Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation supports environment, literacy, community services, and the arts in the state of Maine.
IP TAKE: Stephen Edwin King's philanthropy prioritizes the state of Maine, where he was born and lives with his wife, Tabitha. However, some giving occurs around the U.S. This funder is accessible and transparent about where grants go. It accepts unsolicited applications. King's philanthropy has prioritized his home state of Maine for years and that is unlikely to change. The couple also has a residence in Florida, which might spark grantmaking in that region down the line. While grants have remained relatively modest, a handful of recent grants in the past few years have been for $1 million or more.
Pitch an idea for how Stephen and Tabitha King can help a Maine-based nonprofit boost internal capacity. This funder supports a broad range of local groups.
PROFILE: Based in Bangor, Maine and created in 1986, the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation serves as the foundation of the prolific horror novelist Steven King and his wife, Tabitha, who is also a well-known author. Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. He attended University of Maine at Orono, where he met his wife, who is also a writer. King began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, while writing in the evenings and on the weekends. King made his first professional short story sale, “The Glass Floor,” to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co. accepted the novel Carrie for publication. King has since gone on to write novels such as The Shining, Misery, The Green Mile, and The Dark Tower Series, among many others.
The Kings wish to give back to their home community and address the underlying causes of social and environmental problems. It “promotes strengthening and supporting communities and draws upon the values and spirituality of the founders.” Grantmaking includes the environment, literacy, community services, and the arts.
Grants for Education and Libraries
The family’s grants for education prioritize the institutions and organizations with which they have a special relationship in Maine. King and Tabitha met at Raymond H. Folger Library at University of Maine while Tabitha was working there. The couple have given millions to their mutual alma mater, and some of King's works can be found at the library.
But apart from University of Maine's library, other Steven and Tabitha King Foundation grantees include Charles M. Bailey Library in Winthrop, Portland Library, and the Dyer Library in Saco. King has also made grants to various public schools in the Maine School Administrative District and the Regional School Unit.
Maine Media College received one of the foundation’s largest grants, $1 million for a major library renovation.
The Kings have also supported Colby College, and York County Community College.
Grants for Community Development and Disaster Relief
All of this funder’s grants in these areas remain local. King has been a longtime supporter of the local fire department, with grants supporting the fire departments in communities such as Caribou, Cornish, and Denmark. The couple have also supported local American Red Cross in recent years, with more modest sums going to organizations such as Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and the Next Step Domestic Violence Project.
Grants for Health
Health is of some interest to this funder too, with grants supporting Oxford County Mental Health, Downeast Community Hospital, Eastern Maine Medical Center, and Merrill Memorial Hospital. Also, they have supported various civic projects such as a $1.4 million grant to the City of Bangor pool. The King Foundation also made a $1 million grant for a new pediatric wing and support for geriatric care at the Northern Light Acadia Hospital.
Grants for the Environment and Historic Preservation
Finally, an element of the Kings' philanthropy involves conservation and preservation with recent grants supporting the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, Lincolnville Historical Society, and Royal River Conservation Trust which has "conserved 3300 acres of land, farms, and trails on the Royal River and its headwater ponds, hills, and neighborhoods."
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Kings have supported Portland Ballet, Bangor Symphony, and Everyman Repertory Theatre.
The King Foundation supports a wide range of projects, and it provides a list of things that it will not fund rather than a list of what it does fund. The foundation centers its grantmaking on underlying causes and also the consequences of social and environmental problems. In addition, it focuses its grantmaking on community-building and projects that serve the most community members possible. This funder prefers to award grants for a single year and awards that improve organizational capacity.
Important Grant Details:
King Foundation grants range from grants range from $500 to $50,000. Requests should not exceed $50,000. A handful of grants, however, have reached $1 million or more. Endowment grants are rare, as are matching or challenge grants.
To maintain its integrity, the foundation does not permit people working for the foundation to sit on the board of organizations applying for grants or receive any gifts or services from applicants.
Per the guidelines, “[g]rant decisions are made by the foundation in its sole discretion and are not subject to review or appeal. The foundation has absolutely no obligation whatsoever to any particular applicant.”
The King Foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits that benefit Maine. Grantseekers must submit their applications online, by mail, or by hand delivery two grant reviews per year, one with an April 15th deadline and one with an October 15th deadline. Decisions may take as long as eight weeks. Nonprofits can apply once per year, and must wait two years to apply for additional funding after receiving a grant.
Grantseekers can direct general questions to the foundation at (207) 990-2910 or via info@stkfoundation.org.
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