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The Casco Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Casco Foundation

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.

$41k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$9k
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, FY2017 to 2025.

Community Improvement$150kEducation$68kHuman Services$30kPhilanthropy$15kInternational$13kArts & Culture$5kHealth$5kEnvironment$4k
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$5,500
Median grant
1
States reached
$799k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS$9,000
UPSTART MAINE$7,500
COASTAL ENTERPRISES INC$7,000
THOMAS COLLEGE$5,500
CENTRAL MAINE COMMUNITY BETTERMENT COLLABORATIVE$4,500
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE FOUNDATION$4,000
COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC$3,500
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 (FY22–23, $20k) land where the poverty rate runs at 10%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 50% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%PLAY FOR PEACE: $10k → 14%GREATER PORTLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME CENTER: $5k → 7%GREATER PORTLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME CENTER: $5k → 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.
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 10% of The Casco Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 97% of the giving stays in ME; by stated purpose, 92%.

The Casco Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 3.6% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
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.
$233k · 12 repeat orgs$27k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +54% since the first grant, against +29% for those funded once.

12 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
6

Total granted

$233k
$27k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+54%
+29%

Still filing today

92%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
EducationCommunity ImprovementHousing & ShelterHuman ServicesInternationalOther
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
    MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS
    8× · 2018–2025 · $43k · revenue +147%
  • CE
    COASTAL ENTERPRISES INC
    8× · 2018–2025 · $35k · revenue +54%
  • TC
    THOMAS COLLEGE
    8× · 2018–2025 · $29k · revenue +23%

Funded once

  • PF
    PLAY FOR PEACEgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue +29%
  • MH
    MAINE HEALTH INNOVATION CENTER
    one grant, 2023 · $5k
  • CP
    CREATIVE PORTLAND CORPORATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $5k · revenue +66%
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
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…

—
2
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…

—
3
Maine Development Foundation

The mission of the Maine Development Foundation is to foster sustainable, long-term economic growth for Maine. Its programs stimulate new ideas, help develop Maine's leaders, and provide common ground for solving problems and advancing…

Community Improvement
4
Fork Food Lab

Fork Food Lab is a nonprofit food business incubator and shared commercial kitchen focused on growing the local food economy. We support the growth of sustainable Maine-based businesses by providing entrepreneurs with work space,…

Environment
5
Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership

Maine MEP's mission is to facilitate economic development by providing the necessary services to Maine's small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises (SMES) to enable them to be resilient and thrive in the ever-changing market…

Community Improvement
6
Maine Center Ventures

Support and promote the University of Maine Graduate & Professional Center ("Maine Center") of the University of Maine System through fundraising, marketing, and engagement with Maine enterprises and employers to identify and address…

Education
7
Educate Maine

To champion college and career readiness and strive to increase the educational attainment of the Maine workforce.

Education
8
Central Maine Growth Council

The Growth Council was established to foster a robust regional economy in a collaborative manner in a mult-town community.

Community Improvement
9
Maine Technology Institute

The Institute, through a public and private partnership, shall encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activity leading to the commercialization of new products and services in Maine's technology-intensive…

Education
10
The River Fund Maine

To create a bright economic future for our community by investing in the education of our youth and by harnessing the recreational assets of our region

Human Services
11
Eastern Maine Community College Foundation

To mobilize, engage and nurture broad investment from our diverse community to enhance the programs, equipment and facilities of Eastern Maine Community College.

—
12
Maine Initiativesinc

Maine initiatives, a fund for change, cultivates social, economic, and environmental justice through grants and other support to grassroots organizations in maine communities.

Crime & Legal
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Upstart Maine Inc; the most unlike its peers is Play for Peace. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

18 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. 18 of the 20 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)
5
Early backer (in before they grew)
16/18
Grantees still filing
15/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THOMAS COLLEGE: $29,000 · EducationTHOMAS COLLEGESTARTUP MAINE INC: $20,000 · EducationSTARTUP MAINE INCUniversity of Maine Foundation: $17,500 · EducationUniversity of Maine Foundatio…Unity Environmental University: $4,000 · EducationUnity Environmental Universit…NEW HAMPSHIRE WOMEN'S FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 · EducationNEW HAMPSHIRE WOMEN'S FOUNDAT…MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS: $43,000 · OtherMAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE …COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $21,000 · OtherCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTICMAINE HEALTH INNOVATION CENTER: $5,000 · OtherMAINE HEALTH INNOVATION CENT…VENTURE HALL: $3,500 · Other+1 more: $1,000 · OtherUPSTART MAINE INC: $28,000 · Community ImprovementUPSTART MAINE INCCENTRAL MAINE COMMUNITY BETTERMENT COLLABORATIVE: $11,500 · Community ImprovementCENTRAL MAINE COMM…CREATIVE PORTLAND CORPORATION: $5,000 · Community ImprovementCREATIVE PORTLAND …FOUNDATION FOR A STRONG MAINE ECONOMY: $2,500 · Community ImprovementCOASTAL ENTERPRISES INC: $34,500 · Housing & ShelterCOASTAL ENTERPRI…Four Directions Development Corporation: $6,500 · Housing & ShelterFour Directions …GREATER PORTLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME CENTER: $18,500 · Human ServicesGREATER POR…PLAY FOR PEACE: $10,000 · Human ServicesPLAY FOR PE…CIEE Inc: $13,000 · InternationalMaine Community Foundation Inc: $10,500 · Philanthropy
Education$74,500Other$73,500Community Improvement$47,000Housing & Shelter$41,000Human Services$28,500International$13,000Philanthropy$10,500

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 budgetMAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS: $43,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetCOASTAL ENTERPRISES INC: $34,500 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetTHOMAS COLLEGE: $29,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetUPSTART MAINE INC: $28,000 over 8y, 7.3% of budgetCOLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC: $21,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSTARTUP MAINE INC: $20,000 over 4y, 50% of budgetGREATER PORTLAND IMMIGRANT WELCOME CENTER: $18,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetUniversity of Maine Foundation: $17,500 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCIEE Inc: $13,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCENTRAL MAINE COMMUNITY BETTERMENT COLLABORATIVE: $11,500 over 3y, 83% of budgetMaine Community Foundation Inc: $10,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLAY FOR PEACE: $10,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetFour Directions Development Corporation: $6,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCREATIVE PORTLAND CORPORATION: $5,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetUnity Environmental University: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetNEW HAMPSHIRE WOMEN'S FOUNDATION INC: $4,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetVENTURE HALL: $3,500 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetFOUNDATION FOR A STRONG MAINE ECONOMY: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Maine Community Found…Elmina B Sewall Found…Machias Savings Bank …Bill and Joan Alfond …Bangor Savings Bank F…Maine Technology Inst…American Endowment Fo…The Bank of America C…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Maine Community Foundation IncME22.7× affinity9 shared granteesties to 10 of 10Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Elmina B Sewall Foundation · Machias Savings Bank Community Development Foundation · Bill and Joan Alfond Family Foundation · Bangor Savings Bank Foundation · Maine Technology Institute · American Endowment Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving 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 Casco Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Casco Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%23%51%90%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
    0get no government money at all
    8report 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 The Casco Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to The Casco 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 20 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 Casco’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