John and Melissa Besse Foundation
Wells, MI · EIN 20-3497950. Reported 98 grants totalling $1,450,258 to 56 recipients across tax years 2021-2025. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. John and Melissa Besse Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $5,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $5,000 and $10,000; the smallest was $300 and the largest $340,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Tech Fd | Houghton, MI | $450,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Northern Mi Univ Foundation | Marquette, MI | $210,000 | 3 | 2 | 2023 |
| Trees for Tomorrow | Eagle River, MI | $134,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Chassell Historical Organization | Chassell, MI | $55,120 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Delta Conservation District | Gladstone, MI | $50,000 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Marquette City Band | Marquette, MI | $45,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Pregnancy Services of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | $38,000 | 4 | 4 | 2025 |
| Mi Tech Enterprise Corp Smartzone | Houghton, MI | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Michigan Tech Fd College Forestry | Houghton, MI | $30,000 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| City of Gladstone | Gladstone, MI | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lakeview Cemetery | Escanaba, MI | $21,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Bay Cliff Health Camp | Big Bay, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| St Vincent Depaul | Gladstone, MI | $20,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Tri-County Safe Harbor | Escanaba, MI | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| United Way of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | $20,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Baraga County Community Foundation | Baraga, MI | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Community Foundation of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | $15,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp | Crystal Falls, MI | $15,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Gladstone Public Safety Department | Gladstone, MI | $13,200 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Holy Name Catholic School | Escanaba, MI | $13,000 | 3 | 3 | 2025 |
| Masonville Twp Fire Department | Rapid River, MI | $11,500 | 2 | 2 | 2023 |
| Life Link III | Minneapolis, MN | $10,088 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Bay College Foundation | Escanaba, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters | Escanaba, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Community Foundation of Marquette County | Marquette, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Escanaba Twp Fire Department | Gladstone, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Lakestate Industries | Escanaba, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Northern Michigan University Foundation | Marquette, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Salvation Army | Escanaba, MI | $10,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Up State Fair Authority | Escanaba, MI | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Trees for Tomorrow | Eagle River, WI | $9,500 | 4 | 3 | 2023 |
| Aquafest Inc | Rice Lake, WI | $7,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Redeemer Lutheran Church | Marquette, MI | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Youth Empowering Services | Escanaba, MI | $6,000 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Bay De Noc Comm College Foundation | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bay-Lakes Council Boy Scouts | Appleton, WI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Bonifas Fine Art Center | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Community Foundation | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Delta County Cancer Alliance | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Escanaba Fire Department | Gladstone, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Escanaba Township | Gladstone, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Houghton County Volunteer Fire Dept | Houghton, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Lakestates Industries | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Northern Lights YMCA of Delta Co | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| St Vincent Depaul of Escanaba | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| St Vincent Depaul of Gladstone | Marquette, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Superior Health Foundation | Marquette, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| YMCA Northern Lights of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | $5,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Barron County Pro Rodeo Inc | Ladysmith, WI | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Rotary Club of Escanaba | Escanaba, MI | $1,750 | 5 | 5 | 2025 |
| Michigamme - Spurr | Michigamme, MI | $1,500 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gladstone Schools | Gladstone, MI | $1,100 | 2 | 2 | 2025 |
| Gladstone Rapid River Kiwanis | Gladstone, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
| Michigamme Museum | Michigamme, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Up Power Pink | Gwinn, MI | $1,000 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Community Thanksgiving of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | $500 | 1 | 1 | 2025 |
26 of 56 (46%) received money in more than one year over the 5 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 32%, across 4 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is less consistent than most. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Northern Mi Univ Foundation
EDUCATIONAL-HOCKEY LOCKER ROOM - Chassell Historical Organization
CHARITABLE-BOARD WALK IMPROVEMENTS - Michigan Tech Fd College Forestry
EDUCATIONAL-EQUIP FOR FOREST DEPT - City of Gladstone
CHARITABLE-PICKLE BALL COURTS - Escanaba Twp Fire Department
CHARITABLE SUPPORT-EQUIPMENT - Lakeview Cemetery
OPERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 33 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | $181,850 | $5,000 |
| 2022 | 6 | $51,350 | $4,750 |
| 2023 | 10 | $332,470 | $7,750 |
| 2024 | 25 | $527,738 | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 31 | $356,850 | $5,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Where its money goes
98% of its giving went to organizations in Michigan. If your organization is based elsewhere, look in the recipient list for grants to your area before writing.
Get funders for your state and cause by email
We email you funders that gave to organizations in your state and cause, up to five at a time each week and never the same one twice, from their own IRS filings. Free. The weekly email has not started yet.
Unsubscribe in one click from any email. We never sell or share your address. To match on your organization and typical grant size too, keep a private profile.
Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $5,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Michigan.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from John and Melissa Besse Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 5 returns (tax years 2021-2025). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: Po Box 250, Wells, MI, 49894. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 20-3497950 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
Is something here wrong about your foundation? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.