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Foundation Dossiers

Maine · Private foundation

The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation

Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$200k
Granted FY2026(still arriving)
23
Grants FY2026
23
Organizations funded FY2025
26%
First-time grantees FY2025
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2026
$5,000
Largest grant, FY2026
$50,000
Organizations funded a year
19 to 26
FY2019 to FY2025
States reached, FY2026
3
Total assets, FY2026
$2.2M
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2025, 26% of the organizations The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 34% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 66% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $68k went to new ones.

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

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyFood & NutritionInternationalOther
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.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2026still arriving23$200k9%
FY202523$200k26%
FY202419$171k0%
FY202321$200k24%
FY202221$200k14%
FY202126$179k46%
FY202022$175k9%
FY201921$150k10%
98% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$321kRecreation & Sports$314kEnvironment$238kHealth$159kYouth Development$143kArts & Culture$113kPhilanthropy$70kCivil Rights$63kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
VT
NY
MA
OR
CA
VA
DC

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2026, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Learningworks$231,00062%
Friends of Deering Oaks$200,0004n/a
Friends of Congress Square Park$182,5001045%
Sail Maine$109,000101%
The Telling Room$89,50064%
Surfaid International USA$70,000211%
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc$63,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$60,0002n/a
Portland Trails$57,00096%
Gulf of Maine Research Institute$53,000100%
Show all 38 grantees
All grantees of The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Learningworks$231,00062%
Friends of Deering Oaks$200,0004n/a
Friends of Congress Square Park$182,5001045%
Sail Maine$109,000101%
The Telling Room$89,50064%
Surfaid International USA$70,000211%
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc$63,00020%
Medecins Sans Frontieres USA Inc$60,0002n/a
Portland Trails$57,00096%
Gulf of Maine Research Institute$53,000100%
Foundation for Portland Public Schools$50,0002n/a
Bicycle Coalition of Maine$42,000101%
Hospice of Southern Maine$28,00080%
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine$25,00011%
Portland Museum of Art$24,00040%
Too Young to Wed Inc$20,0002n/a
Eastern Trail Alliance$20,000101%
Dempsey Center for Quality Cancer Care$20,00040%
Portland Community Squash$16,00040%
Compassionate Care ALS Inc$15,50060%
National Network of Abortion Funds Inc$15,00010%
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project$15,000100%
Portland Ovations$14,00030%
Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation$12,00040%
The Center for Grieving Children$12,00040%
SPACE Gallery$11,50071%
Portland Parks Conservancy$11,00020%
City of Portland$10,0001n/a
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc$9,50040%
Good Shepherd Food Bank$9,00020%
American Cancer Society Inc$7,00010%
Girls on the Run - Maine$7,00041%
Maine Inside Out$5,50020%
Full Plates Full Potential$5,00010%
Olympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute$2,00010%
Good Theater Inc$2,0001n/a
240 Strings$1,00011%
University of Southern Maine Foundation$1,00010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 15 recipients with no EIN on record ($255k), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 32 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLearningworks: $231,000 over 6y, 2.0% of budgetFriends of Congress Square Park: $182,500 over 10y, 45% of budgetSail Maine: $109,000 over 10y, 1.4% of budgetThe Telling Room: $89,500 over 6y, 4.3% of budgetSurfaid International USA: $70,000 over 2y, 11% of budgetPlanned Parenthood Federation of America Inc: $63,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPortland Trails: $57,000 over 9y, 6.0% of budgetGulf of Maine Research Institute: $53,000 over 10y, 0.0% of budgetBicycle Coalition of Maine: $42,000 over 10y, 0.8% of budgetHospice of Southern Maine: $28,000 over 8y, 0.0% of budgetBoys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine: $25,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetPortland Museum of Art: $24,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetEastern Trail Alliance: $20,000 over 10y, 0.8% of budgetDempsey Center for Quality Cancer Care: $20,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetPortland Community Squash: $16,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCompassionate Care ALS Inc: $15,500 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNational Network of Abortion Funds Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetImmigrant Legal Advocacy Project: $15,000 over 10y, 0.3% of budgetPortland Ovations: $14,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMaine Public Broadcasting Corporation: $12,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetThe Center for Grieving Children: $12,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetSPACE Gallery: $11,500 over 7y, 0.7% of budgetPortland Parks Conservancy: $11,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPlanned Parenthood of Northern New England Inc: $9,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetGood Shepherd Food Bank: $9,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Cancer Society Inc: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGirls on the Run - Maine: $7,000 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetMaine Inside Out: $5,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetFull Plates Full Potential: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOlympia Snowe Women's Leadership Institute: $2,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budget240 Strings: $1,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetUniversity of Southern Maine Foundation: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 32.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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…Sam L Cohen FoundationOnion FoundationHorizon Foundation IncThe Widgeon Point Cha…Morton-Kelly Charitab…Davis Family Foundati…Murray Charitable Tru…Fisher Charitable Fou…United Way IncSaco & Biddeford Savi…The Cabin Foundation
Maine Community Foundation IncME49.9× affinity24 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Maine Community Foundation Inc · Sam L Cohen Foundation · Onion Foundation · Horizon Foundation Inc · The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation · Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust · Davis Family Foundation · Murray Charitable Trust · Fisher Charitable Foundation · United Way Inc · Saco & Biddeford Savings Charitable Foundation · The Cabin 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.

Compare The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation with peer funders

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Old Bug Light Charitable 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.

About The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation

How much does The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation give?
The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation reported 23 grants totaling $200,000 in its FY2026 IRS filing. It funded between 19 and 26 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2025.
What does The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2026, its largest causes are Education (20%), Recreation & Sports (20%), Environment (15%).
Who are The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2017 to FY2026: Learningworks ($231k), Friends of Deering Oaks ($200k), Friends of Congress Square Park ($183k).
Does The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation fund new organizations?
In FY2025, 26% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Maine Community Foundation Inc, Sam L Cohen Foundation, Onion Foundation.
Where is The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation based?
The Old Bug Light Charitable Foundation is based in ME.

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 53 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 2026, released 2026. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Old Bug Light’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