# Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Maine Coast Heritage Trust is an Endowment / Foundation based in Topsham, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Topsham, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Topsham, ME, United States
- **Founded:** 1970
- **Assets under management:** $138M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** mcht.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/maine-coast-heritage-trust

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

MCHT launched in 1970 with Margaret M. Rockefeller and Thomas D. Cabot as co-founders, backed by Rockefeller family fortunes made in Standard Oil. The trust operates as a nationally accredited land conservation organization under the Land Trust Alliance, structuring its holdings not as grant-funded transient projects but as an accumulating portfolio of owned preserves and conservation easements. President and CEO Kate Stookey now leads the endowment, with MacKenzie Davis serving as Board Chair. The trust's $138 million endowment (Altss estimate) is deployed across a fund-of-funds and secondaries strategy, generating returns to sustain a physical portfolio spanning coastal islands, working farms, and wilderness preserves. Directly held assets include Aldermere Farm in Rockport, the Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve in Washington County, and Clark Island in St. George. A $10 million matching gift from the Robert Bass family in recent years fueled a major fundraising campaign, demonstrating the kind of named co-investor relationships the trust cultivates. Geographically, operations concentrate entirely within Maine, from Brunswick's Woodward Point Preserve to remote Downeast islands. The trust counts a board and council network that includes Stephen Sullens, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, and Amory Logan, Partner at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge — a fiduciary advisory firm to old-line Boston families. MCHT's partnership with Brunswick Topsham Land Trust on projects like the Woodward Point acquisition illustrates its on-the-ground co-investment model with regional partners. The organization maintains 165 public preserves with over 100 miles of hiking trails. Structurally, MCHT sits at a rare intersection: a conservation end-user that runs an institutional-quality fund-of-funds portfolio to finance permanent land stewardship. Unlike foundations that deploy 5% grants annually to third-party land trusts, MCHT is itself the operating entity acquiring, holding, and managing conservation assets. This vertically integrated model — endowment investing + direct land ownership + public access operations — gives it a perpetual mandate with no external grant cycle to satisfy.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- ClimateTech

## People

- Kate Stookey — President and CEO
- MacKenzie Davis — Chair of the Board of Directors
- Thomas D. Cabot — Co-founder
- Margaret M. Rockefeller — Co-founder

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Maine Coast Heritage Trust?

Investment oversight sits with the Board of Directors, chaired by MacKenzie Davis. The board draws on council members with institutional investment backgrounds, including Stephen Sullens, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone. The endowment is managed via a fund-of-funds and secondaries strategy rather than direct public-market security selection, making manager selection and pacing core governance functions.

### What is the scale of Maine Coast Heritage Trust's conservation portfolio?

Since 1970, MCHT has helped conserve over 192,500 acres and 339 islands across Maine. Its directly managed portfolio includes 165 public preserves with more than 100 miles of hiking trails. Specific named assets range from working farms like Aldermere Farm and Erickson Fields Preserve in Rockport to remote wilderness holdings such as the Bold Coast Wilderness Preserve in Washington County and Clark Island in St. George.

### Does Maine Coast Heritage Trust accept co-investments on land acquisitions?

Yes, MCHT regularly structures co-acquisitions with regional land trusts and private donors. The $10 million matching gift from the Robert Bass family funded a major fundraising campaign, and projects like the Woodward Point Preserve were completed in partnership with Brunswick Topsham Land Trust. These co-investment structures allow the trust to leverage its endowment without carrying the full acquisition cost of every project on its balance sheet.

## Related profiles

- [James Lee Sorenson Family Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/james-lee-sorenson-family-foundation)
- [New England Conservatory](https://altss.com/profile/new-england-conservatory)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/maine-coast-heritage-trust

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology