Gloria C Mackenzie Foundation Inc.

The Gloria C. MacKenzie Foundation is a family-directed private foundation established in 2013 following Gloria C. Mackenzie's $590.5 million Powerball jackpot win — the largest single-ticket jackpot in U.S. history at that time. Rather than directing these resources toward national causes or endowed institutions, the Mackenzie family chose to invest deeply in rural Maine communities, particularly the economically distressed Katahdin region of Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Aroostook counties — areas that suffered enormously after the closure of the Great Northern Paper Company's East Millinocket mill.

The foundation's governance is tightly family-controlled: Gloria Mackenzie, daughter Melinda Mackenzie, and Weinberg family members (Matthew, Alexander, Jaimie Weinberg) serve as compensated directors earning $15,000–$168,833 in recent years. Lorie Peabody serves as Executive Director at $60,000. Final applications are mailed directly to Matthew Weinberg at the Florida address — underscoring how personal this grant process remains.

The grantee portfolio reveals a clear philosophy: community infrastructure and public institutions over programmatic nonprofits. Regional School Unit #89 has received $1,455,000 across three grants (averaging $485,000 per award). The Town of Medway received $600,000 across three awards. Hudson Township Fire Department received $410,256 across three grants. The pattern of repeat multi-year funding (4 grants each to East Millinocket School Department and Town of East Millinocket) confirms that once accepted into the portfolio, grantees tend to remain.

First-time applicants should recognize that the foundation favors organizations with deep community roots delivering essential services: schools, fire and EMS departments, municipal governments, libraries. Health and research organizations (Eastern Maine Medical Center, Mount Desert Island Biological Lab, Downeast Institute) have received grants, but these are less frequent and typically smaller than the education and public safety awards.

The two-stage application process opens January 1 and closes hard on March 1 for the Initial Application. Missing this window means waiting a full year. The final stage involves physical mail, possible site visits, and presentations — signaling that the foundation values face-to-face relationships with the communities it funds. Applicants who have engaged with the foundation in prior cycles, even unsuccessfully, should reapply the following January.

Based on IRS Form 990 filings spanning FY2013–FY2023, the Gloria C. MacKenzie Foundation has distributed approximately $7.7 million across 84 recorded grant transactions. Annual grants paid have grown from $968,800 in FY2019 to a peak of $1,735,000 in FY2022, settling at $1,216,811 in FY2023. Total giving (including administrative overhead) reached $2,039,802 in FY2023. The foundation's asset base peaked at $24,725,782 in FY2021 — when it received a single contribution of $8,581,860 — and has since declined to $21,468,522 in FY2023 as annual disbursements have outpaced net investment income ($242,215 in FY2023, down from $674,119 in FY2019).

Typical grant profile from the foundation's own published data: median individual award $37,000–$46,000; average $67,000–$92,000 depending on year; range $3,830 (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science) to $350,000 (single award to US Charitable Gift Trust). Multi-grant cumulative totals reach much higher — RSU #89 totals $1,455,000 across 3 grants.

By recipient sector (approximate share of cumulative recorded giving): education and school districts represent the largest share — RSU #89 ($1,455,000), East Millinocket School Department ($455,071), Medway School Department ($157,180 across two line items), Regional School District #29 ($64,000), and Katahdin Middle/High Schools ($45,000) collectively account for roughly 28% of all recorded dollars. Municipal governments (Medway, Carmel, East Millinocket, Sherman, Enfield, Millinocket, Patten, Stacyville, Levant, Milo) represent approximately 25%. Volunteer fire and EMS departments (14 identified recipients including Hudson Township, Millinocket Township, Sebec, Southern Aroostook, Corinna, Somerville, Orono) account for approximately 20%. Health, research, arts, literacy, and other nonprofits make up the remainder.

By geography: 79 of 84 recorded grants (94%) target Maine-based organizations, with heavy concentration in the Millinocket/East Millinocket/Medway cluster (Penobscot and Piscataquis counties). Aroostook County recipients include Southern Aroostook EMS, Aroostook Arts & Education Center, and Aroostook Medical Center. Officer compensation consumed $267,500 in FY2023 — approximately 22% of grants paid that year — a meaningful overhead ratio grant seekers should factor into budget projections.

