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Community Foundation of Merced County at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Community foundation

Community Foundation of Merced County

Ensure a permanent source of charitable funds in merced county.

$181k
Granted FY2025still arriving
7
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$71k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$507kArts & Culture$82kHuman Services$56kFood & Nutrition$50kReligion$48kRecreation & Sports$35kHealth$31kAnimals$28kOther$0
02FY2025 · 7 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 7 grants below total $125,810, the rows itemized in this filing. The $180,500 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $54,690 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k5 grants · $39k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $71k
$8,925
Median grant
1
States reached
$1.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE$71,375
KIDS DISCOVERY STATION$15,000
PACHECHO HIGH SCHOOL$8,925
LOS BANOS HIGH SCHOOL$8,925
UC DAVIS$8,235
UC MERCED$8,000
MERCED COUNTY FOOD BANK$5,350
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, $47k) land where the poverty rate runs at 19%, against an area that typically sits at 15%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 15%HINDS HOSPICE: $6k → 19%JMJ MATERNITY HOMES: $10k → 19%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF MERCED COUNTY: $6k → 19%ACE OVERCOMERS: $25k → 19%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.
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.

61%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$535k · 10 repeat orgs$348k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +27% since the first grant, against +14% for those funded once.

10 repeat relationships: 6 still active in FY2025, 4 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

10
24

Total granted

$535k
$348k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+27%
+14%

Still filing today

70%
83%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesArts & CultureRecreation & SportsCommunity ImprovementCrime & LegalOther
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

  • UO
    University of California Merced Foundation
    4× · 2019–2025 · $58k · revenue +27%
  • KD
    KIDS DISCOVERY STATION
    2× · 2019–2025 · $40k · revenue +273%
  • LI
    LOVE INC OF GREATER MERCED
    2× · 2021–2023 · $27k · revenue +26%

Funded once

  • SS
    Steady Studios
    one grant, 2024 · $54k · 28% of their budget
  • VH
    VALLEY HARVEST CHURCH OF MERCED
    one grant, 2024 · $48k
  • AA
    ATWATER AG BOOSTERS ORGANIZATIONgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $30k · revenue +246%
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
Merced College Foundation

To assist and promote the educational services of Merced community college.

Education
2
Merced County Deputy Sheriff's Associati

The merced county deputy sheriff's association is dedicated to supporting the sworn and non-sworn employees of the merced county sheriff's deparment.

Employment
3
Merced High School Quarterback Club

Provide financial support to mhs football

—
4
Merced County Humane Society

To save pets and foster them so they may be adopted, find safe and loving permanent homes for resuce animals.

Animals
5
Merced Theatre Foundation

Restoration and operation of the merced theatre building

Arts & Culture
6
Merced Union High School Education Foundation

Provide educational grants and scholarships

—
7
Merced County Academic Decathalon Association Inc

Academic Decathlon Association

—
8
Mission Merced Incorporated

MERCED RESCUE MISSION: MISSION, VISION AND PURPOSE:Our MISSION is to exhibit the love and caring of Jesus Christ; transforming lives for those in our county who are in physcial and spirtual need.Our VISION is to be the hands, feet and…

Youth Development
9
Merced County Sheriff's Department Community Law Enforcement Office

Merced county sheriff's department community law enforcement office is a non-profit organized to assist the merced county sheriff's department in accomplishing its law enforcement mission, promoting public safety and serving the community…

Crime & Legal
10
Community Foundation of Merced County

Ensure a permanent source of charitable funds in merced county.

