New York · Private foundation
Mercer Family 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.
- $15M
- Granted FY2017
- 37
- Grants FY2017
- 35
- Organizations funded FY2017
Read this first · the figures below need context
100% of Mercer Family Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Donors Trust Inc, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 0 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2017, the last year Mercer Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 26 organizations, $15M. It is dated, not current.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
- Median grant, FY2017
- $200,000
- Largest grant, FY2017
- $2,000,000
- States reached, FY2017
- 12
- Total assets, FY2017
- $88M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2022, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Research Center | $2,000,000 | 1 | 14% |
| Reclaim New York Inc | $1,760,000 | 1 | 95% |
| Government Accountability Institute | $1,725,000 | 1 | 70% |
| Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | $750,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Success Academy Charter Schools Inc | $550,000 | 1 | 1% |
| The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies | $500,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Inc | $450,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute | $400,000 | 1 | 3% |
| The Becket Fund | $400,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Cato Institute | $300,000 | 1 | 1% |
Show all 30 grantees
Plus 10 recipients with no EIN on record ($11M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Mercer Family Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 6 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 26 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
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: Donors Trust Inc · Bradley Impact Fund Inc · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Mercer Family Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Mercer Family 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.
About Mercer Family Foundation
- How much does Mercer Family Foundation give?
- Mercer Family Foundation reported 37 grants totaling $15,222,302 in its FY2017 IRS filing.
- What does Mercer Family Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2022, its largest causes are Philanthropy (75%), Health (10%), Public Benefit (5%).
- Who are Mercer Family Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2022: Media Research Center ($2.0M), Reclaim New York Inc ($1.8M), Government Accountability Institute ($1.7M).
- Does Mercer Family Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Mercer Family Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Donors Trust Inc, Bradley Impact Fund Inc, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc.
- Where is Mercer Family Foundation based?
- Mercer Family Foundation is based in NY.
Play a game based on Mercer Family’s filings →