Maine · Nonprofit
MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS
MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS (Maine) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $626,648 to it, the largest being MAINE AQUACULTURE INNOVATION CENTER ($475,980). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.4M
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $627k
- Net assets
- $90k
What Maine Center for Enterprise Development Dba Maine Center for Entrepreneurs does
Mission
To create high quality jobs for maine through best practice incubations services that systematically assist new businesses with intellectual property and business plan needs, r&d activities, early stage financing and product commercialization.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
Ceased dmr initiative with expenses of $53,569, and seafood capacity expansion with expenses of $200,504, and seamaine with $10,000 of expense.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Marketshare is the most expensive mce program, with 2024 expenses totaling $332,597 and 41 client companies enrolled. A program designed for mature maine-based food and beverage companies looking to aggressively expand distribution regionally and nationally, mce engages a team of subject matter experts to work with each company to perform marketing assessments and identify growth plans. Member companies had regular monthly to bi-monthly working and tracking meetings with the program manager and the mce mentor consultants. Throughout the year, the focus of client member meetings is market development and strategy. Ten company-specific category reports were purchased and analyzed to identify new sales opportunities, many leading to wins of new accounts or additional items added to existing accounts. Other food and beverage industry resources were also purchased, compiled, and utilized throughout the year. Marketshare member companies also participated in quarterly workshops, the food producer social, the seafood showcase, and the mentor happy hours in conjunction with mce's cultivator program. Marketshare is estimated to have created 78 new jobs in maine in 2024.
$332,597 spent34% of program spendingAt $228,499 in expenses and 14 client companies partaking, the cultivator program was the second most expensive initiative for mce in 2024. In this program, each member company is assigned a personal assessment team comprised of three subject matter experts in marketing & sales, finance, and operations. The program begins with an initial meeting in which the team and company come together to assess the company's business. Collaboratively, they work to identify gaps and needs the company has that are preventing them from scaling up to the next level. Based on assessment results, they create an agreed-upon action plan and ongoing milestone tracking rubric to ensure company accountability for deliverables. Also, mce matches each company with appropriate volunteer mentors from mce's maine mentor network (mmn) to address their needs. Companies meet bi-weekly with mce's program manager throughout the next 12 months to work on the action plan and track the measures the company takes during that time. Each company also reconnects with the entire assessment quarterly to review the company's efforts over the past three months. Companies will also attend industry-focused workshops and…
$228,499 spent23% of program spendingThe foodtech maine program cost $151,664 making it the third most expensive mce initiative in 2024. This mce business accelerator focused on driving growth and innovation in maine's food, agriculture, and aquaculture ecosystem. Foodtech maine leverages technology solutions to improve efficiency, sustainability, and quality in the food industry and enhance food and beverage products taste and nutritional benefits. It also connects and fosters collaboration among early-stage and mid-sized companies innovating and developing agri-food industry services or products to commercialize and scale their business and grow this industry in maine. Maine's long history as a center for high-quality food and beverage production and innovation has positioned the state to play a more prominent role in this fast-growing niche industry. Six companies participated in the program in 2024, mce looks to continue the program into 2025.
$151,644 spent15% of program spendingMce's longest-running program, top gun, was the fourth most expensive program in 2024 at $136,439. Top gun assisted over 36 startups in five different maine regions: portland, lewiston-auburn, houlton/machias, ellsworth, and waterville. The companies were from various industries ranging from bioscience and biotech to food and beverage, technology, outdoor goods, and other healthcare-based services. Designed specifically for entrepreneurs wanting to grow their businesses and achieve long-term, sustainable success. The top gun program culminates in the maine entrepreneur summit (mes), during which over 250 maine-based businesses, leaders, organizations, and entrepreneurs gather to attend business-related workshops and explore the trade show featuring top gun attendees' products. Also at mes is the statewide pitch contest where the top attendees from that year's cohort each pitch their company to a panel of judges. The winning team receives a cash prize of $25,000.
$136,439 spentof which $30,500 as grants$15,000 earned by the program14% of program spendingThe maine bioscience cluster initiative was mce's fifth most expensive program in 2024 at $109,785. This program focuses on providing maine biotech, digital health, life sciences, and medical device entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to accelerate their business. The program provides participants with industry expertise, highly collaborative and dynamic learning opportunities, tailored professional resources, and business connections, all at an affordable flat rate. Companies work closely with a program manager with over 20 years of experience in healthcare services, medical devices, and life sciences entrepreneurial experience. The manager works one-on-one with member companies to understand their business needs and connect them to appropriate mce, partner, and industry resources.
$109,785 spent11% of program spendingThe least expensive of mce's significant programs is the visionary leadership program with expenses of $20,612 in 2024. The visionary leadership program was a collaboration with mce, the university of maine graduate and professional center and bangor savings bank. The program provides development opportunities for leaders of startups and small businesses in maine. Through monthly virtual meetings, the program builds a strong peer group, teaches leadership skills and tools for today's business challenges, and introduces participants to experienced maine business and thought leaders.
$20,612 spent2% of program spending
The 6 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $979,576.
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 2017 to 2018, from $328k to $185k (−44%).
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 50% · 2018 41% · 2019 17% · 2020 16% · 2021 21% · 2022 9% · 2023 11% · 2024 6%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (72% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 4 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.
Chief executive
Thomas Rainey
Executive director
Board chair
Andrea K Suter
Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base held at 2 funders, grant income fell $82k → $65k.
3 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 17% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $4.8M from 3 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Foundation for a Strong Maine Economy). These are real filings, and they are not money MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS raised.
From the IRS filings of MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS’s funders (the co-funder graph). 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
MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS leans on a few funders — its largest provides 76% of grant income and the top three 92%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
93% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 73% · 2018 59% · 2019 67% · 2020 87% · 2021 49% · 2022 92% · 2023 92% — growing more concentrated.
“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.
Where its funders are
100% of MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS's grant income comes from Maine funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $108k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS has grown faster than three-quarters of the 611 unclassified nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 611 unclassified nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $513k on record.
- Department of Commerce$513k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS
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
72% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS: 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 MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS?
- MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS (Maine) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $626,648 to it, the largest being MAINE AQUACULTURE INNOVATION CENTER ($475,980). 4 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $626,648 in grants to MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS, 4 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS?
- MAINE AQUACULTURE INNOVATION CENTER is the largest funder on record, with $475,980 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MAINE CENTER FOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT DBA MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS 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.
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 5 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