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Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$3.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
47
Grants FY2024still arriving
5
States reached
$2.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0197% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Public Benefit$6.5MEducation$2.1MEnvironment$2.1MArts & Culture$1.4MFood & Nutrition$695kCommunity Improvement$550kHuman Services$483kYouth Development$241kOther$0
02FY2024 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k25 grants · $68k
  • $10k–50k14 grants · $283k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $735k
  • $250k+1 grant · $2.0M
$6,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$97M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GLASSROOTS$2,000,000
Individual grant recipient$202,000
ST BERNARD SCHOOL BOARD$144,169
WYES-TV - GREATER NEW ORLEANS EDUCATION TELEVISION FOUNDATION$125,000
COMMUNITY CENTER OF ST BERNARD$94,100
GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS$65,533
HAMLINE UNIVERSITY$54,464
NOCCA INSTITUTE$50,000
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY$41,919
INTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS$40,000
CASA NEW ORLEANS$33,333
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION INC$25,000
NUNEZ COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION$21,915
CHALMETTE HIGH SCHOOL$18,450
ST BERNARD COUNCIL ON AGING$16,899
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $86k) land where the poverty rate runs at 22%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SCOTTS WISH INC: $5k → 11%RAPHAEL VILLAGE: $5k → 23%RAPHAEL VILLAGE: $3k → 23%STEM LIBRARY LAB: $10k → 23%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $11k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $10k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $10k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $10k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $8k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $5k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $5k → 22%LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE & CULTURAL SOCIETY: $5k → 22%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

MN
IL
MI
NY
CT
CA
DC
OK
LA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 77 repeat orgs$2.6M to everyone else

77 repeat relationships: 42 still active in FY2024, 35 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

77
44

Total granted

$13M
$605k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+21%
+47%

Still filing today

42%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 34% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2.0M went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
Arts & CulturePhilanthropyCommunity ImprovementHealthEducationEnvironmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • CC
    Community Center of St Bernard
    8× · 2017–2024 · $620k · revenue +240% · 52% of their budget
  • NC
    Nunez Community College Foundation
    8× · 2017–2024 · $606k · revenue +152%
  • SB
    St Bernard Economic Development Foundat
    7× · 2017–2023 · $269k · revenue +45%

Funded once

  • LF
    LSU FOUNDATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $345k · revenue +87%
  • SB
    ST BERNARD PARISH DEPT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
    one grant, 2023 · $80k
  • NM
    NOLA MURAL PROJECT
    one grant, 2022 · $40k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Lsu Research Foundation
Community Improvement
2
University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation Inc

-To support any and all programs, facilities, research, and educational opportunities offered by the University of New Orleans and the University of Louisiana System.-To encourage teaching, research, scholarship, and services, and increase…

Health
3
Nola Business Alliance

Charged by the city of new orleans with leading the economic recovery and development of orleans parish. the organization's focus is to grow the job base and secure private investment for orleans parish by attracting corporations for…

Community Improvement
4
Orleans Sheriff's Office Foundation
Crime & Legal
5
Createlouisiana

#CreateLouisiana champions Southern talent in the film + media space, supports the entertainment industries that are integral to the region, and fosters a sustainable creative economy for a homegrown cultural workforce. Through…

Arts & Culture
6
New Orleans Educational Telecommunications Consortium

Delivery of higher educational services to the public.

—
7
New Orleans Scottish Rite Foundatio
Arts & Culture
8
Laura Center for Creole Heritage
Arts & Culture
9
The Foundation for Historic Louisiana dba Preserve Louisiana

The Foundation is committed to preserving the cultural and architectural heritage of Louisiana through advocacy, stewardship, and education and encourages community participation through a number of preservation programs.

—
10
New Orleans Geological Society Memorial Foundation
Education
11
Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce

The mission of the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce is: to promote economic growth for central Louisiana and its citizens; to serve as a business advocate for our members; and to foster a business climate that supports business and…

—
12
Together Louisiana

Together Louisiana is a network of faith and community institutions that works to strengthen local leadership and support practical solutions to everyday challenges. Its mission focuses on helping communities work together across race…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lsu Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Iberia Development Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

59 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 59 of the 126 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
20
Early backer (in before they grew)
56/59
Grantees still filing
39/59
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

ST BERNARD PARISH GOVERNMENT: $6,503,363 · OtherST BERNARD PARISH GOVERNMENTIndividual grant recipient: $970,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientIndividual grant recipient: $383,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $375,000 · Other+87 more: $2,149,367 · Other+87 moreGLASSROOTS: $2,000,000 · EnvironmentGLASSROOTS+4 more: $78,025 · EnvironmentNEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $389,910 · Arts & CultureGREATER NEW ORLEANS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATION: $250,000 · Arts & CultureEDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATION: $150,000 · Arts & CultureGOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS: $148,271 · Arts & CultureINTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $106,900 · Arts & Culture+5 more: $16,350 · Arts & CultureNunez Community College Foundation: $605,918 · PhilanthropyTHE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION: $201,667 · Philanthropy+5 more: $34,500 · PhilanthropyLSU FOUNDATION: $345,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $255,709 · EducationUniversity of New Orleans Foundation: $75,000 · Education+2 more: $13,500 · EducationCommunity Center of St Bernard: $619,800 · Public Safety & Disaster+1 more: $13,000 · Public Safety & DisasterSt Bernard Economic Development Foundat: $268,947 · Community ImprovementST BERNARD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $92,570 · Community ImprovementGREATER NEW ORLEANS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $20,205 · Community Improvement+3 more: $5,775 · Community Improvement
Other$10,381,730Environment$2,078,025Arts & Culture$1,061,431Philanthropy$842,085Education$689,209Public Safety & Disaster$632,800Community Improvement$387,497

