Cornelia and Michael Bessie Foundation
Private foundation · West Hartford, CT · EIN 26-2341663 · reported 2023–2025
45grants reported
$10Kmedian award
$7,500lower quartile
$1,000smallest grant
$437Ktotal paid
12states reached
3years giving
This foundation funds faith-based organizations. 3 of its 45 reported grants went to churches, ministries or other religious organizations, $16K in total. That is what it paid, not what it says in a policy.
Gives every year. This foundation reported grants in 2023, 2024, 2025. A funder that shows up year after year is worth a letter even if this year is a no.
Where to write
Co 75 Isham Road 400
West Hartford, CT 06107-0000
Address as registered with the IRS. Most foundations this size have no website and no application form, which is not a dead end: a short letter to this address is the whole process, and almost nobody sends one.
Who they funded
| Recipient and stated purpose | Where | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Flying Gravity Circus CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Wilton, NH | $21,000 |
| Classical Uprising CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Portland, ME | $20,000 |
| Classical Uprising CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Portland, ME | $20,000 |
| Harris Center for Conservation Education Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hancock, NH | $20,000 |
| Nuday CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Windham, NH | $20,000 |
| Flying Gravity Circus CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Wilton, NH | $20,000 |
| Peterborough Food Pantry (peterborough Area Community Aid) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $15,000 |
| Care CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Atlanta, GA | $10,000 |
| Doctors Without Borders USA Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| Droplets of Mercy USA Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | McLean, VA | $10,000 |
| Heal Palestine Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Kent, OH | $10,000 |
| Red Bull Theater CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| The Blue Door Foundation CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Niantic, CT | $10,000 |
| Inara CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| Leeway CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New Haven, CT | $10,000 |
| Pat Macs Pack Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Chicago, IL | $10,000 |
| Riley Farm Rescue Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Brooklyn, CT | $10,000 |
| World Poetry Books CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New York, NY | $10,000 |
| Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $10,000 |
| Harris Center for Conservation Education Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hancock, NH | $10,000 |
| Nuday CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Windham, NH | $10,000 |
| Palistine Children's Relief Fund CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Burbank, CA | $10,000 |
| Ten Directions Inc (guest House Retreat & Co) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Chester, CT | $10,000 |
| The Front Door Agency CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Nashua, NH | $10,000 |
| Unrwa USA (united Nations) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Washington, DC | $10,000 |
| World Food Program USA CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Washington, DC | $10,000 |
| Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation (muusic 4 UU) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $9,000 |
| Pat Macs Pack Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Chicago, IL | $8,000 |
| Broken Souls Rescue and Recovery Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Staten Island, NY | $7,500 |
| Covenant Soup Kitchen CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Willimantic, CT | $7,500 |
| Flying Gravity Circus CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Wilton, NH | $7,500 |
| Harris Center for Conservation Education Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hancock, NH | $7,500 |
| House of Bread Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hartford, CT | $7,500 |
| Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hartford, CT | $7,500 |
| Peterborough Food Pantry (peterborough Area Community Aid) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $7,500 |
| Simbas Pride CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Morrison, CO | $7,000 |
| Literacy Volunteers of the Tri-Community Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Southbridge, MA | $7,000 |
| Music on Norway Pond CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Hancock, NH | $7,000 |
| Riley Farm Rescue Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Brooklyn, CT | $5,000 |
| Keene Chamber Orchestra Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Keene, NH | $4,000 |
| Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation (muusic 4 UU) CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $4,000 |
| Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Peterborough, NH | $3,000 |
| ACLU Foundation Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | New York, NY | $2,500 |
| Keene Chamber Orchestra Inc CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Keene, NH | $1,000 |
| Classical Uprising CURRENT USE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES | Portland, ME | $1,000 |
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