Elliotsville Foundation Inc.

Elliotsville Foundation Inc. is fundamentally a family operating foundation—not a conventional grantmaker—built around a single transformational mission: protecting, developing, and activating Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in northern Maine. Founded by Burt's Bees co-founder Roxanne Quimby and led by her son Lucas St Clair as Executive Director (compensated at $119,289 for FY2024), the foundation has deliberately spent down assets from $131 million in 2015 to approximately $25 million in 2024 while simultaneously increasing annual disbursements from $2.2 million (2012) to $6.9 million (FY2024). This is a mission-completion foundation in the final phase of a decades-long commitment to a single place.

The foundation files as a private operating foundation (IRS Form 990-PF), meaning the vast majority of its charitable spending covers direct programs—land acquisition, visitor infrastructure construction, conservation stewardship, and Millinocket-area community development—rather than outward grants to other organizations. External grants, while modest relative to total disbursements, go exclusively to organizations that directly support or amplify the Katahdin mission: the Trust for Public Land, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, and Northern Forest Center.

First-time applicants must understand that Elliotsville does not accept unsolicited proposals. It makes contributions exclusively to preselected organizations with existing relationships. There is no public application portal, no published deadline schedule, and no RFP process. The board is a family governance structure—Roxanne Quimby as President and Director, Rachelle Quimby as Treasurer, Hannah Quimby as Director, Rebecca Rowe as Secretary—all serving without compensation. Lucas St Clair is the sole paid officer and primary decision-maker.

The typical entry pathway is relationship-based, beginning with authentic connection to the Katahdin Woods and Waters ecosystem—through Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, Maine Conservation Voters, or direct engagement with Lucas St Clair at Maine conservation events. The foundation's secondary priority—community revitalization in the Millinocket and East Millinocket region—offers an additional pathway for organizations focused on housing, entrepreneurship, and economic development tied to the national monument's growing visitor economy.

Grant relationships at Elliotsville tend to be long-term and operating-support focused. The foundation is not known for competitive RFP cycles or project-specific funding rounds. Alignment with the Katahdin mission, a demonstrated track record in Maine conservation or rural economic development, and a prior relationship with foundation leadership are the three prerequisites for any meaningful funding conversation.

Elliotsville's financial structure requires careful interpretation. The distinction between 'total giving' (which includes the foundation's direct program expenses) and 'grants paid' (cash grants to external organizations) is critical for applicants. Total charitable disbursements have grown dramatically—from $2.2 million (2012) to $15.9 million (FY2023) to $6.9 million (FY2024)—but most of this reflects the foundation's own program spending on the Katahdin contact station, land stewardship, and monument support activities. Actual cash grants to external nonprofits have been smaller and inconsistent by year:

• FY2019: $1,134,500 (dominated by a major Trust for Public Land gift)
• FY2020: $10,000 (minimal external grantmaking)
• FY2021: $37,800 (small community grants)
• FY2022: $1,067,500 (Trust for Public Land 50th anniversary grant of $1,015,000)
• FY2023: $92,926 (distributed across smaller conservation and community partners)
• FY2024: Estimated $358,000+ (Natural Resources Council of Maine $223,000; Schoodic Institute $135,000; plus additional community grants)

Two distinct grant tiers emerge. Tier 1 consists of occasional transformational gifts to major national conservation partners—primarily the Trust for Public Land—at the $500,000–$1,000,000 level, tied to specific institutional milestones (TPL's 50th anniversary, major land transactions). Tier 2 is the regular community partner portfolio: $5,000–$25,000 per grant, supporting the operating budgets of Maine-based conservation, education, and community organizations. The foundation's own reported typical grant metrics (median: $7,500; range: $300–$10,000) reflect this community grant pool.

Geographic concentration is striking: Maine accounts for approximately 72% of tracked grants by count (13 of 18 documented grants) and a substantially higher share by dollar value. New Hampshire (Northern Forest Center) and New York receive modest allocations. Washington D.C.-based organizations (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership) received a single national advocacy grant of $5,000.

By program area, land conservation and national monument support command the vast majority of charitable dollars—approximately 85% of total disbursements based on IRS program descriptions. Community and economic development in the Millinocket region accounts for roughly 8% of programmatic spending. Arts, culture, and community events (Children's Museum of Maine, 317 Main Community Music Center, Trails End Festival) receive small sponsorship-level gifts of $500–$10,000. Net investment income for FY2023 was $8.2 million—the highest in the available data—reflecting strong investment returns that supplemented $1.6 million in outside contributions.

