Quimby Family Foundation

The Quimby Family Foundation operates from a deeply personal philanthropic philosophy rooted in Roxanne Quimby's entrepreneurial and conservationist legacy in Maine. Co-founder of Burt's Bees and a prominent Maine conservationist — her son Lucas St. Clair led efforts resulting in the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument designation in 2016 — the Quimby family has made Maine's natural and community health a multigenerational commitment. The foundation is not a distant institutional funder; it is a family enterprise with specific, lived values.

The animating concept is "Human Wholeness," a framework treating movement (access to nature through outdoor activity) and nourishment (regional, plant-based food access) as inseparable pillars of wellbeing. These are not regarded as separate charitable causes but as twin expressions of one vision: Maine communities thriving in reciprocal relationship with the state's natural resources.

Organizations the foundation favors tend to be small, community-rooted Maine nonprofits. The $2 million annual budget ceiling is explicit policy, not a soft preference — the foundation deliberately targets the grassroots layer of Maine's nonprofit ecosystem, believing smaller organizations are more agile, more embedded locally, and more likely to demonstrate authentic values alignment than larger institutional players.

The application experience is accessible by foundation standards. Rather than lengthy proposals, applicants submit a brief online form with basic organizational data, document uploads, and an alignment statement. First-time applicants complete the Grant Opportunity Form; returning grantees use a simplified Grantee Update Form, reflecting the foundation's strong preference for enduring relationships. An analysis of top grantees confirms this pattern: New Learning Journey received 5 grants totaling $95,000; Natural Resources Council of Maine received 6 grants totaling $92,500; most top-50 recipients show 3–4 cumulative grants, making multi-year funding the norm rather than the exception.

Pre-application outreach is explicitly welcomed — the foundation offers in-person meetings or phone conversations with prospective applicants. Taking this step before submitting is the single clearest differentiator for a first-time applicant. Email info@quimbyfamilyfoundation.org or questions@quimbyfamilyfoundation.org to initiate contact. Geographic exclusivity is absolute: only Maine-based nonprofits or those with a Maine-focused fiscal sponsor are eligible.

Excluded categories matter as much as the inclusions: arts organizations (now served by the Roxanne Quimby Foundation), religious institutions, government agencies, medical research entities, educational institutions as primary grant recipients, and animal agriculture are all explicitly ineligible.

The Quimby Family Foundation's grant program operates within a defined range of $2,000 to $20,000 per award. Internal 990 data reveals a median individual grant of approximately $19,500 with an average of $17,393, confirming that grants cluster near the upper bound of the announced range rather than distributing evenly across it. The recorded maximum is $27,565, likely reflecting a land acquisition or special project. The average at the grantee-organization level — accounting for cumulative multi-year relationships — sits at $13,595 across 259 recorded grantee organizations.

Total annual grantmaking (grants paid) has ranged from $800,000 (FY2020) to $1,778,406 (FY2014 peak), with the most recent complete years showing $960,992 (FY2023) and $880,040 (FY2022). Total giving — which includes BOOST and other program costs — was $1,514,780 in FY2023 and $1,310,631 in FY2022. The BOOST Communications Program carries approximately $42,915 in annual program expenses, accounting for a meaningful share of giving above raw grants paid.

The foundation's asset base has been remarkably stable, ranging from $18.6 million (FY2021) to $22.9 million (FY2022), currently at $21,533,889 (FY2024). A notable $5 million contribution received in FY2022 temporarily elevated total revenue to $5,680,008 for that year, though grantmaking levels did not spike proportionally, suggesting an endowment infusion rather than a programmatic gift. Net investment income typically ranges from $393,000 to $939,000 annually and forms the primary revenue engine for grantmaking.

Geographic concentration is extreme: 235 of 259 recorded grantees (91%) are Maine-based, with small clusters in Vermont (7), Massachusetts (4), New York (4), Connecticut (3), and Virginia (3).

Both Movement and Nourishment tracks fund comparable volumes. Movement grants support land trusts (Kennebec Estuary Land Trust: $73,000 cumulative; Midcoast Conservancy: $52,500), youth wilderness programs (Rippleffect: $65,500; Trekkers: $61,500), and trail organizations. Nourishment grants focus on food security (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association: $75,000), Indigenous food sovereignty (Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians: $81,000; Penobscot Nation: $47,500), and community agriculture. Repeat relationships dominate the top tier, with most top-funded organizations receiving 4–6 individual grants. First-time grantees can realistically expect awards of $10,000–$20,000, with cumulative relationships frequently reaching $40,000–$95,000 across multiple cycles.

