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Onion Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Onion Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$4.4M
Granted FY2024still arriving
245
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$625k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
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 2024.

Environment$6.4MArts & Culture$5.2MRecreation & Sports$1.1MEducation$1.1MYouth Development$827kHealth$589kCommunity Improvement$589kFood & Nutrition$507kOther$0
02FY2024 · 245 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k86 grants · $456k
  • $10k–50k151 grants · $2.8M
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $469k
  • $250k+1 grant · $625k
$15,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$64M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Momentum Conservation$625,000
Maine Association of Nonprofits$88,000
Maine Environmental Education Association$75,000
New Learning Journey$75,000
Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance$71,000
Mayo Street Arts$57,500
Maine Audubon$52,500
Maine Initiatives$50,000
SPACE Gallery$42,500
Individual grant recipient$41,000
Maine GearShare$40,000
Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness$40,000
President And Trustees Of Bates College$40,000
OUT Maine$35,000
Appalachian Mountain Club$30,000
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 (FY20–24, $504k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 39% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%iCan Shine: $5k → 6%Speaking Up For Us: $20k → 15%Rural Community Action Ministry: $6k → 13%Wabanaki Women's Coalition: $3k → 15%Rural Community Action Ministry: $5k → 13%Rural Community Action Ministry: $5k → 13%Community Outreach Services: $2k → 9%Mainely Girls: $5k → 15%Bangor Young Men's Christian Association: $20k → 15%Maine Mental Health Connections Inc: $10k → 15%Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine: $23k → 13%Albiston Foundation: $8k → 14%Albiston Foundation: $5k → 14%YWCA Central Maine: $8k → 13%Wabanaki Women's Coalition: $3k → 15%New Beginnings: $3k → 13%Young Mens Christian Association Auburn-Lewiston Maine: $20k → 13%Knox County Homeless Coalition: $8k → 11%Support Solutions: $4k → 13%Young Men's Christian Association Auburn-Lewiston Maine: $2k → 13%York Community Services Association: $2k → 9%Wayfinder Schools: $10k → 11%Wayfinder Schools: $10k → 11%Wayfinder Schools: $10k → 11%Wayfinder Schools: $5k → 11%Wayfinder Schools: $5k → 11%Independence Association: $13k → 7%Independence Association: $6k → 7%Independence Association: $5k → 7%Independence Association: $5k → 7%Gateway Community Services Maine: $25k → 7%Portland Parks Conservancy: $20k → 7%Portland Parks Conservancy: $20k → 7%Maine Needs: $2k → 7%Maine Needs: $2k → 7%Mayo Street Arts: $58k → 7%Khmer Maine: $23k → 7%Mayo Street Arts: $21k → 7%Mayo Street Arts: $21k → 7%Mayo Street Arts: $20k → 7%Khmer Maine: $15k → 7%Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center: $10k → 7%Gateway Community Services of Maine: $10k → 7%Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center: $8k → 7%Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition (MIRC): $7k → 7%Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition (MIRC): $6k → 7%Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition (MIRC): $2k → 7%Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition (MIRC): $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
NH
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
CO
VA
NC
DC
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.

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 282 repeat orgs$2.2M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +26% for those funded once.

282 repeat relationships: 174 still active in FY2024, 108 since wound down; 68 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

282
170

Total granted

$15M
$1.5M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+26%

Still filing today

79%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $715k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CultureEnvironmentHuman ServicesEducationCommunity ImprovementRecreation & 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

  • MC
    MOMENTUM CONSERVATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.2M · revenue +275% · 74% of their budget
  • ME
    MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $363k · revenue +85%
  • MA
    Maine Association of Nonprofits
    5× · 2020–2024 · $279k · revenue +15%

Funded once

  • SO
    State of Maine Governor's Office of Policy Innovation & the Future
    one grant, 2020 · $100k
  • MA
    Maine Association of Nonprofits (fbo Cultural Alliance of Maine (CAM))
    one grant, 2023 · $75k
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM INC
    one grant, 2020 · $35k
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
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation
Environment
2
Wetlands Foundation
Environment
3
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…

—
4
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
5
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
6
Kennebunk Land Trust

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

Environment
7
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.

