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Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$54M
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
4
States reached
$52M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0196% classified

What it funded, over time

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

Education$62MEnvironment$48MHealth$8.7MPhilanthropy$4.0MInternational$1.8MHuman Services$300kPublic Benefit$115kFood & Nutrition$40kOther$0
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k5 grants · $60k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $200k
  • $250k+3 grants · $54M
$15,000
Median grant
4
States reached
$666M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
TUNNELS TO TOWERS$52,143,750
PINES FOUNDATION$1,000,000
FREEDOM ALLIANCE$400,000
HOPE FOR NEW YORK$200,000
GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INC$15,000
AMERICA'S VETDOGS$15,000
BACK ON MY FEET$10,000
SIOUX FALLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$10,000
THE BANQUET$10,000
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 (FY20–23, $86k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $50k → 20%HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $16k → 20%HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $15k → 20%HELEN KELLER SERVICES FOR THE BLIND: $5k → 20%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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 50% of Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Esther and Harold Mertz Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

55%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$69M · 12 repeat orgs$56M to everyone else

12 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 5 since wound down; 1 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

12
7

Total granted

$69M
$56M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+62%

Still filing today

83%
86%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $10k 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
EducationHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyInternationalPublic BenefitOther
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

  • STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $62M · revenue +392%
  • HF
    HOPE FOR NEW YORK
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.9M · revenue +3%
  • FREEDOM ALLIANCE
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.8M · revenue +39%

Funded once

  • SF
    SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
    one grant, 2020 · $48M
  • PINES OF SARASOTA FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $8.5M · revenue +138%
  • TH
    TOP HONORS INCORPORATED
    one grant, 2020 · $75k · revenue +25%
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
Neurology Associates of Stony Brook University Faculty Practice Corp

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
2
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
3
Santa Fe Community Foundation

The santa fe community foundation inspires philanthropic generosity, strengthens nonprofits, and fosters positive change to build a more vibrant, healthy, and resilient region. the foundation's vision is a thriving northern new mexico,…

Philanthropy
4
Special Forces Foundation

The special forces foundation provides immediate and ongoing support to the special forces community and their families.

Philanthropy
5
Stony Brook Surgical Associates University Faculty Practice Corporation

Provide clinical instruction to and supervision of medical school students, interns and residents and, incident thereto, rendering professional services.

Health
6
Search for Change Inc

Dedicated to improving the quality of life and increasing the self sufficiency of individuals with emotional, social and economic barriers. this is accomplished by providing direct support and assistance needed to enable individuals to…

Human Services
7
Ny Police and Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund Inc

Brief description of the organization's mission the purpose of the fund is to provide assistance to the families of new york city police officers and firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty. after the events of september 11,…

Human Services
8
St Vincent Depaul Rehabilitation Service of Texas Inc

Setting a new standard of employment for people who have disabilities and chronic medical conditions.

Employment
9
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States Inc

The fsmb serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best…

Health
10
Society for Neuroscience

Sfn's mission is to: 1. advance the understanding of the brain and the nervous system by bringing together scientists of all segments of neuroscience, by facilitating the integration of research directed at all levels of biological…

Health
11
The Support Sight Foundation

Empower and educate sight-impaired individuals and their families with disease education knowledge, tools and technology so they may live more independently and maintain a high quality of life.

Health
12
The Northern Michigan University Foundation

The nmu foundation will establish and foster relationships to generate resources that benefit the strategic goals of northern michigan university.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of South Dakota & Montana; the most unlike its peers is National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Childrens Foundation. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

18 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. 18 of the 22 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)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
18/18
Grantees still filing
13/18
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

STEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $62,152,241 · EducationSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION+3 more: $120,000 · EducationSOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT: $47,700,000 · OtherSOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTPINES FOUNDATION: $2,000,000 · Other+7 more: $255,000 · OtherPINES OF SARASOTA FOUNDATION INC: $8,500,000 · Health+1 more: $15,000 · HealthHOPE FOR NEW YORK: $1,950,000 · Philanthropy+1 more: $40,000 · PhilanthropyFREEDOM ALLIANCE: $1,750,000 · InternationalRESTORE NYC INC: $150,000 · Human ServicesBACK ON MY FEET: $130,000 · Human ServicesHelen Keller Services: $85,800 · Human ServicesAMERICA'S VETDOGS THE VETERANS K-9 CORPS INC: $115,000 · Public Benefit
Education$62,272,241Other$49,955,000Health$8,515,000Philanthropy$1,990,000International$1,750,000Human Services$365,800Public Benefit$115,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSTEPHEN SILLER TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION: $62,152,241 over 5y, 9.3% of budgetHOPE FOR NEW YORK: $1,950,000 over 5y, 10% of budgetFREEDOM ALLIANCE: $1,750,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetRESTORE NYC INC: $150,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetBACK ON MY FEET: $130,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetAMERICA'S VETDOGS THE VETERANS K-9 CORPS INC: $115,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetGUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INC: $115,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetHelen Keller Services: $85,800 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetSIOUX FALLS AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $40,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BANQUET: $40,000 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetFLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $35,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetNational Law Enforcement and Firefighters Childrens Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSPARKYOUTH NYC INC: $20,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA & MONTANA: $15,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetLong Island Alzheimers and Dementia Center Inc: $15,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSOUTHEAST TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 2.4% 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.

Sanford Group ReturnJpmorgan Chase Founda…The Bank of America C…Morgan Stanley Global…National Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …Charities Aid Foundat…Network for GoodAmerican Online Givin…Vanguard Charitable E…Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…
Sanford Group ReturnSD13.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

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
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 Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Esther and Harold Mertz Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%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
    2get no government money at all
    3report 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.

    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 22 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 Esther and Harold Mertz’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