The Quimby Family Foundation's closest structural peers — identified by comparable asset size near $21.5 million — are primarily private foundations operating in California, Minnesota, Florida, and Missouri. These foundations share a similar financial profile but differ substantially in geography and thematic focus, underscoring how distinctive the Quimby Foundation's Maine-exclusive, dual-track model is within its asset class.

The Quimby Family Foundation stands apart from these asset-matched peers in three critical ways. First, it operates two fully transparent, openly published application cycles annually — a rare level of accessibility for a family foundation at this asset level, where invited-only or relationship-driven grantmaking is far more common. Second, its giving rate of approximately 7% of assets annually exceeds the 5% federal minimum distribution requirement, reflecting active deployment rather than passive endowment management. Third, its explicit grantee budget ceiling ($2 million maximum) and geographic exclusivity (Maine only) create a highly defined niche that few comparable foundations attempt to serve with this degree of intentionality. For Maine nonprofits working on outdoor access or food systems, the Quimby Family Foundation has no meaningful direct peer within the state.

The foundation's most recently confirmed grant cycles ran through 2025–2026, with the 2026 Movement window running August 15 to October 31, 2025 (notifications by January 1, 2026) and the 2026 Nourishment window running October 1 to December 31, 2025 (notifications by April 1, 2026). No major public announcements, program pivots, or leadership changes have been reported for 2025–2026, consistent with the foundation's characteristically low public profile.

The most financially significant recent event was a $5 million contribution received during FY2022, which elevated total revenue for that year to $5,680,008 and expanded the asset base from $18.6 million (FY2021) to $22.9 million. Grantmaking in FY2022 ($880,040 in grants paid) did not spike proportionally, suggesting this was an endowment infusion rather than a pass-through programmatic gift.

The separation of arts funding into the Roxanne Quimby Foundation, completed by late 2016, remains the most significant strategic shift in recent institutional history. It sharply narrowed the Quimby Family Foundation's mandate to movement and nourishment, which has produced a more coherent grantee portfolio and clearer selection criteria over the subsequent years.

Executive Director Hannah Quimby has led day-to-day operations consistently, with compensation of $103,096 to $110,560 across FY2021–FY2022. Roxanne Quimby serves as President and Director without compensation, alongside family members Lucas St. Clair, Megan Quimby, Morgan Quimby, Rachelle Quimby, and Yemaya St. Clair. The all-family board composition signals strong value continuity and minimal likelihood of strategic pivots in the near term.

Timing is the first and most consequential decision. The foundation operates two entirely separate grant tracks per year, and organizations may submit to only one cycle in a given grant year. The Movement window runs September 1–October 31 (notifications by January 1); the Nourishment window runs December 1–January 31 (notifications by April 1). Applying to the wrong track or missing the window forfeits your annual opportunity, so select deliberately based on your program's strongest natural alignment with their definitions — not which track sounds more fundable.

Pre-application meetings are not optional — treat them as essential. The foundation explicitly offers in-person or phone conversations with prospective applicants before submission. Scheduling this meeting signals genuine interest, surfaces any misalignment before you invest time in the form, and begins the relationship-building that underpins multi-year grantee status. Email questions@quimbyfamilyfoundation.org to request a meeting, naming your organization and your track interest in one sentence.

The $2 million budget ceiling is a hard filter. Organizations with annual operating budgets exceeding $2 million are explicitly stated as unlikely to receive funding. If your organization is near this threshold, be prepared to discuss it proactively — or identify a distinct programmatic unit with its own budget profile.

Alignment language carries the application. Because the form is brief, your alignment statement does the heavy lifting. The foundation uses specific vocabulary: "Human Wholeness," "nearby nature," "regional and plant-based foods," "accessible to all," "under-resourced populations," "Wabanaki sovereignty." Using their language authentically — not superficially — signals genuine values fit rather than grant-chasing.

Wabanaki and Indigenous programming is a demonstrated pathway. Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians ($81,000 cumulative), Aroostook Band of Micmacs ($70,000), Wabanaki Cultural Preservation Coalition ($72,000), Wabanaki Youth in Science ($62,000), and Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness ($42,500) all appear in the top-funded tier. Organizations with genuine partnerships or accountability to Wabanaki communities have a clear and documented funding track record here.

General operating support is explicitly fundable. The foundation does not restrict grants to specific projects — general operating expenses are a legitimate and common request. Frame your ask around organizational mission and community impact, not just a single program line, if that better reflects your needs.