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The Aaron a and Maria H Putnam Family Charitable Trust at a glance

· Private foundation

The Aaron a and Maria H Putnam Family Charitable Trust

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$187k
Granted FY2025still arriving
25
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$20k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
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 2025.

Human Services$407kHealth$194kEducation$175kArts & Culture$122kAnimals$104kFood & Nutrition$88kReligion$85kPublic Safety & Disaster$79kOther$0
02FY2025 · 25 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k19 grants · $104k
  • $10k–50k6 grants · $83k
$8,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE SALVATION ARMY$20,000
UNITARIAN CHURCH$18,000
MCGILLS COMMUNITY BAND$15,000
JOHN MILLAR CIVIC CENTER$10,000
PUTNAM HOUSE$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
VITAL PATHWAYS$9,000
HOULTON REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES FD$9,000
AID FOR KIDS$8,000
LIFEFLIGHT FOUNDATION$8,000
ARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY$8,000
HOULTON HUMANE SOCIETY$8,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$8,000
AROOSTOOK AGENCY ON AGING$7,500
Individual grant recipient$6,000
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 (FY17–25, $89k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%MANES & TAILS: $7k → 15%MANES & TAILS: $6k → 15%MANES & TAILS: $5k → 15%MANES AND TAILS: $2k → 15%AROOSTOOK AGENCY ON AGING: $8k → 15%NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE: $5k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $8k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $8k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $8k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $5k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $4k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $3k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $3k → 15%NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE: $5k → 15%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.

96%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.5M · 33 repeat orgs$58k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against -20% for those funded once.

33 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

33
9

Total granted

$1.5M
$48k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
-20%

Still filing today

33%
11%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
Human ServicesAnimalsEducationReligionHealthOther
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

  • HH
    HOULTON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIAT
    9× · 2017–2025 · $98k · revenue +501% · 38% of their budget
  • HH
    Houlton Humane Society
    9× · 2017–2025 · $56k · revenue +139%
  • AN
    American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches
    9× · 2017–2025 · $52k · revenue +46%

Funded once

  • PH
    PUTNAM HOUSE SENIOR CENTER
    one grant, 2017 · $15k
  • AA
    ADOPT A BLOCK
    one grant, 2017 · $8k
  • HA
    HOULTON AMBULANCE SERVICE
    one grant, 2020 · $7k
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
Homeless Animal Rescue Team of Maine Inc

Rescue Homeless Cats

Animals
2
Houlton Regional Health Servic Foundation

Soliciting and administering gifts to nonprofit agencies to ensure the continuity of quality healthcare throughout the region by financial support of equipment, program and educational needs.

Health
3
Homeless Services of Aroostook Inc

Provide temporary housing and counseling services for the homeless of northern maine

—
4
Penobscot Valley Humane Society

Rescue and re-adoption of dogs and cats.

—
5
Central Aroostook Humane Society

Shelter and care for abandoned pets

Animals
6
Maine Veterinary Education Foundation
Education
7
New England Animal Health Inc
Science & Tech
8
Humane Society of Hobart Inc

To shelter, rescue and protect Gods creatures from abuse, injury and mistreatment and to build and strenthen pet families throughout the community

Animals
9
Maine Animal Health Alliance

Maine Animal Health Alliance (MAHA) provides high quality high volume spay/neuter to Maine animals in need. MAHA will improve the health of Maine pets through vaccination, wellness, and HQHVSN training for veterinary professionals. MAHA…

Animals
10
Humane Society of North Central Iow

Provide for shelter, food, veterinary services and adoption of small animals. this shelter operates as a no kill shelter in north central iowa.

Animals
11
Marine Mammals of Maine

To rescue injured, sick and abandoned marine mammals and to educate the public about what to do if they find one of these marine mammals.

Arts & Culture
12
Maine Health Access Foundation Inc
Health
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Houlton Humane Society; the most unlike its peers is Manes and Tails. 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

14 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. 14 of the 44 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
13/14
Grantees still filing
6/14
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE SALVATION ARMY: $187,000 · OtherTHE SALVATION ARMYPUTNAM HOUSE: $162,928 · OtherPUTNAM HOUSEMCGILLS COMMUNITY BAND: $113,831 · OtherMCGILLS COMMUNITY BANDTOWN OF HOULTON: $90,000 · OtherTOWN OF HOULTONIndividual grant recipient: $77,700 · OtherIndividual grant recipientUNITARIAN CHURCH: $76,000 · OtherUNITARIAN CHURCHAID FOR KIDS: $68,500 · OtherAID FOR KIDSHOULTON REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES FD: $68,292 · OtherHOULTON REGIONAL HEALTH SERVICES FDVITAL PATHWAYS: $54,000 · OtherHoulton Chamber of Commerce: $42,819 · Other+22 more: $221,154 · Other+22 moreHoulton Humane Society: $55,850 · AnimalsARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $33,000 · AnimalsThe Ark Pope Memorial Animal Shelter: $15,000 · AnimalsHOULTON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIAT: $97,500 · EducationFriends of Aroostook: $5,000 · EducationAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $52,000 · Human ServicesManes and Tails: $19,760 · Human ServicesTHE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE INC: $10,000 · Human ServicesAroostook Area Agency on Aging Inc: $7,500 · Human ServicesCatholic Charities Maine: $5,000 · Human ServicesLifeFlight Foundation: $28,000 · HealthGreater Houlton Christian Acad: $23,500 · Religion
Other$1,162,224Animals$103,850Education$102,500Human Services$94,260Health$28,000Religion$23,500

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 budgetHOULTON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIAT: $97,500 over 9y, 38% of budgetAID FOR KIDS: $68,500 over 8y, 34% of budgetHoulton Humane Society: $55,850 over 9y, 7.5% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $52,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetHoulton Chamber of Commerce: $42,819 over 8y, 13% of budgetARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY: $33,000 over 6y, 7.6% of budgetLifeFlight Foundation: $28,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetGreater Houlton Christian Acad: $23,500 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetThe Ark Pope Memorial Animal Shelter: $15,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetTHE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAroostook Area Agency on Aging Inc: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCatholic Charities Maine: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFriends of Aroostook: $5,000 over 2y, 2.3% 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 HOULTON HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIAT ↗
  • Who funds AID FOR KIDS ↗
  • Who funds Houlton Humane Society ↗
  • Who funds American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches ↗
  • Who funds Houlton Chamber of Commerce ↗
  • Who funds ARK ANIMAL SANCTUARY ↗
  • Who funds LifeFlight Foundation ↗
  • Who funds Greater Houlton Christian Acad ↗
  • Who funds Manes and Tails ↗
  • Who funds The Ark Pope Memorial Animal Shelter ↗
  • Who funds THE NORTHERN LIGHTHOUSE INC ↗
  • Who funds Aroostook Area Agency on Aging Inc ↗
  • Who funds Catholic Charities Maine ↗
  • Who funds Friends of Aroostook ↗

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…Stephen & Tabitha Kin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Maine Community Foundation IncME18.6× affinity7 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 The Aaron a and Maria H Putnam Family Charitable Trust funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Aaron a and Maria H Putnam Family Charitable Trust. Bigger dots raise more.

2023
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%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 · 0–30%
    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 44 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 Aaron a and Maria H Putnam Family’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