About Libra Foundation
Libra Foundation is a Maine-focused funder that concentrates very large, targeted gifts to a small number of local institutions, chiefly supporting agricultural promotion and community health/early literacy initiatives in the state. Its giving is concentrated and strategic—multiple large grants to the same organizations indicate long-term commitments to a few core partners (notably Pineland Farms and MaineHealth).
Focus Areas
Agricultural promotion, education, and research in Maine (Pineland Farms)Early childhood literacy and family reading programs in Maine (Raising Readers)Rural community development and local food system support in Maine
Who They Fund
Maine communities / county residents (e.g., Piscataquis County)children and youth (including scholarship recipients and camp attendees)low-income and food-insecure individualsfarmers and agricultural stakeholdersimmigrant women entrepreneurs
About Libra Foundation
Libra Foundation’s recent grantmaking is defined by two very large, repeated commitments: Pineland Farms in New Gloucester and the Raising Readers program at MaineHealth in Portland. Those awards show a funder that backs a small set of Maine institutions over time, not a broad scatter of one-off gifts. The foundation’s largest recent grant went to Pineland Farms Inc. for agricultural promotion, education and research in Maine, with a second grant to the same organization in the prior year. A parallel pattern appears in early childhood literacy, where MaineHealth received sizable support for Raising Readers in both 2023 and 2024. Beyond those anchors, the foundation also funds community health, local food and rural development, scholarships, arts organizations, and outdoor and historic assets across the state. The grant list includes support for operating costs, capital campaigns, endowment funding, and program-specific work, which points to a mix of flexible and earmarked funding. Its giving pattern suggests close relationships with Maine-based nonprofits that serve children, families, farmers, and local communities.
What Libra Foundation Funds
Agricultural promotion is a central theme. The foundation gave $4,165,000 in 2024 to Pineland Farms Inc. and $3,925,000 in 2023 to the same organization to develop, operate, and staff Pineland Farms for agricultural promotion, education and research in Maine. In early childhood literacy, it supported MaineHealth’s Raising Readers program with $1,137,959 in 2023 and $1,101,003 in 2024. Community health also appears in grants such as $50,000 to Mainehealth Dba Pen Bay Waldo Healthcare Foundation in both 2023 and 2024 to construct a new health center. The foundation also backs place-based community amenities: it gave $75,000 to Cross Insurance Arena for community use of civic center events and $25,000 to Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters for the Tekakpimek Contact Station.
How Libra Foundation Gives
Libra Foundation’s typical grant size is small relative to its largest awards: the 25th percentile is $5,000, the median is $5,000, and the 75th percentile is $10,000. The recent grant list also shows a repeated pattern of support to the same recipients across multiple years, including Pineland Farms, MaineHealth’s Raising Readers, Foxcroft Academy’s Piscataquis County Ice Arena, Mainehealth Dba Pen Bay Waldo Healthcare Foundation, Fort Kent Outdoor Center, and the Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center. It is a regular funder and a DAF classification is listed as Regular Funder. The active grant programs are Maine-focused and include unsolicited grantmaking in at least one program description.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5.1M
Total Assets
$161.6M
Total Revenue
-$1.5M
Total Expenses
$8.2M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $10K, with a median of $5K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$5K
75th Percentile
$10K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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