Maine · Nonprofit
7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC
7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC (Maine) receives grants from 36 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,369,181 to it, the largest being HAROLD ALFOND FOUNDATION ($3,145,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $3.1M
- Funders on record
- 36
- Grants received
- $6.4M
- Net assets
- $9.1M
What 7 Lakes Alliance Inc does
Mission
7 lakes alliance conserves the lands and waters of the belgrade lakes region for all.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
1- the 7 lakes alliance invasive aquatic plant program protects aquatic ecosystems and the public use, values and enjoyment of the lakes in the belgrade lakes watershed by preventing and mitigating the spread of invasive aquatic plants. Through its courtesy boat inspection program, 7 lakes alliance partners with local watershed organizations to place both paid and volunteer courtesy boat inspectors at public boat launches to check for plant fragments on boats entering and leaving the lakes and educates boaters about the threats posed by invasive aquatic plants. 7 lakes alliance employees also survey and organize citizen volunteer invasive plant patrols to search for and then remove invasive plants that may become established in at-risk areas. In 2024, 7 lakes alliance employed 25 part-time workers and 12 volunteers that inspected boats on 5 public boat ramps and 1 private launch that affects public waters.
$532,182 spent$84,538 earned by the program30% of program spending2- water quality science - the 7 lakes alliance's goal is to monitor and understand, in collaboration with partners including colby college and surrounding local lake associations, water quality on all seven of the belgrade lakes. Under the supervision of our lake science director, dr. Danielle wain, key water quality partners, including colby students, 7 lakes alliance staff, and volunteers routinely measure temperature and oxygen profiles, water clarity, algal species composition (using a flowcam) and potential cyanobacteria, and inputs from tributaries using autosamplers to assess the quality of the lakes and threats to human health.
$287,290 spent$134,865 earned by the program16% of program spending3- erosion control: 7 lakes alliance conducts diverse projects to protect and restore water quality by preventing the erosion of sediment and the algae fueling phosphorus it carries with it from entering waters of the belgrade lakes watershed. Erosion is the primary cause of excessive algal blooms in the watershed. 7 lakes work includes the section 319 program, youth conservation corps, lakesmart and various policy initiatives and communications. Section 319 projects are funded, in part, by the u.s. Environmental protection agency under section 319 of the clean water act and administered by the maine department of environmental protection nonpoint source (nps) program. 7 lakes alliance also operates a youth conservation corps which employs local youth to work with landowners to voluntarily implement various erosion control measures on their properties. Work also includes educational and policy efforts to educate and engage watershed communities in erosion control efforts.
$242,147 spent$225 earned by the program14% of program spending7 lakes alliance, an accredited land trust, aims to protect the quality of the belgrade lakes watershed from degradation due to the impact of unsustainable development within the watershed. To accomplish this, 7 lakes alliance's land conservation program identifies and permanently conserves lands that provide high value habitats, recreational opportunities, and water quality protection and restoration to benefit the public. 7 lakes alliance also operates a land stewardship program through which 7 lakes' staff and dedicated volunteers protect and enhance conservation properties through robust monitoring, trail maintenance and communication and education about the values of land conservation to the public to ensure that conservation values are sustained. Additionally, 7 lakes alliance also provides educational, informational and communications programs to support the local lake associations and other water partners. These include numerous and wide-ranging conservation lectures, events and opportunities for all ages. 7 lakes alliance seeks to connect people with nature through educational programs, trainings, events, digital and printed newsletters and other activities. Events and…
$713,441 spent$5,000 earned by the program40% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,775,060.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $3.7M to $7.8M (+113%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 6% · 2018 18% · 2019 8% · 2020 21% · 2021 18% · 2022 4% · 2023 27% · 2024 13%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
88% of 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (88% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 2 funders to 14 funders, grant income rose $11k → $1.3M.
15 of 36 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 20% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 36 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 67%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 95% · 2018 64% · 2019 58% · 2020 37% · 2021 42% · 2022 82% · 2023 39% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
50% of 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
64% of 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC's grant income comes from Maine funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 2,186 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,186 environment nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Maine
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
92%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC?
- 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC (Maine) receives grants from 36 organizations whose IRS filings report $6,369,181 to it, the largest being HAROLD ALFOND FOUNDATION ($3,145,000). 22 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC have?
- IRS filings report 36 organizations giving $6,369,181 in grants to 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC, 22 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC?
- HAROLD ALFOND FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $3,145,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like 7 LAKES ALLIANCE INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Maine. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds 7 Lakes Alliance →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 36 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing