Harold Alfond Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- This is a good fit only for organisations working in education, health care, or youth and community development in Maine, since its geographic focus is the State of Maine.
- Most grants are substantial: about 8 in 10 of its 154 grants fall between $2,000 and $4,600,000, and the median grant is around $240,000, so a modest-to-mid-sized request in that range is realistic, though the foundation has also made grants as large as $28,000,000.
- Giving appears strongly relationship-led, as 92% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had already funded in the two previous filings, so new applicants should be aware this is not an easy foundation to break into.
- The foundation says it favours large-scale, financially viable, collaborative projects with strong leadership and a clear, measurable business plan that meet a demonstrable need and make a transformative, enduring contribution to Maine and its economy; it also expects recipients to share a stake in successful outcomes.
- It does not fund individuals, religious organisations for religious purposes, start-up organisations, event sponsorships, political campaigns or causes, legislative lobbying efforts, programmes benefiting people outside the United States, or private foundations, and its application method is not stated.
Overview
Harold Alfond Foundation is a US private foundation based in Portland, ME.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Foundation funds projects in education, health care, and youth and community development, primarily in Maine. Its education grants promote access to higher education and improve its quality for Maine people, with capital, endowment, scholarship and programme grants primarily to public and private colleges and universities. It supports learners from pre-kindergarten through adulthood and the development of Maine’s workforce. Its health-care capital and programme grants seek to improve delivery and quality, promote centres of excellence and advance education for Maine’s future health-care professionals. In youth and community development, it supports organisations whose missions inspire, empower and serve young people, and revitalise the state’s cultural, educational, economic and geographic assets. Grants are limited to public charities and qualifying tax-exempt organisations; the Foundation prefers large-scale, financially viable, collaborative projects with demonstrable need, strong leadership and enduring contributions to Maine and its economy.
Themes
- Education
- Health care
- Youth & community development
Geographic Focus
Priority: State of Maine.
What They Don't Fund
- Individuals
- Religious organizations for religious purposes
- Start-up organizations
- Event sponsorships
- Political campaigns or causes
- Legislative lobbying efforts
- Organizations or programs that provide benefit outside of the United States
- Private foundations
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 92% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 154 grants to organisations were about $240,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation prefers grants consistent with Harold Alfond’s pattern of giving.
- The Foundation favours strong, entrepreneurial leadership.
- The Foundation favours projects meeting a demonstrable need with a clear, measurable business plan.
- The Foundation prefers large-scale projects.
- The Foundation prefers financially viable projects.
- The Foundation favours teamwork and partnerships within communities, across organisations or among organisational divisions.
- The Foundation seeks to strengthen existing anchor organisations.
- The Foundation favours projects making transformative, enduring contributions to Maine and its economy.
- The Foundation almost always expects recipients to share a stake in successful outcomes.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
- The largest single recipient received 14% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 92% of grant dollars went to organisations Harold Alfond Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- No grants were paid directly to organisations outside the US.
- 9% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 45 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $250k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- University of Maine Foundation · University of maine athletics master facilities plan$28,000,0002024 tax year
- MaineGeneral Health · Harold alfond center for cancer care expansion$14,535,6382024 tax year
- Northeastern University · The harold alfond scholars initiative at the roux institute$12,000,0002024 tax year
- University of Maine System · Revitalize graduate & professional center & engineering, computing, & info science$7,000,0002024 tax year
- Alfond Scholarship Foundation · My alfond grant scholarships 2024$5,609,9112024 tax year
- University of New England · The institute for interprofessional education & practice at une$4,502,5152024 tax year
- Maine Community College System · The center for the advancement of maines workforce: building a more prosperous maine$4,454,5292024 tax year
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences · Bigelow innovation and education wing$3,869,3902024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Jennifer Seeman — Trustee
- Michael E Dubyak — Trustee
- Justin Alfond — Trustee
- Katharine Alfond — Trustee
- Barry Mills — Trustee
- Theresa M Stone — Trustee
- Steven P Akin — Trustee
- Peter H Lunder — Trustee
- Gregory W Powell - See Statement 18 — Trustee
- William L Alfond — Trustee
- Theodore B Alfond — Trustee
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $100,360,598 | $74,289,012 | $1,451,323,517 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $100,839,081 | $76,689,770 | $1,528,237,797 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $128,278,530 | $102,710,085 | $1,616,928,204 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to Harold Alfond Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (207) 828-7999
- info@haroldalfondfoundation.org
- Portland, ME
- haroldalfondfoundation.org
Applying to Harold Alfond Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (207) 828-7999
- info@haroldalfondfoundation.org
- Portland, ME
- haroldalfondfoundation.org