John Sage Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The John Sage Foundation supports environmental conservation, protection, and education within the state of Maine.

IP TAKE: The John Sage Foundation is still a relatively small funder, but it has been growing steadily for over 30 years and is a good one to know for environmental efforts that aren’t funded by other Northeast foundations, such as conservation easements.

It’s a relatively low-key funder with a minimal website that does not give much information on its grantmaking strategies or priorities, but grantseekers can review its grant history to see what sort of things it has funded in the past. This funder prefers to give smaller grants to a greater number of recipients, but there is no stated limit to its grant size, and it may consider awarding larger grants as needed. Grantseekers should also take care to read the application guidelines closely. The John Sage Foundation does not take kindly to bloated, verbose applications and explicitly says that concise and straightforward proposals will be highly favored.

PROFILE: Established in 1991, the John Sage Foundation is a private foundation based in Maine. This foundation’s stated mission is to “promote and enhance a harmonious relationship between people and the natural environment.” While still a modest funder, it has grown steadily over the years. In its first year of operation, it funded two projects for a total of $2,000, by 2000 it was giving away over $20,000, and in 2022 it made over 20 grants for a total of $94,000. The foundation’s areas of grantmaking include environmental conservation, protection, and education.

Grants for Environment

The John Sage Foundation frequently funds land acquisition and conservation easement projects, water testing programs, and environmental education programs. It sometimes funds research projects, such as environmental impact reports or wildlife inventory and monitoring. This funder favors projects that benefit the relationship between people and the environment. It also prefers proposals that reach underrepresented groups with environmental efforts.

Important Grant Details:

Grants typically range from $5,000 to $15,000. Grantseekers can view a list of the funder’s grant history on its website.

  • Grantmaking is restricted to projects and programs the state of Maine.

  • The John Sage Foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications by email.

  • Grant applications must be submitted by April 30 for consideration at the foundation’s annual meeting in May.

  • The foundation strongly favors concise writing in its applications. The project proposal should be no more than one page and succinctly explained.

  • Grantseekers should send all general inquiries and grant applications to Don Brackett, a foundation trustee and volunteer administrator, via email at dbrackett353@gmail.com.

The foundation is based in Skowhegan, Maine, and its phone number is 207-772-3543.

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