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10k$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetCommunity Center of St Bernard: $619,800 over 8y, 52% of budgetNunez Community College Foundation: $605,918 over 8y, 7.8% of budgetNEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION: $389,910 over 7y, 5.5% of budgetLSU FOUNDATION: $345,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetSt Bernard Economic Development Foundat: $268,947 over 7y, 19% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: $255,709 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER NEW ORLEANS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATION: $250,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetFAMILY VIOLENCE PROGRAM OF ST BERNARD: $203,680 over 6y, 8.7% of budgetTHE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION: $201,667 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetST BERNARD 4-H FOUNDATION: $158,500 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetEDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATION: $150,000 over 3y, 2.7% of budgetGOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS: $148,271 over 3y, 17% of budgetINTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $106,900 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetST BERNARD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: $92,570 over 6y, 12% of budgetUniversity of New Orleans Foundation: $75,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetLOS ISLENOS HERITAGE AND CULTURAL SOCIETY: $63,500 over 8y, 18% of budgetNOLA Tree Project: $47,000 over 4y, 6.4% of budgetST BERNARD AUTISM AWARENESS KREWE: $40,000 over 6y, 6.0% of budgetThe Arc of Greater New Orleans: $22,900 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGREATER NEW ORLEANS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $20,205 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetRaphael Academy: $20,000 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetLOUISIANA CRAWFISH FEST FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetCOALITION TO RESTORE COASTAL LOUISIANA: $13,025 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCOMMON GROUND RELIEF INC: $13,000 over 3y, 4.9% of budgetNEW ORLEANS REGIONAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE INC: $12,500 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetCENTRAL CITY RENAISSANCE ALLIANCE: $12,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetNEW HEIGHTS THERAPY CENTER INC: $11,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetPONTCHARTRAIN CONSERVANCY: $11,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL FOOD AND BEVERAGE FOUNDATION: $10,200 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetSTEM LIBRARY LAB: $10,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetCHILDREN'S HOSPITAL INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetST BERNARD PARISH JUVENILE DRUG COURT INC: $10,000 over 4y, 2.7% of budgetRaphael Village: $7,500 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS: $7,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE SPIRIT OF ST BERNARD FOUNDATION: $5,400 over 3y, 1.6% of budgetSOUTHEAST LOUISIANA LEGAL SERVICES CORP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetSCOTT'S WISH INC: $5,000 over 1y, 5.6% of budgetPrescription Joy: $4,250 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetThe Compassionate Friends Inc: $4,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCrown Group Foundation: $4,000 over 1y, 100% of budgetFRIENDS OF A STUDIO IN THE WOODS: $3,750 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetIBERIA DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetJunior Achievement of Greater New Orleans Inc: $1,300 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetJERUSALEM SHRINERS: $1,120 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLOUISIANA STATE TROOPERS ASSN: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetVIEUX CARRE PROPERTY OWNERS RESIDENTS AND ASSOCIATES INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds GLASSROOTS ↗
  • Who funds Community Center of St Bernard ↗
  • Who funds Nunez Community College Foundation ↗
  • Who funds NEW ORLEANS CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds LSU FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds St Bernard Economic Development Foundat ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE HAMLINE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ↗
  • Who funds GREATER NEW ORLEANS EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY VIOLENCE PROGRAM OF ST BERNARD ↗
  • Who funds THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ST BERNARD 4-H FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds GOAT IN THE ROAD PRODUCTIONS ↗
  • Who funds INTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds ST BERNARD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ↗
  • Who funds CASA - NEW ORLEANS ↗
  • Who funds University of New Orleans Foundation ↗
  • Who funds LOS ISLENOS HERITAGE AND CULTURAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds NOLA Tree Project ↗
  • Who funds ST BERNARD AUTISM AWARENESS KREWE ↗
  • Who funds The Arc of Greater New Orleans ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Greater New Orlea…Baptist Community Min…United Way of Southea…Goldring Family Found…Foundation for Louisi…Northshore Community …Shell USA Company Fou…Gustaf Westfeldt McIl…Patrick F Taylor Foun…Ella West Freeman Fou…Oscar J Tolmas Charit…The Gpoa Foundation
The Greater New Orleans FoundationLA57.6× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater New Orleans Foundation · Baptist Community Ministries · United Way of Southeast Louisiana · Goldring Family Foundation · Foundation for Louisiana · Northshore Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · Gustaf Westfeldt McIlhenny Family Founda · Patrick F Taylor Foundation · Ella West Freeman Foundation · Oscar J Tolmas Charitable Trust · The Gpoa Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Shriners Hospitals for Children: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
10report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Arlene & Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 126 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Arlene & Joseph Meraux’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home