University

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to path breaking research, unsurpassed teaching, and contributions to the betterment of our world. It seeks to fulfill this…

Education
6
Wake Forest University

Wake Forest University, a 501(c)(3) institution of higher education, is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the liberal arts and in graduate and professional education. The organization is comprised of seven constituent parts: Wake…

Education
7
Western New England University

Western new england university, a comprehensive private institution with a tradition of excellence in teaching and scholarship and a commitment to service, awards undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in various departments from…

Education
8
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer educates the leaders of tomorrow for technologically based careers. We celebrate discovery and the responsible application of technology to create knowledge and global prosperity.

Education
9
Goucher College

Goucher College provides an innovative liberal arts education that prepares students with a broad, humane perspective for a life of inquiry, creativity, and critical and analytical thinking. The College's vision is to become a top-100…

Education
10
Pitzer College

Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.…

Education
11
University of Miami

See Form 990, Part I, Line 1, Description of Organization Mission.

Education
12
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

We educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Bowdoin College; the most unlike its peers is MaineHealth. 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

12 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. 12 of the 23 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)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
12/12
Grantees still filing
10/12
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UT Southwestern Medical Center: $549,413 · OtherUT Southwestern Medical CenterUniversity of Maine: $523,657 · OtherUniversity of MaineSouthern Maine Community College: $214,974 · OtherSouthern Maine Community CollegeCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $165,440 · OtherCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTICUniversity of Maine Machias: $136,115 · OtherUniversity of Maine MachiasUniversity of Maine Farmington: $112,028 · OtherUniversity of Maine Farmington+6 more: $198,960 · Other+6 morePRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $373,686 · EducationPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES CO…The President and Trustees of Colby College: $295,632 · EducationThe President and Trustees of Colb…Bowdoin College: $257,651 · EducationBowdoin CollegeTrustees of Dartmouth College: $64,085 · EducationTrustees of Dartmouth CollegeUniversity of New England: $47,600 · Education+1 more: $14,000 · EducationThe Rogosin Institute Inc: $437,113 · HealthThe Rogosin Inst…THE JACKSON LABORATORY: $48,020 · HealthTHE JACKSON LABO…MaineHealth: $18,100 · HealthSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $20,382 · EnvironmentGORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES INC: $7,000 · Science & Tech
Other$1,900,587Education$1,052,654Health$503,233Environment$20,382Science & Tech$7,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetThe Rogosin Institute Inc: $437,113 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $373,686 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $295,632 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBowdoin College: $257,651 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $165,440 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTrustees of Dartmouth College: $64,085 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE JACKSON LABORATORY: $48,020 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of New England: $47,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $20,382 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetMaineHealth: $18,100 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetIsland Institute: $14,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES INC: $7,000 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 The Rogosin Institute Inc ↗
  • Who funds PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds The President and Trustees of Colby College ↗
  • Who funds Bowdoin College ↗
  • Who funds COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC ↗
  • Who funds Trustees of Dartmouth College ↗
  • Who funds THE JACKSON LABORATORY ↗
  • Who funds University of New England ↗
  • Who funds SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ↗
  • Who funds MaineHealth ↗
  • Who funds Island Institute ↗
  • Who funds GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES 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.

Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …
Donor Advised Charitable Giving IncCA7.4× affinity4 shared granteesties to 1 of 1Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

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 Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. 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%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    1report 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 Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory?

    Find your warmest path to Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory 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 23 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 Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory’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