Maine Community Foundation

Overview

Mission

To bring people and resources together for a better Maine.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grantmaking. Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF, the Foundation) envisions a Maine that is a vibrant and equitable place where people and communities thrive. MaineCF strives to achieve this vision throughout all its programs and services. MaineCF partners with donors to accomplish their philanthropic goals in Maine by connecting them and their resources to opportunities in nonprofits, investments, and partnerships that strive to build a better Maine. The Foundation also works with nonprofit organizations, communities, government, and private sector leaders to address the significant issues that are important to people in Maine. Specifically, MaineCF holds more than 460 donor advised funds, 700+ scholarships, nearly 300 funds invested on behalf of nonprofits and 16 competitive grant programs all with the goal of meeting our vision of a vibrant and equitable Maine.In 2024, the Foundation provided more than $68 million in grants supporting charitable organizations to address several issues including climate, housing, economic opportunity, just and fair access to opportunities for all people and many more areas of focus. The $68 million in grants awarded in 2024 included $3 million in scholarships awarded to over 1,400 recipients for professional development, and undergraduate and graduate studies. It also included over 200 grants totaling $1.97 million from the Maine Community Foundation Community Building program, which engages communities across Maine to provide resources to nonprofits from the foundation's endowed county funds. Furthermore, grants given directly from donor advised funds through MaineCF's Giving Together program added 63 more grants and $343,824 to MaineCF's largest single competitive grant program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 96% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010391479
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Website reviewed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Ellsworth, ME, US
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Societal Benefit

Official website

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The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the website gives limited detail about important organizational relationships.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Grant itemization coverage: 81.4%; rating input score 81; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Public monitoring controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Public policy transparency: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
  • Public financial transparency: 3 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 60
  • Impact reporting controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
  • Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Public governance controls: 2 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 40.7%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 9.81; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $70.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $366K · 35 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 42 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
  • Money network: 1174 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1102 filed related-organization links