The Gloria C. MacKenzie Foundation operates at a $21.4 million asset level placing it among mid-tier private family foundations. Its five database peers share nearly identical asset levels under NTEE code T22 (Private Grantmaking Foundations) but differ substantially in accessibility and transparency.

The MacKenzie Foundation stands out sharply among these peers for its open, publicly advertised application process. Most family foundations at the $20–25 million asset level operate by invitation only and publish little about their process. By contrast, the MacKenzie Foundation maintains two public websites, posts explicit deadlines (March 1 Initial, June 30 Final), names its contact person (Matthew Weinberg for final submissions), and provides a staff email (r.chance@gloriacmackenzie.foundation) and phone (610-324-1213). This transparency is rare at this asset level and a meaningful competitive advantage for Maine nonprofits that apply diligently before the foundation's policies potentially change.

No press releases, leadership changes, or major program announcements were identified through web research for 2025–2026. The foundation operates with a deliberately low public profile consistent with its family-managed character and has no active social media presence beyond an Instagram account (@gloriacmackenziefdn) with limited activity.

The most recent available 990 data (FY2023, last verified June 20, 2026) shows $1,216,811 in grants paid to 17 distinct Maine recipients. Third-party grant databases updated March 9, 2026 report approximately 29 awards in 2024 totaling roughly $1.1 million — consistent with recent annual baselines.

Key structural milestones from IRS filings: The foundation received an $8,581,860 one-time contribution in FY2021, boosting total revenue to $9,772,129 and peak assets to $24,725,782. Officer compensation rose from $104,742 in FY2019 to $281,333 in FY2021 and $267,500 in FY2023, reflecting staff additions and increased director compensation. Executive Director Lorie Peabody appears in 990 filings from FY2021 onward with compensation of $60,000–$91,532 across overlapping fiscal periods.

On the program side, the foundation introduced a Civic Pride Grant program ($100–$500, open January 1 – December 1 annually) on its gloriacmackenzie.foundation website — an expansion into micro-grants not reflected in prior IRS filings. This represents the most visible programmatic development in recent years. As of June 2026, no other new programs, partnership announcements, or geographic scope changes have been publicly disclosed.

The MacKenzie Foundation consistently rewards organizational types it already knows well: school districts, volunteer fire and EMS departments, municipal governments, and community libraries serving Penobscot, Piscataquis, or Aroostook counties. If your organization fits one of these categories, lead with that identity prominently in the opening paragraph — do not bury your sector or geography in the middle of a narrative.

Use the foundation's statutory language precisely. The eligibility restrictions on record specify three pillars: 'education, vocational training, and/or economic development.' Whichever of these applies to your project, use those exact words in your opening paragraph and repeat them when describing outcomes. The board reads applications against these criteria explicitly.

The March 1 Initial Application deadline is absolute. Applications open January 1 — submitting in early January rather than late February signals organizational readiness and maximizes review time. The Initial Application functions as a screening filter; only organizations that pass advance to the Final Application invitation in April. If you are not invited, you cannot submit a Final Application — the March 1 window is your only entry point for the year.

The Final Application is unusual in requiring physical US mail submission to Matthew Weinberg, 3604 Preserve Lane, Miramar Beach, FL 32550. Use certified mail with return receipt documentation. Budget time to prepare and ship before the June 30 postmark deadline. Be prepared for a possible in-person site visit or formal presentation in Maine as part of the final review — this is standard for final-stage applicants and should be mentioned in your application as something you welcome.

The portfolio's multi-year repeat funding pattern (East Millinocket School Department: 4 grants; Town of East Millinocket: 4 grants; RSU #89: 3 grants) means a first-round rejection is not a closed door. Reapplying the following January with a refined alignment narrative and concrete outcomes data from the intervening year is a legitimate long-term strategy.

Post-award, the foundation requires 'quarterly status report of the project or program through conclusion.' Describe your existing reporting infrastructure in the Initial Application — this signals organizational maturity many smaller applicants lack. For pre-application questions, contact r.chance@gloriacmackenzie.foundation or call 610-324-1213.