Data / Foundation grants / John and Melissa Besse Foundation
John and Melissa Besse Foundation: 31 grants to organizations, $356,850 (tax year ended December 2025)
John and Melissa Besse Foundation, a private foundation in Wells, MI, paid 31 grants to organizations totaling $356,850 in its tax year ended December 2025, according to its Form 990-PF filed with the IRS on May 13, 2026. The largest was $110,000 to Michigan Tech FD in Houghton, MI for ford center sawmill.
SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every private foundation's Form 990-PF as the IRS publishes it, and this page is that reading. Ask for the foundations that fund your cause in your state, with the amounts and purposes, and new grants arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as the returns are filed.
- EIN
- 203497950
- Based in
- Wells, MI
- Assets
- $13,525,740
- Grants paid
- $356,850
- Tax year ended
- December 2025
Grants paid, tax year ended December 2025
From the Form 990-PF filed May 13, 2026, IRS object ID 202631339349103683. It reported $356,850 in grants paid; 31 grants to organizations are listed.
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Cause | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Tech FD | Houghton, MI | Ford center sawmill | $110,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Trees for Tomorrow | Eagle River, MI | Educational | $56,500 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Marquette City Band | Marquette, MI | Band shell donation | Arts, culture and humanities | $45,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Gladstone Public Safety Department | Gladstone, MI | Aireal drone donation | $13,200 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Pregnancy Services of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Human services | $13,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Bay Cliff Health Camp | Big Bay, MI | Charitable support | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Community Foundation of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Lakeview Cemetery | Escanaba, MI | Operations and improvements | $8,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Baraga County Community Foundation | Barage, MI | Charitable support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Bay College Foundation | Escanaba, MI | Operations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Bonifas Fine Art Center | Escanaba, MI | Building improvements | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Community Foundation of Marquette County | Marquette, MI | Operating endowment fund | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Delta County Cancer Alliance | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Health care | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Escanaba Township | Gladstone, MI | Equipment for fire department | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp | Crystal Falls, MI | Charitable support - camp | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Holy Name Catholic School | Escanaba, MI | Endowment fund | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Lakestate Industries | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Employment | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Northern Michigan University Foundation | Marquette, MI | Scholarship fund | Education | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| St Vincent Depaul of Escanaba | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| St Vincent Depaul of Gladstone | Marquette, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Tri-County Safe Harbor | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Human services | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| United Way of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Up State Fair Authority | Escanaba, MI | Military museum operations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| YMCA Northern Lights of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Youth Empowering Services | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Redeemer Lutheran Church | Marquette, MI | Donation | $3,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Gladstone Rapid River Kiwanis | Gladstone, MI | Charitable support | $1,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Gladstone Schools | Gladstone, MI | Robotics team & senior party donation | $800 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Community Thanksgiving of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Donation | $500 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Michigamme - Spurr | Michigamme, MI | July 4th donation | $500 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Rotary Club of Escanaba | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $350 | apps.irs.gov |
Grants paid, tax year ended December 2024
From the Form 990-PF filed July 14, 2025, IRS object ID 202501959349100135. It reported $527,738 in grants paid; 25 grants to organizations are listed.
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Cause | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Tech FD | Houghton, MI | Endowed scholarship fund | $340,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Trees for Tomorrow | Eagle River, MI | Outdoor classroom | $78,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Life Link III | Minneapolis, MN | Educational | $10,088 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Bay Cliff Health Camp | Big Bay, MI | Charitable support | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Pregnancy Services of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Human services | $10,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Lakeview Cemetery | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $8,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Baraga County Community Foundation | Barage, MI | Charitable support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Bay College Foundation | Escanaba, MI | Operations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Community Foundation of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Community Foundation of Marquette County | Marquette, MI | Endowment fund | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Escanaba Fire Department | Gladstone, MI | Charitable support - equipment | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp | Crystal Falls, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Holy Name Catholic School | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Lakestate Industries | Escanaba, MI | Endowment fund | Employment | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Northern Michigan University Foundation | Marquette, MI | Educational | Education | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Superior Health Foundation | Marquette, MI | Charitable support | Health care | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Tri-County Safe Harbor | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Human services | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| United Way of Delta County | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov |
| Up State Fair Authority | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $5,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Redeemer Lutheran Church | Marquette, MI | Charitable support | $3,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Michigamme - Spurr | Michigamme, MI | Equipment | $1,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Up Power Pink | Gwinn, MI | Charitable support | $1,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Youth Empowering Services | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $1,000 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Rotary Club of Escanaba | Escanaba, MI | Charitable support | $350 | apps.irs.gov | |
| Gladstone Schools | Gladstone, MI | Educational | $300 | apps.irs.gov |
Causes funded
From grants whose recipient has a cause.
| Cause | Granted |
|---|---|
| Arts, culture and humanities | $45,000 |
| Human services | $33,000 |
| Philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations | $20,000 |
| Health care | $10,000 |
| Employment | $10,000 |
| Education | $10,000 |
States funded
Also on SpecStream
- Who funds arts, culture and humanities in Michigan
- Who funds human services in Michigan
- Who funds philanthropy, voluntarism and grantmaking foundations in Michigan
- Who funds health care in Michigan
- Who funds employment in Michigan
- Who funds education in Michigan
Updated May 13, 2026. Read from IRS Form 990-PF e-file data. Public domain (U.S. government work). Grants are as each foundation reported them to the IRS on its Form 990-PF. Grants to individuals are left out. A grant has a cause only where the recipient's name and city match one organization in the IRS Business Master File, and the cause is that organization's NTEE major group. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0. Spot a wrong value? Write to [email protected] with the link to this page.