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Roger K Berle Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

Roger K Berle Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$91k
Granted FY2025still arriving
30
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$277kEducation$162kEnvironment$100kYouth Development$55kFood & Nutrition$33kHealth$29kHousing & Shelter$26kRecreation & Sports$16kOther$0
02FY2025 · 30 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k27 grants · $56k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $35k
$2,500
Median grant
3
States reached
$743k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MAINE PUBLIC BROADCASTING$15,000
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE FOUNDATION$10,000
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF SOUTHERN MAINE$10,000
BOWDOIN COLLEGE$9,200
PORTLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA$5,000
PORTLAND PARKS CONSERVANCY$5,000
Individual grant recipient$5,000
CLIFF ISLAND CORP FOR ACE$3,500
THE ISLAND INSTITUTE$3,000
GOOD SHEPHERD FOOD BANK$2,500
FULL PLATES FULL POTENTIAL$2,500
WAYNFLETE SCHOOL$2,500
FRIENDS OF FORT GORGES$2,500
PORTLAND TRAILS$2,500
MAINE COAST FISHERMENS ASSOCIATION$2,500
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 (FY17–25, $28k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 28% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%LEARNING WORKS: $1k → 12%MIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $1k → 14%MIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $500 → 14%MIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $500 → 14%MIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $500 → 14%SMYAL: $1k → 14%SMYAL: $1k → 14%SMYAL: $1k → 14%SMYAL: $1k → 14%LEARNING WORKS: $500 → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $3k → 7%PREBLE STREET: $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
MI
NY
MA
IA
NJ
CA
VA
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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$695k · 46 repeat orgs$79k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +72% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

46 repeat relationships: 22 still active in FY2025, 24 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
21

Total granted

$695k
$58k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+72%
+14%

Still filing today

76%
43%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $22k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentArts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationFood & NutritionYouth DevelopmentOther
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

  • BC
    Bowdoin College
    9× · 2017–2025 · $64k · revenue +94%
  • MP
    Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation
    9× · 2017–2025 · $60k · revenue +88%
  • BG
    Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine
    7× · 2017–2025 · $50k · revenue +341%

Funded once

  • CF
    CELTINO FOUNDATION CHARITABLE TRUST
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • MT
    MAINE TRUST FOR LOCAL NEWS
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branchesgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $10k · revenue +46%
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
Maine Farmland Trust

Maine Farmland Trust protects farmland, supports farmers, and advances the future of farming.

Food & Nutrition
3
Wetlands Foundation
Environment
4
Maine Maritime Museum

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

Arts & Culture
5
Coastal Mountains Land Trust

We conserve land permanently to benefit the natural and human communities of western the Penobscot Bay region.

Environment
6
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
7
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…

—
8
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust

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

Environment
9
Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries

Secure a sustainable future for fisheries and fishing communities in Eastern Maine and beyond.

Science & Tech
10
Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation
Environment
11
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.

—
12
Kennebunk Land Trust

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

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Maine Seacoast Mission; the most unlike its peers is Earthjustice. 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

