Cascade Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Cascade Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health, arts and culture, human services, and the environment.
IP TAKE: The Cascade Foundation does not maintain a website, which restricts transparency about grantmaking strategies and guidelines. While the foundation’s giving primarily centers around Maine, it has funded organizations in several other states. This funder appears to conduct its grantmaking proactively and does not accept unsolicited requests. Tax records indicate that it generally makes grants to a small group of select recipients year after year, with few new grantees each year.
PROFILE: Established in 2006, the Cascade Foundation was founded by Daniel and Victoria Dibner. Daniel is the son of the late David Dibner, the former chairman of the Burndy Corporation, an electrical connectors company. The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest the Cascade Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to health, arts and culture, human services, and the environment.
Grants for Arts & Culture
The Cascade Foundation’s grantmaking for arts & culture primarily supports museums, libraries, and the performing arts in Maine. Grantees include Mercer Museum, Victoria Mansion, Owls Head Transportation Museum, Strand Theater, Maine Maritime Museum, Penobscot Marine Museum, Farnsworth Library and Art Museum, and Abbe Museum.
Grants for Health & Diseases
The Cascade Foundation’s health grantmaking appears to prioritize hospitals, medical centers, and disease research. Grantees for disease research include the National Fragile X Foundation, which supports those living with Fragile X Syndrome and their families, and Jackson Laboratory, which conducts biomedical research related to cancer and other diseases. Other health grantees include Mid-Coast Health Net, Family Planning Association of Maine, and MedShare International. The extended family has also supported Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology Endowment at the Smithsonian.
Grants for Environment
The Cascade Foundation’s grants for environment prioritizes conservation and environmental research centering around Maine. Grantees include Reef Relief, a marine conservation foundation based in Key West, Merry Spring Nature Center, a private park in Camden, ME, and Avian Haven, a wild bird rescue and rehabilitation center in Freedom, ME.
Grants for Education & Youth
The Cascade Foundation’s grants for education and youth primarily support youth outreach, activities, and special schools. One major grantee is Wayfinder Schools, a school for special needs children in Camden, ME. It also supports youth athletics, especially the sport of rowing, with grants to Megunticook Rowing and Station Maine.
Grants for Community Development
The Cascade Foundation’s grants for community development primarily center around health and human services in the state of Maine, including grants for homelessness, substance abuse, women & children, and family planning. Grantees include Planned Parenthood, Family Planning Association of Maine, Knox County Homeless Coalition, New Hope for Women, and Save the Children Federation.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from $200 to $50,000. Learn more about past giving in the funder’s past grant history.
The foundation’s giving centers around Maine, but it occasionally supports organizations in other states, such as Connecticut, Florida, and Wyoming.
The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
Grantseekers may try contacting the Cascade Foundation by phone at (203) 903-0762.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Cascade Foundation
PO Box 958
Rockport, ME 04856
