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The Foreside Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Foreside 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.

$58k
Granted FY2025still arriving
28
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$25k
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.

Environment$66kEducation$53kRecreation & Sports$42kPhilanthropy$35kHuman Services$30kPublic Benefit$20kInternational$10kArts & Culture$5kOther$0
02FY2025 · 28 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k27 grants · $33k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $25k
$500
Median grant
7
States reached
$345k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HURRICANE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL$25,000
ISSUE ONE$7,500
BERMUDA RACE FOUNDATION INC$5,000
ASPIRE SCHOLARSHIP$5,000
HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION$1,500
LEGADO INC$1,250
PALAVER STRINGS INCORPORATED$1,000
MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST$1,000
BIGELOW LABORATORY FOR OCEAN SCIENCES$1,000
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB$1,000
WEST RIVER SPORTS ASSOCIATION INC$1,000
MAINE ISLAND TRAIL ASSOCIATION$1,000
SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FOREST$500
GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE$500
FRIENDS OF CASCO BAY$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 (FY23–23, $150) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%TANZANIAN CHILDRENS FUND INC: $150 → 8%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
MN
NY
MA
PA
RI
CO
AZ
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$163k · 18 repeat orgs$105k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +12% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2025, 1 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
11

Total granted

$163k
$88k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+12%

Still filing today

89%
91%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentRecreation & SportsArts & CulturePublic BenefitEducationAnimalsOther
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

  • HI
    HURRICANE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL
    6× · 2017–2025 · $41k · revenue +10%
  • Maine Coast Heritage Trust
    5× · 2021–2025 · $31k · revenue +5%
  • TH
    THE HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION
    6× · 2020–2025 · $12k · revenue +124%

Funded once

  • PC
    Parent Child Center Inc
    one grant, 2017 · $30k · revenue +23%
  • GC
    GRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue -48%
  • AL
    ALNOBA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION FKA PINNACLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $10k · revenue -91%
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
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
2
Kennebunk Land Trust

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

Environment
3
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
4
Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust

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

Environment
5
Nantucket Conservation Foundation Inc

The nantucket conservation foundation owns, protects, and stewards over 9,000 acres of land and coastal shoreline, conserves nantucket's rare and significant natural resources, and engages in impactful ecological research to inform…

Environment
6
Coastal Mountains Land Trust

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

Environment
7
The Vermont River Conservancy Inc

Protect land along rivers, lakes and wetlands of vt; protect public access, wildlife habitat, scenic natural beauty, and ecological integrity.

Human Services
8
Maine Tree Foundation

Our Mission is to educate and advocate for the sustainable use of the forest and the ecological, economic, and social health of Maines forest community

Environment
9
Somerset Woods Trustees

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

Environment
10
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.

—
11
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
12
Maine GearShare

To provide access to outdoor gear and know-how through a collaborative, equity-centered approach.

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests; the most unlike its peers is Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation Fka Pinnacle Leadership 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

35 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. 35 of the 38 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
34/35
Grantees still filing
22/35
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

HURRICANE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL: $40,500 · EnvironmentHURRICANE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOLMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $31,000 · EnvironmentMaine Coast Heritage TrustAppalachian Mountain Club: $5,750 · EnvironmentAppalachian Mountain ClubFRIENDS OF CASCO BAY: $5,000 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF CASCO BAYLEGADO INC: $4,250 · EnvironmentMaine Island Trail Association: $3,750 · Environment+3 more: $3,350 · EnvironmentParent Child Center Inc: $30,000 · OtherParent Child Center IncT2 FOUNDATION: $10,000 · OtherT2 FOUNDATIONSTREETS INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 · OtherSTREETS INTERNATIONAL INCGULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $2,500 · Other+16 more: $12,033 · Other+16 moreWest River Sports Association Inc: $26,500 · Recreation & SportsWest River Sp…BERMUDA RACE FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Recreation & SportsBERMUDA RACE …+1 more: $300 · Recreation & SportsASPIRE SCHOLARSHIP: $22,700 · Public BenefitASPIRE SCHOL…ISSUE ONE: $7,500 · Public BenefitISSUE ONEGRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · PhilanthropyGRAND CIRC…THE HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION: $12,250 · Youth DevelopmentALNOBA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION FKA PINNACLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationBROOKS SCHOOL: $1,000 · Education
Environment$93,600Other$64,533Recreation & Sports$31,800Public Benefit$30,200Philanthropy$25,000Youth Development$12,250Education$11,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetHURRICANE ISLAND OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL: $40,500 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetMaine Coast Heritage Trust: $31,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetParent Child Center Inc: $30,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetWest River Sports Association Inc: $26,500 over 5y, 3.3% of budgetGRAND CIRCLE FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetASPIRE SCHOLARSHIP: $22,700 over 6y, 4.1% of budgetTHE HURRICANE ISLAND FOUNDATION: $12,250 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetALNOBA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION FKA PINNACLE LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSTREETS INTERNATIONAL INC: $10,000 over 1y, 3.6% of budgetISSUE ONE: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetAppalachian Mountain Club: $5,750 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF CASCO BAY: $5,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetLEGADO INC: $4,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetMaine Island Trail Association: $3,750 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPALAVER STRINGS INC: $1,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS: $1,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetVERMONTS CAMP TA-KUM-TA: $1,333 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTIN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION CENTER INC: $1,100 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetBROOKS SCHOOL: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMaine Maritime Museum: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGREEN MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION GROUP: $750 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVERMONT FOODBANK: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMOUNT WASHINGTON OBSERVATORY: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFEED MY STARVING CHILDREN INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetADDISON COUNTY RELOCALIZATION NETWORK INC: $350 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetNEW ENGLAND NORDIC SKI ASSOCIATION INC: $300 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetANIMAL REFUGE LEAGUE OF GREATER PORTLAND: $200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFURNITURE FRIENDS: $200 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE TANZANIAN CHILDRENS FUND INC: $150 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.

Maine Community Found…New Hampshire Charita…Davis Conservation Fo…The Robert and Doroth…Fisher Charitable Fou…Bank of New Hampshire…The Vermont Community…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Murray Charitable Tru…Simmons Foundation - …The Virginia Wellingt…Davis Family Foundati…
Maine Community Foundation IncME23.4× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · Davis Conservation Foundation · The Robert and Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation · Fisher Charitable Foundation · Bank of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation · The Vermont Community Foundation · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Murray Charitable Trust · Simmons Foundation - PerkinsThompson · The Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation · Davis Family 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 Foreside Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Foreside Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 13%
  • Parent Child Center Inc: 45% of income from government
  • Vermont Foodbank: 13% of income from government
  • Appalachian Mountain Club: 1% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
10report 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.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Foreside Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Foreside 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 38 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 Foreside’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