Special Grant Program

Responding to human need

To us, a Tramuto Foundation grant is an opportunity to overcome adversity and injustice wherever it occurs and let the human potential of individuals or populations of people thrive.

The grants we award are in the spirit of compassion and empathy. We believe in assisting organizations that have demonstrated these qualities, along with dedication and innovation that have helped affect positive change within communities, or in individuals who have faced adversity or overcome personal challenges.


We want to hear what you need.

Every year, the TramutoPorter Foundation Compassionate Leadership of the Year Award recognizes individuals who help to create a more compassionate world to help solve challenges in business, education, politics, and within families.

We present the award(s) during the Compassionate Leadership Week, occurring every 2nd full week in September.

Refer to the Compassionate Leadership of the Year Award application page for more information and nomination instructions. You can find the list of multi-year grant partners under the News section.

If your organization is in need of emergency funding, please submit your grant request in writing and email it to Mary.Bentley@bcu.org


Since 2001, the Foundation has improved educational opportunities for high school graduates and college students. We have expanded access to high-quality health care in Maine and around the world. And we have supported local non-profit organizations that strive to be welcoming, instructive and inclusive.

From our beginning, the money raised by the Tramuto Foundation has helped tens of thousands of people realize the mission of creating a brighter future through our student scholarships, as well as financial grants to organizations worldwide whose vision is to help right the wrong and make this world a better place for all. We have served as a voice in creating partnerships that have a sustainable and measurable impact in making the world more just and fair.


Some of the special grants that we have just completed or are in the process of funding include

  • Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  • Boston University School of Public Health
  • Health eVillages/Lwala Community Alliance-Childhood Nutrition Program
  • Frannie Peabody Center, Portland, ME
  • York County Community College-gerontology degree program & creation support
  • Ogunquit Museum of American Art – Children’s Art Program
  • Ogunquit Playhouse – Youth Summer Theatre program endowment
  • Thistle Farms
  • Maine Center for Grieving Children
  • Maine Boys to Men
  • Children Nutrition Program of Haiti
  • Robert F Kennedy Community Alliance
  • Robert F Kennedy Italia – Human Rights
  • African Children’s Aid Education and Development
  • Jefferson School of Public Health
  • St. Joseph’s College Integrative Aging Program

Our past grant recipients include (partial list)

  • Regis College
  • Maine Special Olympics
  • Cambodia – The Sharing Foundation
  • Leukemia Society
  • Katrina Housing Relief Fund
  • Christ The King Seminary – field service program
  • 3 Family’s
  • Windrush Farm
  • State of Maine Foster Children Program
  • AIDS Seacoast Foundation
  • American Diabetes Association
  • The Friends Project
  • Seacoast Hospice
  • Camp Sunshine
  • Gastro-Intestinal Research
  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund

Throughout the course of Donato’s life, it has never been about doing something great; rather, it has been about doing little things that have the capacity to drive great change. It has been about serving as the conduit to bring people together from all walks of life, working collaboratively with the notion that it makes no difference how much you give. What makes the difference is that you gave. It makes no difference how much you do. What makes the difference is you did something. The Tramuto Foundation has been hearing and responding to human need since our founding in Ogunquit, ME in September 2001.

Hearing Human Need

This isn’t just what we do.
We believe it’s our duty as citizens of the world. Attuned to people and the challenges they face, be it here in Maine, or across oceans, our goal is to make resources available to individuals and communities in need through collaborative partnerships.

+1 (207) 646-7790

OGUNQUIT, MAINE

501c3 Organization