Philanthropy
11
Merced Rescue Mission

Our mission is to exhibit the love and caring of jesus christ; transforming lives for those in our county who are in physical and spiritual need.our vision is to be the hands, fee and voice of christ in merced county; advocating for the…

Crime & Legal
12
Merced County Spring Fair Heritage Foundation

Support annual merced county spring fair - los banos, ca

Recreation & Sports
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Merced County Education Foundation; the most unlike its peers is California Lions Camp. 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

27 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. 27 of the 34 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/27
Grantees still filing
19/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LOS BANOS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: $162,630 · OtherLOS BANOS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTMERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT: $158,595 · OtherMERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICTVALLEY HARVEST CHURCH OF MERCED: $48,000 · OtherVALLEY HARVEST CHURCH OF MERCEDUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS: $20,235 · OtherTHE MERCED COUNTY FOOD BANK: $20,350 · OtherSPCA OF MARIPOSA COUNTY: $20,000 · Other+11 more: $97,348 · Other+11 moreUniversity of California Merced Foundation: $58,000 · EducationUniversity of C…LOVE INC OF GREATER MERCED: $27,200 · EducationLOVE INC OF GRE…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FRESNO FOUNDATION: $15,750 · EducationCALIFORNIA STAT…MERCED COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $12,000 · EducationMERCED COUNTY E…CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY STANISLAUS FOUNDATION: $5,500 · EducationKIDS DISCOVERY STATION: $40,000 · Arts & CultureKIDS DISCO…MERCED COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $25,000 · Arts & CultureMERCED COU…MERCED SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $10,000 · Arts & CultureMERCED SYM…GALLO CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $6,500 · Arts & CultureGALLO CENT…Steady Studios: $54,320 · Public BenefitACE OVERCOMERS OF MERCED COUNTY: $25,000 · Human ServicesJMJ MATERNITY HOMES: $10,000 · Human ServicesHinds Hospice: $6,000 · Human ServicesCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresno: $5,500 · Human ServicesATWATER AG BOOSTERS ORGANIZATION: $30,000 · Crime & LegalFRIENDS OF MERCED COUNTY FAIR INC: $20,000 · Recreation & SportsCALIFORNIA LIONS CAMP: $5,000 · Recreation & Sports
Other$527,158Education$118,450Arts & Culture$81,500Public Benefit$54,320Human Services$46,500Crime & Legal$30,000Recreation & Sports$25,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUniversity of California Merced Foundation: $58,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSteady Studios: $54,320 over 1y, 28% of budgetLOVE INC OF GREATER MERCED: $27,200 over 2y, 8.8% of budgetACE OVERCOMERS OF MERCED COUNTY: $25,000 over 1y, 3.2% of budgetMERCED COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $25,000 over 1y, 15% of budgetTHE MERCED COUNTY FOOD BANK: $20,350 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFRIENDS OF MERCED COUNTY FAIR INC: $20,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetSPCA OF MARIPOSA COUNTY: $20,000 over 2y, 7.0% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FRESNO FOUNDATION: $15,750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMERCED FIREFIGHTERS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetMERCED COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $12,000 over 2y, 8.2% of budgetKIWANIS CLUB OF GREATER MERCED: $10,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetJMJ MATERNITY HOMES: $10,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS CHARITIES INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMERCED SYMPHONY ASSOCIATION: $10,000 over 1y, 8.8% of budgetUnited Way of Merced County: $10,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $8,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetRestore Merced: $7,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetGALLO CENTER FOR THE ARTS INC: $6,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHinds Hospice: $6,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWEST HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $5,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY STANISLAUS FOUNDATION: $5,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCatholic Charities of the Diocese of Fresno: $5,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMERCED COUNTY SHERIFFS POSSE: $5,000 over 1y, 3.5% of budgetCALIFORNIA LIONS CAMP: $5,000 over 1y, 4.9% 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.

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.

United Way of Merced …Stewart Family Founda…Ccf Community Initiat…Dignity HealthCentral California Fo…Teichert FoundationThe California Endowm…Enterprise Holdings F…The Blackbaud Giving …American Endowment Fo…Vanguard Charitable E…The Bank of America C…
United Way of Merced CountyCA20× affinity7 shared granteesties to 10 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Merced County · Stewart Family Foundation · Ccf Community Initiatives Fund · Dignity Health · Central California Food Bank · Teichert Foundation · The California Endowment · Enterprise Holdings Foundation · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · American Endowment Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc

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 Community Foundation of Merced County funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Community Foundation of Merced County. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    5report 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.

    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 34 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Community Foundation of Merced County’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