—
8
Maine Maritime Museum

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

Arts & Culture
9
Piscataquog Land Conservancy

The Piscataquog Land Conservancy is a nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1970. Its purpose is to conserve the natural and scenic environment of the Piscataquog, Souhegan and Nashua River watershed communities of southern…

—
10
Somerset Woods Trustees

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

Environment
11
Maine Arts Academy

The Academy is dedicated to academic excellence, commitment to the performing arts, leadership, integrity, and a virtuous code of conduct, all of which prepare students to meet the demands of a contemporary world through thoughtful…

Education
12
Maine & Company

Maine & Company is a private, non-profit business development sales organization. Its purpose is to improve Maine's success in attracting new business and expanding and retaining existing business by providing a focused, statewide sales…

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine; the most unlike its peers is Quimby Family Foundation. 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

346 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. 346 of the 525 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
117
Early backer (in before they grew)
340/346
Grantees still filing
241/346
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MOMENTUM CONSERVATION: $1,188,500 · EnvironmentMOMENTUM CONSERVATIONNEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENT FUND INC: $205,000 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon Society: $173,875 · Environment+46 more: $3,137,987 · Environment+46 morePORTLAND OVATIONS: $139,000 · Arts & CultureSCHOODIC ARTS FOR ALL: $129,000 · Arts & Culture+52 more: $3,403,900 · Arts & Culture+52 moreMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $362,600 · OtherMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION…+64 more: $3,422,700 · Other+64 moreMaine Mathematics & Science Alliance: $121,000 · EducationPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $116,500 · EducationBOOTHBAY SEA AND SCIENCE CENTER: $88,000 · EducationPINE TREE SOCIETY INC: $66,500 · EducationUniversity of Maine Foundation: $61,600 · EducationSide x Side Inc: $56,000 · EducationHaystack Mountain School of Crafts: $55,000 · EducationMILLINOCKET MEMORIAL LIBRARY: $55,000 · EducationWhite Pine Programs: $54,000 · EducationMaine Philanthropy Center: $48,050 · EducationMaine Huts & Trails: $46,000 · EducationRural Aspirations Project: $35,000 · EducationLEAPS OF IMAGINATION INC: $34,500 · EducationMaine GearShare: $122,000 · Recreation & SportsTREKKERS INC: $113,000 · Recreation & SportsBICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE: $103,000 · Recreation & SportsHIGH PEAKS ALLIANCE: $80,000 · Recreation & SportsMAINE ADAPTIVE SPORTS & RECREATION: $79,000 · Recreation & SportsTHE CLIMATE INITIATIVE: $30,000 · Recreation & SportsTeens to Trails: $88,500 · Youth DevelopmentThe Telling Room: $75,000 · Youth DevelopmentTREE STREET YOUTH INC: $66,000 · Youth DevelopmentAPEX YOUTH CONNECTION: $56,500 · Youth DevelopmentHEARTY ROOTS INC: $55,000 · Youth DevelopmentBoys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine: $41,000 · Youth DevelopmentKetcha Outdoors: $38,500 · Youth DevelopmentMIDCOAST YOUTH CENTER & skatepark: $38,000 · Youth DevelopmentMy Place Teen Center Inc: $38,000 · Youth DevelopmentMaine Association of Nonprofits: $278,500 · Community ImprovementMAIN STREET SKOWHEGAN: $62,500 · Community ImprovementMAINE COMMUNITY INTEGRATION: $62,400 · Community ImprovementCREATIVE PORTLAND CORPORATION: $44,750 · Community Improvement
Environment$4,705,362Arts & Culture$3,671,900Other$3,785,300Education$837,150Recreation & Sports$527,000Youth Development$496,500Community Improvement$448,150

