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Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation

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.

$168k
Granted FY2024still arriving
39
Grants FY2024still arriving
1
States reached
$15k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0193% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Health$170kHousing & Shelter$135kFood & Nutrition$132kEducation$89kHuman Services$72kArts & Culture$57kYouth Development$57kCrime & Legal$52kOther$0
02FY2024 · 39 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k38 grants · $153k
  • $10k–50k1 grant · $15k
$4,000
Median grant
1
States reached
$2.7M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
URBAN MINISTRIES OF DURHAM$15,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER DURHAM$9,560
CARING HOUSE$8,500
MEALS ON WHEELS OF DURHAM$8,000
FAMILIES MOVING FORWARD$7,200
THE SALVATION ARMY OF DURHAM$7,000
HOUSING FOR NEW HOPE$7,000
YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA$6,000
LATINO EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT PARTNERSHIP$6,000
SENIOR PHARMASSIST$5,000
AUTISM SUPPORT AND ADVOCACY CENTER$5,000
LIFE SKILLS FOUNDATION$5,000
DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION$5,000
LINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER$5,000
DEMENTIA INCLUSIVE INC$5,000
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 (FY20–24, $27k) land where the poverty rate runs at 8%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 0% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%INTERFAITH FOOD SHUTTLE: $10k → 8%NOTE IN THE POCKET: $4k → 8%NATIONAL EMERGENCY CHILD CARE NETWORK: $3k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $6k → 8%YMCA OF THE TRIANGLE AREA: $5k → 8%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.

86%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$831k · 46 repeat orgs$131k to everyone else

46 repeat relationships: 31 still active in FY2024, 15 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

46
16

Total granted

$831k
$104k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+39%

Still filing today

70%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $28k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHealthArts & CultureHuman ServicesFood & NutritionCrime & 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

  • Urban Ministries of Durham Inc
    5× · 2020–2024 · $56k · revenue +22%
  • LC
    LINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $45k · revenue +7%
  • Meals on Wheels of Durham Inc
    5× · 2020–2024 · $38k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • UP
    UNIQUE PLACES TO SAVEgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $15k · revenue +158%
  • TS
    THE SALVATION ARMY OF DURHAM ORANGE AND PERSON COUNTIES
    one grant, 2020 · $10k
  • MADE IN DURHAMgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $10k · revenue +175%
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
Durham Community Land Trustees Inc

Build strong communities by developing, managing, and advocating for permanent affordable housing that provides durham residents with low to moderate incomes a stable foundation for achieving economic security.

Housing & Shelter
2
Stepup Durham

Stepup partners with adults to transform their lives through training in life and employment skills.

Human Services
3
Durham Dreams Youth Mentorship Foundation

To improve outcomes for students in the Durham community by providing programs focused on academic success, social-emotional well being, and leadership.

—
4
Restorative Transitions Inc

Re-entry Program in Durham NC

Crime & Legal
5
The Lgbtq Center of Durham Inc

To create a community where all LGBTQ+ lived experiences are affirmed, supported, and celebrated.

Human Services
6
Student U

Our mission is to empower and equip first-generation college students in durham public schools, their families, and educators to become the leaders that will transform our city.

Education
7
Durham Central Park

Durham central park is an exciting downtown destination that offers a venue for cultural activities and is part of a 24-hour, authentic, walkable, neighborhood for arts, recreation and locally owned businesses.

Community Improvement
8
Durham Congregations in Action

Dcia organizes communities of diverse faiths to work for racial justice, social equity, and human dignity.

Human Services
9
The Durham Museum

Provide relevant educational and entertaining opportunities within the region that exceed customer expectations, while preserving our community's vibrant cultural history.

Arts & Culture
10
NourishNC Inc

NourishNC, Inc.'s goal is to provide healthy food to hungry children, empowering them to succeed in the classroom and in their community

Food & Nutrition
11
Durham Home Inc
—
12
Durham Regional Association of Realtors Inc

To promote real estate by providing ethical, professional services to its members and consumers seeking real estate information

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Housing for New Hope; the most unlike its peers is Central Park School for Children 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