Elliotsville Foundation operates in the NTEE C34 (Land Resources Conservation) category alongside a peer group of similarly sized environmental foundations. The comparison below draws on the five closest peers by asset size from the foundation's profile data:

Elliotsville is unusual among this peer group in two critical respects. First, its annual charitable disbursements ($6.9M in FY2024) are three to five times higher than estimated peer giving—driven by direct program operations, not grant distributions—a product of its operating foundation structure and the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station construction. Second, it is the only peer in active, deliberate asset drawdown mode (from $131M to $25M over 10 years), signaling a finite mission timeline rather than a perpetual endowment model. Most comparable conservation foundations maintain stable asset bases and prioritize capital preservation.

For grant seekers, the practical implication is significant: Elliotsville's actual external grant budget is smaller relative to its total disbursements than any peer foundation of comparable asset size. Peer foundations in this tier typically distribute 4–8% of assets in external grants annually; Elliotsville's external cash grants represent under 1.5% of assets in most years.

The foundation's defining recent activity has been the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument—a five-year construction project designed to orient visitors and honor Indigenous cultural heritage. Designed by an internationally recognized Norwegian architect and developed in partnership with a Wabanaki Advisory Board representing Passamaquoddy, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, and Maliseet nations, the facility was scheduled to open fall 2024 or spring 2025. More than 85% of project expenditures went to regional, tribal, and Maine-based contractors—a deliberate economic development strategy for the Millinocket region.

The FY2024 Form 990-PF, filed November 13, 2025, shows total charitable disbursements of $6,889,717 against $24.9 million in assets and only $2.6 million in revenue. This confirms the foundation is intentionally spending down principal to fund mission completion. Lucas St Clair remains Executive Director at approximately $119,289 annual compensation; no leadership changes have been publicly announced.

In 2024, documented external grants included $223,000 to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, $135,000 to Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, and $10,000 each to Momentum Conservation, Maine Conservation Alliance, and Northern Forest Center. This represents a significant expansion compared to FY2023's $92,926 in total cash grants and suggests the foundation may be increasing its external grantmaking portfolio as the construction phase concludes.

The foundation also actively operates the Peavey Brook Trail System (300 acres, 5+ miles of trails near Patten, ME, including Class 1 e-bike access) and the Seven Ponds Trail System (Monson/Elliotsville Township, ME, with primitive tent sites and mountain bike trails)—both open to the public as expressions of its free public-access mission.

The most important strategic fact: Elliotsville Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Any outreach must be framed as relationship-building, not a funding inquiry. The following advice is specific to this funder.

Confirm your Katahdin connection before any outreach. Every significant grant this foundation has made connects to one of three pillars: (1) direct support for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument or its advocacy ecosystem, (2) Maine-wide land conservation and environmental policy, or (3) Millinocket-region economic revitalization. Generic environmental or conservation work will not attract this funder—the geography must be northern Maine.

Enter through the Katahdin partner network. Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters (a named foundation sponsorship partner) and Maine Conservation Voters are the clearest on-ramps. Engage genuinely with these organizations—attend events, join committees, volunteer in the Katahdin region—before seeking any foundation introduction. This is a multi-year cultivation process.

Reach Lucas St Clair through earned visibility. As Executive Director and sole paid officer, St Clair is the primary funding decision-maker. An introductory email demonstrating specific knowledge of the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station project, the Peavey Brook or Seven Ponds trail systems, or Millinocket's economic transition will be far more credible than a generic inquiry. Contact: info@elliotsvillefoundation.org or (207) 518-9462.

Request a conversation, not a grant. Frame initial outreach as a partnership inquiry—'We're working on [specific Katahdin-adjacent work] and would value understanding how our efforts might complement the foundation's mission.' Do not attach a proposal or budget.

Target operating support, not project budgets. Grant history at the community tier shows multi-year operating support grants of $5,000–$25,000. The foundation funds organizational capacity, not discrete projects, at this level. Larger gifts ($100K+) are reserved for major established conservation institutions with multi-year relationship history.

Emphasize Millinocket economic impact if applicable. The foundation explicitly supports housing, entrepreneurship, and economic development in the Millinocket region. If your work intersects with monument-driven rural economic recovery, quantify that impact—jobs created, businesses supported, visitors served.

Avoid generic environmental framing. This funder is hyperspecific to one geography—northern Maine, east of Baxter State Park. Proposal language should name specific places, communities, partners, and outcomes tied to that geography.