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Sheaffer Lewis J Community Pfdn at a glance

· Private foundation

Sheaffer Lewis J Community Pfdn

Its FY2023 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$593k
Granted FY2023
31
Grants FY2023
5
States reached
$80k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0194% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2023.

Health$110kFood & Nutrition$90kReligion$80kEducation$63kYouth Development$60kHuman Services$50kAnimals$40kPublic Safety & Disaster$35kOther$0
02FY2023 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2023

  • Under $10k9 grants · $29k
  • $10k–50k18 grants · $324k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $240k
$15,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$11M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MAINE GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER$80,000
CHRIST CHURCH$60,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF KENNEBEC VALLEY$50,000
AUGUSTA FOOD BANK$50,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$35,000
KENNEBEC VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY$25,000
THE CAPITAL AREA RECREATION ASSOCIATION$25,000
CHILDRENS CENTER$25,000
SPECTRUM GENERATIONS$20,000
AUGUSTA COLONIAL THEATER$20,000
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GARDINER$20,000
GARDINER PUBLIC LIBRARY$18,750
PALS NO-KILL CAT SHELTER$15,000
CHRYSALIS PLACE FOOD CENTER$15,000
KENNEBEC VALLEY YMCA$15,000
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 (FY23–23, $70k) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $35k → 14%SPECTRUM GENERATIONS: $20k → 12%FAMILY VIOLENCE PROJECT: $15k → 12%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 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
President and Trustees of Bates College

Bates is a college of the liberal arts and sciences, and is a coeducational, nonsectarian, residential college with special commitments to academic rigor, and to assuring in all of its efforts the dignity of each individual, and access to…

Education
2
Bangor Public Library

The bangor public library strives to inspire, enlighten, and enrich its members by connecting them to books, information, and ideas needed for work, recreation, education, and inspiration by providing excellent library service to its…

—
3
Kennebunk Free Library Association

To inspire and enable our communities to discover, learn and connect.

—
4
Kennebunk Land Trust

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

Environment
5
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
6
Bridgton Public Library

Public library

Education
7
The University of Vermont Medical Center

To improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education, and research in a caring environment.

Health
8
Trustees of Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership, through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.

Education
9
MaineGeneral Health and Affiliates

MaineGeneral Health is a comprehensive non-profit system with the mission of enhancing, every day, the health of our patients, our families and our communities.

—
10
Wiscasset Public Library

Wiscasset public librarys goal is to provide access to innovateive library services, delivered in an efficient and effective manner that will assist everyone to contiune to grow and learn throughout their lives. provide

Education
11
Bridgton Academy

To provide a program for young men in a unique, one-year postgraduate environment to prepare for the rigors of college and beyond.

Education
12
Penobscot Community Health Center

Penobscot Community Health Center (PCHC) is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1997 that is governed by a Board of community volunteers and is the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Maine. PCHC is driven by its mission…

Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Kennebec Valley Ymca; the most unlike its peers is Amda Inc (American Musical and Dramatic Academy). 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 31 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
9/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MAINEGENRAL MEDICAL CENTER: $80,000 · OtherMAINEGENRAL MEDICAL CENTERCHRIST CHURCH: $60,000 · OtherCHRIST CHURCHTHE CAPITAL AREA RECREATION ASSOCIATION: $25,000 · OtherTHE CAPITAL AREA RECREATION ASSOCIATIONTHE CHILDREN'S CENTER UTAH: $25,000 · OtherTHE CHILDREN'S CENTER UTAHAUGUSTA COLONIAL THEATER: $20,000 · OtherAUGUSTA COLONIAL THEATERFIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GARDINER: $20,000 · OtherFIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GARDINERGARDINER PUBLIC LIBRARY: $18,750 · OtherTURNER PUBLIC LIBRARY PORTLAND TRUST COMPANY MANAGER: $15,000 · OtherCHRYSALIS PLACE FOOD CENTER: $15,000 · OtherPALS NO-KILL CAT SHELTER: $15,000 · OtherKennebec Valley YMCA: $15,000 · OtherGREATER AUGUSTA BACK TO SCHOOL PROGRAM: $15,000 · OtherFOOD FOR THOUGHT: $15,000 · Other+6 more: $17,500 · OtherAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $35,000 · Human ServicesAmerican Nati…SPECTRUM GENERATIONS: $20,000 · Human ServicesSPECTRUM GENE…FAMILY VIOLENCE PROJECT: $15,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY VIOLEN…AUGUSTA FOOD BANK: $50,000 · Food & NutritionAUGUSTA FOO…WINTHROP FOOD PANTRY: $10,000 · Food & NutritionWINTHROP FO…BOYS&GIRLS CLUBS OF KENNEBEC VALLEY: $50,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS&GIRLS …AUGUSTA TEEN CENTER OF THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentAUGUSTA TEE…KENNEBEC VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY: $25,000 · AnimalsViles Arboretum: $10,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF LITHGOW LIBRARY: $4,000 · EducationThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $2,500 · EducationSEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS & SUPPORT CENTER: $5,000 · Health
Other$356,250Human Services$70,000Food & Nutrition$60,000Youth Development$60,000Animals$25,000Environment$10,000Education$6,500Health$5,000

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 budgetAUGUSTA FOOD BANK: $50,000 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetBOYS&GIRLS CLUBS OF KENNEBEC VALLEY: $50,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $35,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKENNEBEC VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetTHE CHILDREN'S CENTER UTAH: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSPECTRUM GENERATIONS: $20,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTURNER PUBLIC LIBRARY PORTLAND TRUST COMPANY MANAGER: $15,000 over 1y, 18% of budgetFAMILY VIOLENCE PROJECT: $15,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetKennebec Valley YMCA: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetAUGUSTA TEEN CENTER OF THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetViles Arboretum: $10,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetWINTHROP FOOD PANTRY: $10,000 over 1y, 5.7% of budgetSEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS & SUPPORT CENTER: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetAMDA INC (AMERICAN MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC ACADEMY): $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe President and Trustees of Colby College: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY: $2,500 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.

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.

Kennebec Savings Bank…Elsie & William Viles…Maine Community Found…The Bracy Memorial Tr…United Way of Kennebe…John T Gorman Foundat…Stephen & Tabitha Kin…Bangor Savings Bank F…Helen W Fuller Testam…Es & Mj Mayer Foundat…Reny Charitable Found…Franklin Savings Bank…
Kennebec Savings Bank FoundationME26.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Kennebec Savings Bank Foundation · Elsie & William Viles Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · The Bracy Memorial Trust Fund · United Way of Kennebec Valley · John T Gorman Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Helen W Fuller Testamentary Trust · Es & Mj Mayer Foundation · Reny Charitable Foundation · Franklin Savings Bank Community Development 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 Sheaffer Lewis J Community Pfdn funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sheaffer Lewis J Community Pfdn. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Trustees of Boston University: 12% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
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.

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 31 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 2023, released 2023. 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
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