47 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. 47 of the 70 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
10
Early backer (in before they grew)
46/47
Grantees still filing
35/47
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Urban Ministries of Durham Inc: $56,000 · OtherUrban Ministries of Durham IncTHRESHOLD CLUBHOUSE: $34,100 · OtherTHRESHOLD CLUBHOUSEIndividual grant recipient: $32,500 · OtherIndividual grant recipientFAMILIES MOVING FORWARD: $32,200 · OtherFAMILIES MOVING FORWARDTHE SALVATION ARMY OF DURHAM: $25,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $21,000 · OtherDurham County Teen Court & Restitution: $19,000 · OtherTHE TRIANGLE NONPROFIT & VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP CENTER: $20,500 · Other+35 more: $275,692 · Other+35 moreLINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC: $45,000 · HealthLINCOLN COMMUNI…SENIOR PHARMASSIST INC: $34,500 · HealthSENIOR PHARMASS…Autism Support and Advocacy Center: $21,900 · HealthAutism Support …CARING HOUSE INC: $18,500 · HealthCARING HOUSE IN…LOCAL START DENTAL INC: $12,500 · HealthLOCAL START DEN…+1 more: $2,500 · HealthBOOK HARVEST: $27,000 · EducationBOOK HARVESTTHE HILL CENTER INC: $24,500 · EducationTHE HILL CENT…DURHAM TEACHER WAREHOUSE CORP: $13,900 · EducationDURHAM TEACHE…Durham Colored Library Inc: $12,500 · EducationDurham Colore…MADE IN DURHAM: $10,000 · EducationMADE IN DURHA…DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationDURHAM PUBLIC…Latino Educational Achievement Partnership: $6,000 · EducationLatino Educat…DURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $4,000 · Education+1 more: $3,333 · EducationMeals on Wheels of Durham Inc: $38,000 · Food & NutritionMeals on W…PORCH-Durham: $36,200 · Food & NutritionPORCH-Durh…FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $18,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD BANK …MUSEUM OF DURHAM HISTORY: $13,500 · Arts & CultureAMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL INC: $11,000 · Arts & CultureTHE DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL INC: $5,000 · Arts & CultureSOUTHERN DOCUMENTARY FUND: $5,000 · Arts & CultureKIDZNOTES INC: $3,619 · Arts & CultureDURHAM BALLET THEATRE: $3,000 · Arts & CultureHOUSING FOR NEW HOPE: $34,000 · Housing & ShelterCenter for Child and Family Health Inc: $28,000 · Crime & LegalJUSTICEMATTERS INC: $5,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$515,992Health$134,900Education$111,233Food & Nutrition$92,200Arts & Culture$41,119Housing & Shelter$34,000Crime & Legal$33,000

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 budgetUrban Ministries of Durham Inc: $56,000 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetLINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC: $45,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMeals on Wheels of Durham Inc: $38,000 over 5y, 0.9% of budgetPORCH-Durham: $36,200 over 4y, 4.3% of budgetSENIOR PHARMASSIST INC: $34,500 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetHOUSING FOR NEW HOPE: $34,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetFAMILIES MOVING FORWARD: $32,200 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCenter for Child and Family Health Inc: $28,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetBOOK HARVEST: $27,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetTHE HILL CENTER INC: $24,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetAutism Support and Advocacy Center: $21,900 over 4y, 5.5% of budgetTHE TRIANGLE NONPROFIT & VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP CENTER: $20,500 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetDurham County Teen Court & Restitution: $19,000 over 3y, 6.5% of budgetCARING HOUSE INC: $18,500 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $18,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetDURHAM CHILDREN'S INITIATIVE: $15,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetUNIQUE PLACES TO SAVE: $15,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetDURHAM CENTER FOR SENIOR LIFE: $14,982 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF DURHAM AND ORANGE COUNTIES: $14,560 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetDURHAM TEACHER WAREHOUSE CORP: $13,900 over 2y, 9.5% of budgetMUSEUM OF DURHAM HISTORY: $13,500 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE ENO RIVER VALLEY INC: $13,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetDurham Colored Library Inc: $12,500 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetLOCAL START DENTAL INC: $12,500 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetThe Young Men's Christian Association of the Triangle Area Inc (4598): $11,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL INC: $11,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetTRIANGLE RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSERS INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMADE IN DURHAM: $10,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetINTER-FAITH FOOD SHUTTLE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetDURHAMCARES INC: $8,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCommunities In Partnership: $8,500 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetLIFE Skills Foundation: $7,500 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetLatino Educational Achievement Partnership: $6,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetJUSTICEMATTERS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetTHE DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL INC: $5,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSOUTHERN DOCUMENTARY FUND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $4,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetKIDZNOTES INC: $3,619 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetNOTE IN THE POCKET INC: $3,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCentral Park School for Children Foundation: $3,333 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetThe Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle: $3,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDURHAM BALLET THEATRE: $3,000 over 1y, 4.6% of budgetNational Emergency Child Care Network Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetSAMARITAN HEALTH CENTER INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTHE ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY OF DURHAM: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetRESCUE MISSIONS MINISTRIES INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% 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.

Triangle Community Fo…Duke UniversityThe Forest At Duke IncDuke University Healt…Fox Family Foundation…United Way of the Gre…The Mary Duke Biddle …Aj Fletcher FoundationDuke Energy FoundationDurham Congregations …Fm Kirby Foundation I…The Leon Levine Found…
Triangle Community Foundation IncNC63.9× affinity31 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Triangle Community Foundation Inc · Duke University · The Forest At Duke Inc · Duke University Health System Inc · Fox Family Foundation Inc · United Way of the Greater Triangle Inc · The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Missionpost Pmb #101 · Aj Fletcher Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · Durham Congregations in Action · Fm Kirby Foundation Inc · The Leon Levine 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 Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%13%25%38%50%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    19report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–50%
    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 Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation 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 70 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 Durham Merchants Association’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