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Janis Chapman Merrill Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Janis Chapman Merrill Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$280k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
2
States reached
$35k
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, FY2018 to 2025.

Human Services$904kHealth$449kEducation$181kYouth Development$143kHousing & Shelter$95kFood & Nutrition$55kRecreation & Sports$30kPhilanthropy$15k
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

$30,000
Median grant
2
States reached
$5.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
BRIGHTER WAY INSTITUTE$35,000
SAVE THE FAMILY$35,000
ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION$30,000
STREETS OF DESTINY GLOBAL OUTREACH CENTER$30,000
UMOM$30,000
TREVORS VISION INC$30,000
CIRCLE THE CITY$25,000
ONE N TEN$20,000
PHOENIX CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL$20,000
SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC$15,000
ELAINE$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 (FY18–25, $358k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, 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%CIRCLE THE CITY: $25k → 11%ELAINE: $10k → 11%ELAINE: $5k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $63k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $50k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $40k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $40k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $40k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $30k → 11%ARIZONA FRIENDS OF FOSTER CHILDREN FOUNDATION: $20k → 11%SUNSHINE ACRES CHILDREN'S HOME INC: $20k → 11%SUNSHINE ACRES CHILDREN'S HOME: $15k → 11%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.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.7M · 18 repeat orgs$196k to everyone else

18 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
7

Total granted

$1.7M
$96k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

0%
+52%

Still filing today

83%
71%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 64% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthEducationHuman ServicesPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterCrime & 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

  • AF
    Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation
    7× · 2019–2025 · $283k · revenue +67%
  • CC
    CHILD CRISIS ARIZONA
    6× · 2018–2023 · $194k · revenue +140%
  • AN
    A NEW LEAF
    6× · 2019–2024 · $185k · revenue +107%

Funded once

  • AN
    A NEW LEAF FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2018 · $35k
  • SA
    SCHOLARSHIP AMERICA INC (TEMPE DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS INC)
    one grant, 2019 · $25k
  • UL
    UPI Loan Fund
    one grant, 2022 · $15k
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
Arizona's Children Association

The mission of arizona's children association is to protect children, empower youth, and strengthen families.

Human Services
2
Foster 360

Foster360 equips former clients of the foster care system to break the cycle of homelessness and abuse.

Human Services
3
Creighton Community Foundation

Creighton community foundation's (ccf) core program "community works" leverages neighborhood schools to support vibrant communities in the poorest parts of urban phoenix, where neighborhoods suffer from poverty- driven disadvantage and…

Philanthropy
4
La Paloma Family Services Inc

We build relationships that enhance the development of skills, foster a sense of worth and enhance a belief in each child's individual potential.

—
5
City Help Inc of Phoenix

Our mission is to reach in and mine the incredible potential we believe lies within the lives of at-risk youth, the homeless, and needy families of our community by restoring hope and allowing them to dream again.

Human Services
6
Urban Peak Denver

Urban peak helps youth experiencing homelessness and youth at risk of becoming homeless overcome real life challenges by providing essential services and a supportive community, empowering them to become self-sufficient adults.

Housing & Shelter
7
Christian Family Care Agency Inc

The mission of christian family care is to strengthen families and serve at-risk children in the name of jesus christ. the outcome of our work results in building flourishing families and communities focusing on three pillars: preserve,…

Human Services
8
Citrus Health Network Inc

To provide primary care and behavioral health services to children, adults, and families in south florida across a broad range of health services and community-based programs; and to oversee the coordinated child welfare system of care…

—
9
Chicanos Por La Causa Inc Cplc

We drive economic and political empowerment.

Human Services
10
Honorhealth

Honorhealth's mission is to improve the health and well-being of those we serve.

Health
11
Onward Hope Incorporated

We are committed to improving and assisting the successful transition of at-risk young people to independent adulthood and supporting resilient families, by connecting them to resources.