51 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. 51 of the 76 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)
16
Early backer (in before they grew)
51/51
Grantees still filing
33/51
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE: $40,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINEPORTLAND MEDIA CENTER: $37,000 · OtherPORTLAND MEDIA CENTERCLIFF ISLAND CORP FOR ACE: $29,100 · OtherCLIFF ISLAND CORP FOR ACEIndividual grant recipient: $15,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientLOCAL MEDIA ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION: $12,500 · OtherCELTINO FOUNDATION CHARITABLE TRUST: $10,000 · OtherMAINE TRUST FOR LOCAL NEWS: $10,000 · OtherUniversity of Southern Maine Foundation: $10,000 · Other+28 more: $76,984 · Other+28 morePORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $65,000 · Arts & CulturePORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHEST…Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation: $59,500 · Arts & CultureMaine Public Broadcasting Corpo…SPACE Gallery: $42,500 · Arts & CultureSPACE GalleryFRIENDS OF FORT GORGES: $28,000 · Arts & CultureFRIENDS OF FORT GORGES+7 more: $17,250 · Arts & Culture+7 moreBowdoin College: $63,700 · EducationBowdoin CollegeIsland Institute: $34,000 · EducationIsland InstituteWAYNFLETE SCHOOL: $22,000 · EducationWAYNFLETE SCHOOLFalmouth Memorial Library Association: $7,000 · EducationNOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $4,500 · Education+1 more: $1,500 · EducationPORTLAND TRAILS: $16,500 · EnvironmentMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $11,000 · EnvironmentMaine Island Trail Association: $6,500 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF CASCO BAY: $5,813 · EnvironmentMaine Audubon Society: $4,000 · EnvironmentForest Society of Maine: $3,500 · EnvironmentMAINE COAST FISHERMENS ASSN: $2,500 · Environment+5 more: $4,250 · EnvironmentPREBLE STREET: $19,500 · Human ServicesPortland Parks Conservancy: $13,000 · Human ServicesAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $10,000 · Human ServicesSMYAL Inc: $4,000 · Human ServicesMIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $2,500 · Human ServicesLEARNINGWORKS: $1,750 · Human Services+1 more: $1,500 · Human ServicesBoys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentFULL PLATES FULL POTENTIAL: $18,000 · Food & NutritionGood Shepherd Food Bank: $14,500 · Food & Nutrition+1 more: $500 · Food & Nutrition
Other$240,584Arts & Culture$212,250Education$132,700Environment$54,063Human Services$52,250Youth Development$50,000Food & Nutrition$33,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: $65,000 over 9y, 0.4% of budgetBowdoin College: $63,700 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Public Broadcasting Corporation: $59,500 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine: $50,000 over 7y, 0.4% of budgetSPACE Gallery: $42,500 over 8y, 1.3% of budgetPORTLAND MEDIA CENTER: $37,000 over 8y, 2.5% of budgetIsland Institute: $34,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetFRIENDS OF FORT GORGES: $28,000 over 9y, 14% of budgetWAYNFLETE SCHOOL: $22,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetPREBLE STREET: $19,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetFULL PLATES FULL POTENTIAL: $18,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetPORTLAND TRAILS: $16,500 over 9y, 0.7% of budgetGood Shepherd Food Bank: $14,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetPortland Parks Conservancy: $13,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $11,000 over 7y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Southern Maine Foundation: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFalmouth Memorial Library Association: $7,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetMaine Island Trail Association: $6,500 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF CASCO BAY: $5,813 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetMUSIC IN THE SOMERSET HILLS INC: $5,500 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $5,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL: $4,500 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetOCEANSIDE CONSERVATION TRUST: $4,250 over 8y, 1.4% of budgetSMYAL Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Audubon Society: $4,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetThe Genesis Fund: $3,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetForest Society of Maine: $3,500 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $3,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetMIRIAM'S KITCHEN: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCAMDEN CONFERENCE: $2,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetFriends of Katahdin Woods & Waters: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetLEARNINGWORKS: $1,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHROUGH THESE DOORS: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFAMILY EQUALITY: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCHORAL ART SOCIETY: $1,250 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetFALMOUTH CONSERVATION TRUST DBA FALMOUTH LAND TRUST: $1,250 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetMaine Seacoast Mission: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPresumpscot Regional Land Trust: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget317 Main St Community Center Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetMAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAINE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST REPORTING: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $500 over 1y, 0.3% 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 PORTLAND MAINE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ↗
  • Who funds Bowdoin College ↗
  • Who funds Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation ↗
  • Who funds Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine ↗
  • Who funds SPACE Gallery ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND MEDIA CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Island Institute ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF FORT GORGES ↗
  • Who funds WAYNFLETE SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds PREBLE STREET ↗
  • Who funds FULL PLATES FULL POTENTIAL ↗
  • Who funds PORTLAND TRAILS ↗
  • Who funds Good Shepherd Food Bank ↗
  • Who funds Portland Parks Conservancy ↗
  • Who funds Maine Coast Heritage Trust ↗
  • Who funds University of Southern Maine Foundation ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Falmouth Memorial Library Association ↗
  • Who funds Maine Island Trail Association ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDS OF CASCO BAY ↗
  • Who funds MUSIC IN THE SOMERSET HILLS INC ↗
  • Who funds Portland Museum of Art ↗
  • Who funds UNITED STATES FUND FOR UNICEF ↗
  • Who funds NOBLE AND GREENOUGH SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds OCEANSIDE CONSERVATION TRUST ↗
  • Who funds SMYAL Inc ↗
  • Who funds Maine Audubon Society ↗

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…Horizon Foundation IncSam L Cohen FoundationOnion FoundationMorton-Kelly Charitab…Elmina B Sewall Found…The Widgeon Point Cha…Libra FoundationFisher Charitable Fou…Murray Charitable Tru…Davis Conservation Fo…Stephen & Tabitha Kin…
Maine Community Foundation IncME51.9× affinity26 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Horizon Foundation Inc · Sam L Cohen Foundation · Onion Foundation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation · Libra Foundation · Fisher Charitable Foundation · Murray Charitable Trust · Davis Conservation Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc

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 Roger K Berle Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Roger K Berle Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 30%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    3get no government money at all
    17report 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.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Roger K Berle Charitable Trust?

    Find your warmest path to Roger K Berle Charitable Trust 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 76 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Roger K Berle’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