South Dakota · Private foundation
Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation
Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.
- $54M
- Granted FY2024(still arriving)
- 9
- Grants FY2024
- 11
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 18%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Median grant, FY2024
- $15,000
- Largest grant, FY2024
- $52,143,750
- Organizations funded a year
- 9 to 12
- FY2020 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2024
- 4
- Total assets, FY2024
- $666M
- Applications
- Takes unsolicited applications
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 18% of the organizations Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 51% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 49% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $1.0M went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024still arriving | 8 | $54M | 13% |
| FY2023 | 11 | $2.0M | 18% |
| FY2022 | 9 | $1.1M | 11% |
| FY2021 | 12 | $11M | 33% |
| FY2020 | 12 | $57M | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | $62,152,241 | 5 | 9% |
| Pines of Sarasota Foundation Inc | $8,500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hope for New York | $1,950,000 | 5 | 10% |
| Freedom Alliance | $1,750,000 | 5 | 3% |
| Restore NYC Inc | $150,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Back on My Feet | $130,000 | 4 | 1% |
| America's Vetdogs the Veterans K-9 Corps Inc | $115,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc | $115,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Helen Keller Services | $85,800 | 4 | 0% |
| Top Honors Incorporated | $75,000 | 1 | n/a |
Show all 16 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation | $62,152,241 | 5 | 9% |
| Pines of Sarasota Foundation Inc | $8,500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hope for New York | $1,950,000 | 5 | 10% |
| Freedom Alliance | $1,750,000 | 5 | 3% |
| Restore NYC Inc | $150,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Back on My Feet | $130,000 | 4 | 1% |
| America's Vetdogs the Veterans K-9 Corps Inc | $115,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind Inc | $115,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Helen Keller Services | $85,800 | 4 | 0% |
| Top Honors Incorporated | $75,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Banquet | $40,000 | 3 | 1% |
| Florida Southwestern State College Foundation Inc | $35,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Sparkyouth NYC Inc | $20,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Dakota & Montana | $15,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Long Island Alzheimers and Dementia Center Inc | $15,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Southeast Technical College Foundation | $10,000 | 1 | 2% |
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 4 recipients with no EIN on record ($50M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation supplied at peak.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Sanford Group Return · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · Charities Aid Foundation America · Network for Good · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc
How this is measured
Compare Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation with peer funders
About Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation
- How much does Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation give?
- Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation reported 9 grants totaling $53,803,750 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 9 and 12 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
- What does Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Education (50%), Environment (38%), Health (7%).
- Who are Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation ($62M), Pines of Sarasota Foundation Inc ($8.5M), Hope for New York ($1.9M).
- Does Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 18% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it accepts unsolicited grant applications.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Sanford Group Return, Jpmorgan Chase Foundation, The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc.
- Where is Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation based?
- Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation is based in SD.
Play a game based on Esther and Harold Mertz’s filings →