Onion Foundation

What Onion Foundation does

The Onion Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2014 by Fritz and Susan Onion in Auburn, Maine. It operates as a philanthropic grantmaker with two core program areas — an Arts Program supporting arts education and public engagement, and an Environment Program focused on equitable outdoor access, nature learning, and advocacy/movement building — plus occasional Special Opportunity grants. The foundation's funding base was significantly expanded when the founders' company Pluralsight went public in 2018 (initiating annual share gifts) and was sold in 2021 (enabling a large endowment top-up), after which the founders committed to fully spending down foundation assets and sunsetting the organization by 2044 over a 30-year span.

Grants are deployed exclusively to Maine-based nonprofit organizations. The Arts Program offers multi-year general operating and project grants of up to $20,000 per year (up to $60,000 over three years) for organizations with budgets above $50,000, and up to $7,500 per year (up to $22,500 over three years) for organizations with budgets at or below $50,000. The Environment Program awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 per 12-month period, with eligibility for up to two years of funding. Applications are accepted through the Giving Data grantee portal during open grant cycles, and program officers provide pre-application guidance.

The foundation runs a small operational team (1–10 employees) including an Executive Director, Arts and Environment Program Officers, an Environment Program Associate, and a Grants & Office Administrator, supported by co-founder involvement from Fritz and Susan Onion. Since inception it has distributed nearly 2,000 grants to more than 580 organizations across all 16 Maine counties, with strategic partnerships including Teach ME Outside, the Maine Math and Science Alliance, and the Maine Environmental Education Association. Revenue, endowment size, and total annual disbursements are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Onion Foundation

Legal name

Onion Foundation

Website

https://onionfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Onion Foundation is a private family foundation founded in 2014 by Fritz and Susan Onion that awards grants to Maine nonprofit organizations in arts education and environmental access, with a stated plan to spend down its endowment and sunset by 2044.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Family foundation grants
• Arts program funding
• Environmental grantmaking
• Nonprofit grant programs
• Maine community foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Onion Foundation is a private family foundation that provides grant funding to Maine-based nonprofit organizations working in the arts and environment. Its grantmaking is delivered through an Arts Program, an Environment Program (with sub-programs in Equitable Outdoor Access, Nature Learning, and Advocacy and Movement Building), and Special Opportunity Grants for episodic or one-off needs. The foundation emphasizes multi-year commitments, capacity-building support beyond direct funding, and an equity lens in its environmental work.

Product overview

The Onion Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation offering grantmaking programs, not a technology product company. Its programs include the Arts Program (supporting arts education and public engagement in Maine) and the Environment Program (supporting equitable outdoor access, nature learning, and advocacy). The foundation occasionally offers Special Opportunity grants outside its core program strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arts Program Grants Grant funding provided to Maine-based nonprofit organizations working in the arts, supporting program and operational needs with multi-year commitments and capacity-building assistance.
• Environment Program Grants Grant funding for Maine-based nonprofit organizations working on environmental issues, organized into three sub-streams: Equitable Outdoor Access, Nature Learning, and Advocacy and Movement Building, with an explicit equity lens.
• Equitable Outdoor Access Sub-Program Grants supporting Maine nonprofits working to expand access to outdoor and nature-based experiences for communities historically excluded from those spaces.
• Nature Learning Sub-Program Grants supporting Maine nonprofits delivering nature-based learning and environmental education programming.
• Advocacy and Movement Building Sub-Program Grants supporting Maine-based environmental advocacy and movement-building organizations working on systemic environmental issues.
• Special Opportunity Grants Episodic, time-sensitive grants for Maine-based nonprofits whose needs do not align with the foundation's standard Arts or Environment Program cycles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 2,000 grants awarded to more than 580 organizations since 2014
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Teach ME OutsidemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Maine Math and Science Alliance (MMSA) and Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) to conduct the Community-Based Outdoor and Environmental Learning (CBEL) census, tracking environmental education across Maine schools and out-of-school programs.
• Maine Math and Science Alliance (MMSA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on CBEL census research initiative to gather data on environmental education programs and educators across Maine.
• Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on CBEL census to understand the environmental education landscape in Maine and inform future programming.
• Like-Minded Funders Across MaineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration and learning with other funders across Maine to share knowledge and coordinate philanthropic efforts.
• Boothbay Sea and Science CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting the Exploring the Science of Seaweed Farming program which brings kelp cultivation into Maine classrooms, now operating in 25 schools across 9 counties.
• Gulf of Maine Research InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration through Connected Learning Ecosystems group, connecting educators with marine biology and environmental learning opportunities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Libra Foundation: Maine-based family foundation funding arts, land conservation, and community development statewide. Comparable geography and program verticals (especially environment and arts) to Onion Foundation.
• Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation: Maine-based family foundation supporting local arts, education, and community organizations. Highly comparable as a Maine-based private family foundation with arts-program emphasis.
• Maine Community Foundation: Maine's largest community foundation, distributing grants across the state to nonprofits including arts and environmental initiatives. Directly comparable as a Maine-focused grantmaker with broad charitable priorities overlapping the Onion Foundation's mission.
• Elmina B. Sewall Foundation: Maine-based family foundation with environment, animal welfare, and human services priorities. Comparable as a Maine-focused private family foundation with environmental funding priorities.
• Davis Family Foundation: Maine-based family foundation supporting education, arts, and the environment. Comparable as a small Maine family foundation with overlapping arts and environment program areas.
• Quimby Family Foundation: Maine-based family foundation prioritizing arts, education, and the environment. Closely mirrors Onion Foundation's vertical focus on arts and environmental grantmaking within Maine.
• Betterment Fund: Maine-based family foundation with environment and conservation as core priorities. Direct peer along the environmental/land conservation grantmaking vertical within Maine.

Broad incumbents

• Barr Foundation: Larger Boston-based family foundation active in climate and arts. Comparable as a family foundation integrating arts and environment strategies, but operates at significantly greater scale and geography.
• Kresge Foundation: Large national foundation with arts, environment, and equity program areas. Comparable programmatic verticals (arts + environment + equity) but operates broadly with much larger grantmaking capacity.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Onion Foundation