What kinds of organizations does Irving Foundation support most often?

The recent grants favor small nonprofits serving children and youth through literacy, informal education, STEM, outdoor learning, wellness, and recreation. Examples in the record include operating support for literacy groups, robotics organizations, expedition programs, and youth sports or therapeutic recreation providers.

What is a typical grant size?

Typical awards are in the mid-thousands. The grant-size distribution is p25 $4,000, median $5,000, and p75 $6,750. Many listed grants fall between $4,000 and $7,500.

Where does most of the grantmaking go geographically?

Maine is the top state by grant count, with grants spread across places such as Lewiston, Pembroke, Portland, Scarborough, Bath, Brunswick, Rockland, and Springvale. The giving is national overall, but 9% of grants go to recipients in California.

Irving Foundation

Name: Irving Foundation — grants, 990 financials & funding data
Creator: Kindora

ActiveMutual & Membership Benefit

SAN DIEGO, CAWebsite6032615052

About Irving Foundation

The Irving Foundation primarily supports small- to mid-sized nonprofits that serve children and youth in New England (notably Maine) with a strong emphasis on literacy, informal education, and youth STEM and enrichment programs. Grants are typically general operating support for community-based organizations, often funding recurring programs like mobile libraries, robotics teams, outdoor expedition groups, and youth wellness/sports initiatives. The foundation favors hands-on, experiential learning and grassroots organizations rather than large institutions.

Focus Areas

Community-based literacy and mobile library programs (e.g., Book Truck, local literacy groups)Youth STEM education and robotics teams (e.g., Fusion Robotics, Montana Robotics Alliance)Outdoor education and expedition programs for youth (e.g., Trekkers, 15 Minute Field Trips)Youth wellness, sports, and therapeutic recreation (e.g., Healing Sports Association, Robbie Foundation)Regional support for Maine and New England grassroots cultural and youth organizations (e.g., Maine Inside Out, Children's Museum of New Hampshire)

Giving Approach

Many modest-size operating grants concentrated on community youth organizations in New England, with several repeat grantees; funding is distributed across many small recipients rather than a few large multi-year endowments.

About Irving Foundation

The Irving Foundation’s recent grants show a clear pattern of backing small, community-based organizations that keep youth programs running. Several of the largest awards go to Maine groups, including $10,000 to Maine Inside Out in Lewiston and $10,000 to Greenhorns in Pembroke, both for continuing operations. The foundation also supports youth wellness and enrichment work, such as $8,000 to The Yellow Tulip Project in Portland and $7,500 to Robbie Foundation in Scarborough. Its giving reaches beyond Maine, but the center of gravity is still with grassroots nonprofits serving children and teens through literacy, outdoor learning, STEM, and recreation. Many grants are written as operating support rather than project-only funding, which points to an interest in organizational continuity. Recipients range from mobile library and literacy groups to robotics and expedition-based programs, suggesting a preference for hands-on activities that are easy to connect to local communities. The grant list also includes repeated support for several organizations across multiple years, indicating a relationship-oriented pattern rather than isolated one-time awards.

What Irving Foundation Funds

Literacy and informal learning appear frequently in the foundation’s grant list. It gave $7,500 to The Book Truck in Long Beach for continuing operations and $4,000 to Midcoast Literacy in Bath in both 2024 and 2025. Youth STEM is another visible area: the foundation awarded $5,580 to Fusion Robotics in Helena and $3,130 to Montana Robotics Alliance, also in Helena, both for continuing operations. Outdoor education and expedition-based youth programming also show up repeatedly. Trekkers in Rockland received $5,000 for its Core Expedition Program, while 15 Minute Field Trips in Johnston received $5,000 for continuing operations. The foundation also backs youth wellness and therapeutic recreation, including $3,000 to New England Healing Sports Asscociation in Newbury for continuing operations.