Human Services
12
Arizona Latin-American Medical Association
Unclassified
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is A New Leaf; the most unlike its peers is Upi Loan Fund. 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

23 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. 23 of the 29 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)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
23/23
Grantees still filing
11/23
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

A NEW LEAF: $185,000 · HealthA NEW LEAFBRIGHTER WAY INSTITUTE: $170,380 · HealthBRIGHTER WAY INSTITUTEThe Devereux Foundation: $95,000 · HealthThe Devereux FoundationPhoenix Children's Hospital: $45,000 · HealthPhoenix Children's Hospital+1 more: $5,000 · HealthSAVE THE FAMILY: $155,000 · OtherSAVE THE FAMILYTEMPE DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS: $141,057 · OtherTEMPE DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARSA NEW LEAF FOUNDATION: $35,000 · OtherA NEW LEAF FOUNDATIONJAAM FOUNDATION: $30,000 · OtherJAAM FOUNDATIONSTREETS OF DESTINY GLOBAL OUTREACH CENTER: $30,000 · OtherSTREETS OF DESTINY GLOBAL OUTREAC…SCHOLARSHIP AMERICA INC (TEMPE DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS INC): $25,000 · OtherFOSTER ARIZONA: $60,000 · OtherFOSTER ARIZONATREVORS VISION INC: $30,000 · OtherTREVORS VISION INCCORBINS LEGACY: $22,000 · Other+2 more: $18,000 · OtherArizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation: $282,775 · Human ServicesArizona Friends of Fo…SUNSHINE ACRES CHILDREN'S HOME INC: $35,000 · Human ServicesSUNSHINE ACRES CHILDR…CIRCLE THE CITY: $25,000 · Human ServicesCIRCLE THE CITYElaine: $15,000 · Human ServicesCHILD CRISIS ARIZONA: $194,057 · Crime & LegalCHILD CRISI…GOMPERS: $98,531 · EducationYOUTHENTITY: $18,000 · EducationKIDS NEED TO READ: $10,000 · EducationTHE FOSTER ALLIANCE: $7,500 · EducationMesa Public Schools Foundation: $5,000 · EducationUMOM NEW DAY CENTERS INC: $55,000 · Housing & ShelterSLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE INC: $15,000 · Housing & Shelter1N10 INC: $65,000 · Civil Rights
Health$500,380Other$546,057Human Services$357,775Crime & Legal$194,057Education$139,031Housing & Shelter$70,000Civil Rights$65,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetArizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation: $282,775 over 7y, 1.7% of budgetCHILD CRISIS ARIZONA: $194,057 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetA NEW LEAF: $185,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetBRIGHTER WAY INSTITUTE: $170,380 over 6y, 1.4% of budgetGOMPERS: $98,531 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetThe Devereux Foundation: $95,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budget1N10 INC: $65,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetFOSTER ARIZONA: $60,000 over 3y, 2.9% of budgetUMOM NEW DAY CENTERS INC: $55,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital: $45,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTREVORS VISION INC: $30,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetCIRCLE THE CITY: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCORBINS LEGACY: $22,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetYOUTHENTITY: $18,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetElaine: $15,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetKIDS NEED TO READ: $10,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE FOSTER ALLIANCE: $7,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMesa Public Schools Foundation: $5,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetDiana Gregory Outreach Services: $3,000 over 1y, 1.2% 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.

Arizona Community Fou…John F Long Foundatio…Thunderbirds CharitiesGarcia Family Foundat…BHHS Legacy FoundationNina Mason Pulliam Ch…Virginia G Piper Char…Mesa United Way IncMc Companies - Sharin…The Diane and Bruce H…Phoenix Suns Charitie…Union Pacific Foundat…
Arizona Community FoundationAZ28.1× affinity12 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Arizona Community Foundation · John F Long Foundation Inc · Thunderbirds Charities · Garcia Family Foundation · BHHS Legacy Foundation · Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust · Virginia G Piper Charitable Trust · Mesa United Way Inc · Mc Companies - Sharing the Good Life Foundation · The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation · Phoenix Suns Charities Inc · Union Pacific 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 Janis Chapman Merrill Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Janis Chapman Merrill Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    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 29 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 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Janis Chapman Merrill’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