Funding search · EIN 262341663 · West Hartford, CT
Cornelia and Michael Bessie Foundation
A private foundation (files IRS Form 990-PF). Most private foundations do not take unsolicited applications; the route in is usually a program officer.
- 61
- grants reported
- $598,200
- total given
- 2022–2025
- filing years
- $10,000
- median grant
Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2022–2025. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.
What they fund
Full IRS filings ↗How this is builtReport an error
Funding pattern
What this funder pays for, at what size, and how to position adjacent work. Read from their filings, with every number checked against the record.
Sign in to analyze this funder’s giving pattern. Free in early access.
Top recipients
Repeat recipients are the strongest signal of whether a funder has an open door or quietly re-funds the same organizations.
- Flying Gravity Circus4 grants · $58,500
- Classical Uprising4 grants · $51,000
- Nuday3 grants · $40,000
- Harris Center for Conservation Education4 grants · $38,700
- Riley Farm Rescue3 grants · $25,000
- Peterborough Food Pantry (Peterborough Area Community Aid)2 grants · $22,500
- Care2 grants · $20,000
- The Front Door Agency2 grants · $20,000
- Pat Macs Pack2 grants · $18,000
- National Association of Police Athletic Leagues Inc (Hpal Division)1 grant · $15,000
Giving over time
Grant history
All 61 reported grants, largest first.
- $21,000
Flying Gravity Circus · Wilton, NH · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $20,000
Classical Uprising · Portland, ME · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $20,000
Flying Gravity Circus · Wilton, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $20,000
Classical Uprising · Portland, ME · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $20,000
Harris Center for Conservation Education · Hancock, NH · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $20,000
Nuday · Windham, NH · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $15,000
Peterborough Food Pantry (Peterborough Area Community Aid) · Peterborough, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $15,000
A Little Compassion · Deep River, CT · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $15,000
National Association of Police Athletic Leagues Inc (Hpal Division) · Charlotte, NC · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $15,000
Rochester Community Care Home · Rochester, VT · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Care · Atlanta, GA · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Doctors Without Borders USA · New York, NY · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Droplets of Mercy USA · McLean, VA · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Heal Palestine · Kent, OH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Red Bull Theater · New York, NY · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
The Blue Door Foundation · Niantic, CT · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs · Peterborough, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Harris Center for Conservation Education · Hancock, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Nuday · Windham, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Palistine Children'S Relief Fund · Burbank, CA · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Ten Directions Inc (Guest House Retreat & Co) · Chester, CT · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
The Front Door Agency · Nashua, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Unrwa USA (United Nations) · Washington, DC · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
World Food Program USA · Washington, DC · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Inara · New York, NY · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Leeway · New Haven, CT · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Pat Macs Pack · Chicago, IL · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Riley Farm Rescue · Brooklyn, CT · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
World Poetry Books · New York, NY · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Care · Atlanta, GA · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Caring Cupboard Inc (Open Cupboard) · Palmyra, PA · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Classical Uprising · Portland, ME · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Flying Gravity Circus · Wilton, NH · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Nuday · Windham, NH · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Peterborough Folk Music Society · Peterborough, NH · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Ray of Light Farm · East Haddam, CT · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
Riley Farm Rescue · Brooklyn, CT · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
The Front Door Agency · Nashua, NH · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
United States Association for Unhcr · Washington, DC · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $10,000
World Central Kitchen · Washington, DC · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $9,000
Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Muusic 4 Uu) · Peterborough, NH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $8,000
Pat Macs Pack · Chicago, IL · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Broken Souls Rescue and Recovery · Staten Island, NY · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Covenant Soup Kitchen · Willimantic, CT · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Flying Gravity Circus · Wilton, NH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Harris Center for Conservation Education · Hancock, NH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
House of Bread · Hartford, CT · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford · Hartford, CT · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,500
Peterborough Food Pantry (Peterborough Area Community Aid) · Peterborough, NH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,000
Simbas Pride · Morrison, CO · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,000
Literacy Volunteers of the Tri-Community · Southbridge, MA · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $7,000
Music On Norway Pond · Hancock, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $5,000
Riley Farm Rescue · Brooklyn, CT · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $5,000
Cat Tails · Crofton, MD · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $4,000
Keene Chamber Orchestra · Keene, NH · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $4,000
Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Muusic 4 Uu) · Peterborough, NH · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $3,000
Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation · Peterborough, NH · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
- $2,500
Aclu Foundation · New York, NY · 2025
Current use for charitable purposes
- $1,200
Harris Center for Conservation Education · Hancock, NH · 2022
Current use for charitable purposes
- $1,000
Classical Uprising · Portland, ME · 2024
Current use for charitable purposes
- $1,000
Keene Chamber Orchestra · Keene, NH · 2023
Current use for charitable purposes
Who else funds this kind of work
Same state
- Yale University1,336 grants · $494.6M
- Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation581 grants · $363.4M
- Dalio Family Fund502 grants · $220.1M
Similar purposes
- Seeds of Faith47 grants · $8.5M
- Suzanne McGraw Foundation41 grants · $11.9M
- Alice L Walton Foundation352 grants · $284.5M
Similar grant size
- The Ayco Charitable Foundation15,303 grants · $2.05B
- Paypal Charitable Giving Fund32,081 grants · $1.40B
- Seattle Foundation14,012 grants · $457.3M
Grants already paid are the record; PaperOrbit reads your paper and finds the funders whose record matches it — then explains why.
Search funders like this oneSource: IRS Form 990-PF, Part XV, as filed by the foundation. These are grants already paid — a record of what this funder backs, not an open call.