How Irving Foundation Gives

Typical grants cluster in the mid-thousands: p25 is $4,000, median is $5,000, and p75 is $6,750. The recent record shows repeated support to the same organizations across multiple years, including Maine Inside Out, Midcoast Literacy, and Robbie Foundation, which suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-off gifts. Most awards are framed as continuing operations or other support for core programs, with some named-program grants such as Jester Program, Core Expedition Program, and Grahamtastic. The foundation is a private foundation with $1,146,326 in assets and $124,210 in annual grants given.

Financial Snapshot

Annual Giving

$47K

Total Assets

$1.2M

Total Revenue

$86K

Total Expenses

$69K

Typical Grant Size

Most grants fall between $4K and $7K, with a median of $5K.

25th Percentile

$4K

Median

$5K

75th Percentile

$7K

Geographic Reach

National7 states funded

About 9% of grants go to recipients in ME.

Funding intensity

Low

High

Headquarters

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Recipient	Location	Amount	Year	Purpose
PALAVER STRINGS	PORTLAND, ME	$10,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MY FIRST BOOKSHELF	PASSADUMKEAG, ME	$7,800	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE CONNECTICUT INVENTION CONVENTION INC	HARTFORD, CT	$5,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
DREAMS FOR SCHOOLS	SANTA ANA, CA	$5,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
GIVE MUSIC	SPRINGFIELD, MA	$5,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MAINE GEARSHARE	BRUNSWICK, ME	$5,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
FRIENDS OF BAXTER STATE PARK	BELFAST, ME	$5,000	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
HANCOCK COUNTY AUDITORIUM	ELLSWORTH, ME	$2,500	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
SKOWHEGAN AREA YOUTH GROUP	HARTLAND, ME	$1,400	2026	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
ROBBIE FOUNDATION	SCARBOROUGH, ME	$7,500	2025	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MAINE GEARSHARE	BRUNSWICK, ME	$5,000	2025	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MIDCOAST LITERACY	BATH, ME	$4,000	2025	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MONTANA ROBOTICS ALLIANCE	HELENA, MT	$3,130	2025	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
GREENHORNS	PEMBROKE, ME	$10,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE YELLOW TULIP PROJECT	PORTLAND, ME	$8,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
HOME RESOURCE	MISSOULA, MT	$6,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
FUSION ROBOTICS	HELENA, MT	$5,580	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
HARDY GIRLS	WATERVILLE, ME	$5,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MAINE INSIDE OUT	LEWISTON, ME	$5,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MY FIST BOOKSHELF	STAFFORD, VA	$5,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MIDCOAST LITERACY	BATH, ME	$4,000	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
GENERATIONAL WELLBEING INC	HARTFORD, CT	$2,500	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE TELEPHONE MUSEUM	WARNER, NH	$1,500	2024	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
MAINE INSIDE OUT	LEWISTON, ME	$10,000	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE ROBBIE FOUNDATION	SCARBOROUGH, ME	$7,500	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE BOOK TRUCK	LONG BEACH, CA	$7,500	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
THE JESTER & PHARLEY PHUND	PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CA	$5,000	2023	TO SUPPORT JESTER PROGRAM
15 MINUTE FIELD TRIPS	JOHNSTON, RI	$5,000	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE	DOVER, NH	$5,000	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS
TREKKERS	ROCKLAND, ME	$5,000	2023	TO SUPPORT CORE EXPEDITION PROGRAM
GRAHAMTASTIC CONNECTION	SPRINGVALE, ME	$4,000	2023	TO SUPPORT GRAHAMTASTIC
NEW ENGLAND HEALING SPORTS ASSCOCIATION	NEWBURY, NH	$3,000	2023	TO SUPPORT CONTINUING OPERATIONS

Irving Foundation

About Irving Foundation

Focus Areas

Giving Approach

About Irving Foundation

What Irving Foundation Funds

How Irving Foundation Gives

Financial Snapshot

Typical Grant Size

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Frequently Asked Questions About Irving Foundation

What kinds of organizations does Irving Foundation support most often?

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Where does most of the grantmaking go geographically?

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