Cascade Foundation

Cascade Foundation is a Dibner-family-run private foundation established in 2006 and based in Rockport, Maine. Multiple independent nonprofit-data trackers (CauseIQ, Instrumentl, Grantable) each independently describe it as conducting its grantmaking proactively rather than through open solicitation -- there is no evidence it accepts or reviews unsolicited proposals. This is the single most important strategic fact for grant seekers: Cascade behaves less like a staffed grant program and more like a family's personal giving vehicle, built around board members' documented interests in medical research, Maine cultural and historic institutions, reproductive health, and marine/coastal conservation.

Governance reflects this: the board is small and family-dominated. Victoria Dibner (President) and Daniel Dibner (Treasurer) each draw roughly $103,500-$115,000 in compensation, Bern Dibner (Director) draws $70,000-$103,000, and two additional directors (Aurora Dibner, Avalon Fennessey) draw $12,000 each -- a compensation and governance structure typical of a hands-on family trust, not an institution with program officers reviewing applications at scale.

For organizations without an existing relationship, the realistic path in is indirect: build visibility within the foundation's known interest areas -- Fragile X syndrome and related genetic-disorder research (FRAXA Research Foundation and the National Fragile X Foundation together account for over $280,000 in tracked giving), Maine midcoast arts and historic preservation (Farnsworth Art Museum, Mercer Museum, Victoria Mansion, Maine Maritime Museum), reproductive health (Maine Family Planning, Planned Parenthood), and Knox County community health and social services -- rather than submitting a cold letter or proposal.

The grantee list shows heavy repeat funding of the same roughly 40 organizations year over year: Mercer Museum received 3 grants totaling $75,000, and Reef Relief, Victoria Mansion, Megunticook Rowing, Meals on Wheels, Jackson Laboratory, New Hope for Women, and Save the Children each received 2 grants -- evidence Cascade renews existing relationships rather than continually onboarding new grantees. A grant tied to the 'Bern Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology' at the Smithsonian signals a personal family naming/legacy connection, reinforcing that funding here tends to follow personal ties. Best-fit applicants are small-to-midsize Maine nonprofits (particularly Rockport/Camden/Knox County) or national medical-research organizations tied to Fragile X and related conditions. Absent a public grants portal, a warm introduction or a brief mailed letter of interest to the foundation's PO Box is more productive than a formal application push.

Granted's database captures 62 grants totaling $1,233,300 (average $19,892) across the years tracked. This is corroborated by third-party 990 trackers showing FY2024 alone distributed $734,813 across 34 grants (CauseIQ), averaging roughly $21,600-$22,000 per award, with individual grants ranging $500-$90,000. The foundation's own typical_grant_size profile in Granted's data narrows this further: a median of $15,000, an average of $17,014, and a $2,000-$50,000 range across its 37 most typical grants -- the larger $60K-$130K figures appearing in cumulative grantee totals (e.g., National Fragile X Foundation's $130,000, Mercer Museum's $75,000) reflect 2-3 grants to the same organization over multiple years, not single checks.

By sector, the top-50 grantee list breaks down roughly as follows: medical and health research (National Fragile X Foundation, FRAXA Research Institution/Foundation, Jackson Laboratory, CT Foundation for Dental Outreach) totals over $310,000, roughly a quarter of tracked giving; arts, culture, and historic preservation (Mercer Museum, Farnsworth Art Museum, Victoria Mansion, Maine Maritime Museum, Smithsonian Libraries, Owls Head Transportation Museum) totals roughly $250,000, about 20%; community healthcare and social services (Penn Bay Medical Center, Knox County Health Clinic, Maine Family Planning, Planned Parenthood x2, New Hope for Women, Meals on Wheels, Knox County Homeless Coalition) totals roughly $270,000, about 22%; and environmental/conservation causes (Atlantic Salmon Federation, Reef Relief, Merryspring Nature Center, Avian Haven) totals roughly $120,000, about 10%.

Geographically, giving is heavily Maine-weighted: 38 of 62 tracked grants (61%) went to Maine organizations, clustered in the Rockport/Camden/Knox County midcoast (Penn Bay Medical Center, Knox County Health Clinic, Farnsworth Art Museum, Megunticook Rowing, and Merryspring Nature Center are all Knox County institutions). The remainder spreads thinly: Connecticut (4 grants), DC (3), Massachusetts (3), Pennsylvania (3), Florida (2), Georgia (2), Virginia (2), and single grants each to Arizona and New York.

