Harold Alfond Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Harold Alfond Foundation
The Harold Alfond Foundation focuses heavily on strengthening Maine’s higher education, workforce and health infrastructure through large, capital and programmatic gifts. It repeatedly funds colleges, universities and workforce initiatives (including scholarships), plus regional health care facilities and ocean science research — often supporting facility construction, program expansion, and economic development that ties education to local job creation. Grants are predominantly multi-million-dollar investments in a small set of repeat institutional partners, with a clear emphasis on building capacity and long-term community impact in Maine.
Focus Areas
Major capital projects and facility building at Maine higher education institutions (e.g., athletics centers, research/innovation wings)Scholarship provision and higher-education access initiatives (My Alfond scholarships and related student support)Workforce development partnerships between community colleges and regional employers (Centers to align education with Maine job needs)Health care infrastructure and cancer care expansion in Maine (hospital/cancer center capital and program support)Ocean science research and innovation in Maine (research facilities and education wings)
Who They Fund
About Harold Alfond Foundation
The Harold Alfond Foundation’s most distinctive recent pattern is a run of very large, repeat commitments to Maine institutions, especially higher education and health care. In 2025, it gave $28 million to the University of Maine Foundation for the University of Maine Athletics Master Facilities Plan and $14.5 million to MaineGeneral Health for the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care Expansion. Those gifts fit a broader portfolio built around capital projects, endowment-style support, and program expansion in Maine. The foundation also backs scholarship systems at scale, including the Alfond Scholarship Foundation and the My Alfond Grant program, while continuing to invest in workforce pipelines tied to Maine employers and public higher education. Its support for the University of Maine System, Maine community colleges, and related initiatives shows a long-term interest in strengthening education infrastructure, student success, and the state’s labor force. In health care, the foundation has repeatedly funded cancer care and other delivery improvements that connect care access with local communities. Across its recent grants, the pattern is clear: large institutional grants, repeated over multiple years, aimed at durable capacity rather than short-term projects.
What Harold Alfond Foundation Funds
Higher education is one of the foundation’s clearest priorities. It gave $12 million to Northeastern University for The Harold Alfond Scholars Initiative at the Roux Institute and $7 million to the University of Maine System for Revitalize Graduate & Professional Center & Engineering, Computing, & Info Science. A separate grant of $4.5 million to the University of New England supported The Institute for Interprofessional Education & Practice at UNE. Workforce development is closely linked to that education work. The foundation awarded $7.6 million to The Foundation for Maine Community Colleges for The Center for the Advancement of Maine’s Workforce: Building a More Prosperous Maine, and $4.5 million to the Maine Community College System for the same initiative. In health care, it gave $2.5 million each to The Jackson Laboratory in 2024 and 2025 for the Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative 2.0. The arts also appear in the portfolio, including a $3 million grant to Colby College for the Paul J. Schupf Art Center.
How Harold Alfond Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is sizable: the p25 is $10,000, the median is $240,045, and the p75 is $1.6 million. The recent grant list shows a strong repeat-grantee pattern, with multi-year support going to institutions such as Northeastern University, Colby College, the University of Maine System, MaineGeneral Health, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and The Jackson Laboratory. The foundation is classified as a Regular Funder and funds individuals through the Harold Alfond College Challenge, which awards a $500 seed grant to every Maine resident baby. Its active programs also indicate that unsolicited requests are accepted in several areas, including education, health care, youth & community development, and the general grantmaking guidelines.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$102.7M
Total Assets
$1B
Total Revenue
$171M
Total Expenses
$128.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $1.6M, with a median of $240K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$240K
75th Percentile
$1.6M
Geographic Reach
Local6 states funded
About 88% of grants go to recipients in ME.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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