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 budgetMOMENTUM CONSERVATION: $1,188,500 over 5y, 74% of budgetMAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $362,600 over 5y, 16% of budgetMaine Association of Nonprofits: $278,500 over 5y, 12% of budgetNEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENT FUND INC: $205,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetMaine Audubon Society: $173,875 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetKENNEBEC ESTUARY LAND TRUST: $156,500 over 5y, 5.4% of budgetNEW LEARNING JOURNEY INC: $145,000 over 5y, 4.0% of budgetPORTLAND OVATIONS: $139,000 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetSCHOODIC ARTS FOR ALL: $129,000 over 6y, 8.5% of budgetLAKE STEWARDS OF MAINE - MAINE VOLUNTEER LAKE MONITORING PROGRAM: $122,000 over 6y, 5.3% of budgetMaine GearShare: $122,000 over 3y, 22% of budgetMaine Mathematics & Science Alliance: $121,000 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetPORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $119,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetMAYO STREET ARTS: $119,000 over 4y, 11% of budgetWATERFALL ARTS: $118,000 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetPRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE: $116,500 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Academy of Modern Music: $116,000 over 6y, 4.4% of budgetTREKKERS INC: $113,000 over 5y, 3.0% of budgetPALAVER STRINGS INC: $111,500 over 5y, 8.3% of budgetWABANAKI HEALTH & WELLNESS NPC: $110,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetMidcoast Conservancy: $109,000 over 6y, 2.3% of budgetTHE THEATER AT MONMOUTH: $105,000 over 5y, 9.8% of budgetARTVAN: $104,500 over 5y, 35% of budgetBICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE: $103,000 over 6y, 3.9% of budget317 Main St Community Center Inc: $101,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetBrunswick-Topsham Land Trust Inc: $101,000 over 5y, 2.0% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $100,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetMAINE INITIATIVESINC: $100,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetMAINE ORGANIC FARMERS AND GARDENERS ASSOCIATION: $98,500 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $98,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSPACE Gallery: $97,000 over 3y, 5.6% of budgetSCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: $95,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE COBBOSSEE WATERSHED: $94,800 over 5y, 5.5% of budget30 Mile River Watershed Association: $94,000 over 6y, 7.1% of budgetIndigo Arts Alliance: $94,000 over 4y, 4.1% of budgetGULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $93,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBANGOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $93,000 over 6y, 1.9% of budgetWATERVILLE CREATES: $93,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetCelebration Barn Theater: $91,500 over 5y, 12% of budgetEcology Education Inc: $91,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters: $90,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetTeens to Trails: $88,500 over 5y, 9.5% of budgetBOOTHBAY SEA AND SCIENCE CENTER: $88,000 over 5y, 9.6% of budgetDOWNEAST INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED MARINE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INC: $86,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $86,000 over 5y, 3.4% of budgetCENTER FOR AN ECOLOGY BASED ECONOMY: $85,000 over 5y, 14% of budgetLAKES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATION: $85,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetCLASSICAL UPRISING: $84,000 over 5y, 4.4% 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 MOMENTUM CONSERVATION ↗
  • Who funds MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Maine Association of Nonprofits ↗
  • Who funds NEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENT FUND INC ↗
  • Who funds Maine Audubon Society ↗
  • Who funds KENNEBEC ESTUARY LAND TRUST ↗
  • Who funds NEW LEARNING JOURNEY INC ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND OVATIONS ↗
  • Who funds SCHOODIC ARTS FOR ALL ↗
  • Who funds LAKE STEWARDS OF MAINE - MAINE VOLUNTEER LAKE MONITORING PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds Maine GearShare ↗
  • Who funds Maine Mathematics & Science Alliance ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds MAYO STREET ARTS ↗
  • Who funds WATERFALL ARTS ↗
  • Who funds PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE ↗
  • Who funds Maine Academy of Modern Music ↗
  • Who funds TREKKERS INC ↗
  • Who funds PALAVER STRINGS INC ↗
  • Who funds WABANAKI HEALTH & WELLNESS NPC ↗
  • Who funds Midcoast Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds THE THEATER AT MONMOUTH ↗
  • Who funds ARTVAN ↗
  • Who funds BICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE ↗
  • Who funds 317 Main St Community Center Inc ↗
  • Who funds Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust Inc ↗
  • Who funds Portland Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds MAINE INITIATIVESINC ↗
  • Who funds MAINE ORGANIC FARMERS AND GARDENERS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds Appalachian Mountain Club ↗
  • Who funds SPACE Gallery ↗
  • Who funds SCHOODIC INSTITUTE AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF THE COBBOSSEE WATERSHED ↗
  • Who funds 30 Mile River Watershed Association ↗
  • Who funds Indigo Arts Alliance ↗
  • Who funds GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds BANGOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗

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…Elmina B Sewall Found…Morton-Kelly Charitab…Davis Family Foundati…Quimby Family Foundat…Davis Conservation Fo…Horizon Foundation IncFisher Charitable Fou…Bangor Savings Bank F…Sam L Cohen FoundationStephen & Tabitha Kin…John T Gorman Foundat…
Maine Community Foundation IncME236.7× affinity289 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Davis Family Foundation · Quimby Family Foundation · Davis Conservation Foundation · Horizon Foundation Inc · Fisher Charitable Foundation · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Sam L Cohen Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · 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 Onion Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Onion Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%5%19%42%75%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 7%
  • New England Forestry Foundation Inc: 88% of income from government
  • Northeastern University: 7% of income from government
  • Northern Forest Canoe Trail Inc: 4% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
65report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Onion Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Onion Foundation 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 525 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Onion’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