Over the longer 2012-2024 window, total assets declined steadily from $19.9 million to $12.9 million, while total giving held in a relatively stable $900K-$1.4M/year band -- a low of $905,476 in 2019 and $1,181,262 in 2023, the most recent full year with complete giving data.

Granted matched Cascade Foundation to five peer foundations by asset size (all in the $12.9-12.95M range) within the same 'Philanthropy & Grantmaking' NTEE classification -- a category that describes any private foundation's legal type, not its actual funding focus, so most listed peers' programmatic priorities are not independently documented.

What distinguishes Cascade from this asset-matched peer set is transparency of intent: Cascade's grant history is documented across multiple public 990-derived trackers with a clear, consistent thematic pattern (health research, Maine culture, human services), while four of its five peers have no discoverable public web presence at all, making them effectively invisible to cold outreach. Night Owl Foundation is the only peer with a live website, but its content could not be retrieved for this report. For grant seekers, this makes Cascade comparatively easier to research and target precisely because of its 20-year history of 990 filings, even though its actual application process is just as closed as its peers'.

No news coverage, press releases, leadership changes, or new program announcements specific to this Cascade Foundation were found for 2025 or 2026 -- searches consistently surfaced unrelated organizations sharing the 'Cascade' name (Cascades Inc., Cascade Medical Foundation, Cascade Education Foundation). This is consistent with the foundation's profile as a small, unstaffed family trust with no communications function or media presence.

The most recent verifiable activity is the FY2024 Form 990-PF, reflected in Granted's database (total assets $12,935,807; total revenue $698,159) and in third-party trackers reporting $734,813 distributed across 34 grants that year -- topped by roughly $80,000 each to FRAXA Research Foundation and the National Fragile X Foundation, and $76,813 to Friends of the Strand Theatre. Leadership has remained stable across the years of data available: Victoria Dibner (President), Daniel Dibner (Treasurer), and Bern Dibner (Director) appear consistently, alongside younger family/associated directors Aurora Dibner and Avalon Fennessey.

Given the absence of any public grants calendar, RFP, or news cycle, grant seekers should not expect an announced application window in the near term; the most reliable signal of continued activity is the annual 990-PF filing itself, typically reflected in trackers roughly a year after each fiscal year closes.

There is no published application process, deadline, or online form for Cascade Foundation -- Granted's own database confirms application_deadline, application_form_url, and application_process are all unset, and independent trackers (CauseIQ, Instrumentl, Grantable) describe the foundation as grantmaking proactively rather than through unsolicited submissions. Treat this as an invitation-only funder rather than an open one.

Practical steps that reflect how this foundation actually operates: (1) Do not lead with a formal grant proposal -- a brief, personal letter of introduction mailed to PO Box 958, Rockport, ME 04856-0958, explaining the organization's mission and its overlap with one of Cascade's documented interest areas, is more consistent with how the foundation appears to engage than a portal-style application. (2) Call (203) 903-0762 before writing anything -- this is the only public contact point, and a short conversation can clarify whether the foundation is open to hearing from the organization at all. (3) Anchor the pitch tightly to a documented niche rather than a broad mission statement: Fragile X syndrome and related genetic/developmental research, Maine midcoast arts and historic preservation (especially Knox County), reproductive health and family planning, or community health clinics serving coastal Maine. Generic 'community development' pitches (the foundation's nominal NTEE tag) are unlikely to land, since actual giving is far more specific than that classification suggests.

(4) Look for a warm introduction. The grantee list is dominated by repeat recipients and organizations with plausible personal ties to the Dibner family (e.g., the Smithsonian gift tied to the 'Bern Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology'); a board member, major donor, or advisor connection is likely to matter more than proposal quality. (5) Calibrate the ask: the median tracked grant is $15,000 and the typical range is $2,000-$50,000, with outliers up to $90,000 reserved for organizations with multi-year relationships (e.g., FRAXA, National Fragile X Foundation). A first-time ask above $50,000 is unlikely to match historical patterns. (6) Do not rely on any 'cascade.org' website reference -- that domain belongs to the unrelated Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle, and the foundation does not appear to maintain its own functioning public website, so applicants should not expect to find guidance there.