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Merchant Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Merchant Family 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.

$100k
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$25k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2025.

Education$107kHealth$94kFood & Nutrition$65kYouth Development$35kHuman Services$21kInternational$14kEnvironment$13kCommunity Improvement$13kOther$0
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $25k
  • $10k–50k4 grants · $75k
$5,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$406k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
YOUNG LIFE PORTLAND WEST$25,000
MEALS ON WHEELS$25,000
PCC FOUNDATION WOMEN IN TRADE$12,500
PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION$12,500
COMMUNITY CANCER FUND$6,000
TILLAMOOK ESTARIES PARTNERSHIP$5,000
HATCHERY & WILD COEXIST$5,000
FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS$4,000
PENNINSULA FAMILY SERVICES$2,000
HELPING ONE WOMAN$2,000
UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND$1,000
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 (FY20–25, $33k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 88% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%HELPING ONE WOMAN: $2k → 19%WITH LOVE - OREGON: $2k → 8%COMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $6k → 12%COMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $6k → 12%COMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $3k → 12%WITH LOVE - OREGON: $1k → 8%COMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $3k → 12%WITH LOVE OREGON: $500 → 8%COMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $1k → 12%GOOD SAMARITAN MINISTRIES: $1k → 8%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $5k → 12%FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $4k → 12%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.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
MI
NY
OR
NJ
CA
AZ
DC
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.

83%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$296k · 18 repeat orgs$59k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +22% since the first grant, against +13% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 10 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
20

Total granted

$296k
$43k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+22%
+13%

Still filing today

67%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $16k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationHuman ServicesFood & NutritionInternationalYouth DevelopmentArts & CultureOther
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

  • Victory Academy Inc
    3× · 2020–2023 · $75k · revenue +17%
  • PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC
    2× · 2024–2025 · $18k · revenue +3%
  • MEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL
    5× · 2020–2024 · $13k · revenue +22%

Funded once

  • OREGON FOOD BANK
    one grant, 2024 · $10k · revenue -13%
  • SP
    SUNSHINE PANTRY
    one grant, 2020 · $5k
  • KC
    KHESED CHURCH
    one grant, 2024 · $5k
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
Augustana College

Rooted in the liberal arts & sciences & lutheran expression of the christian faith, & is committed to offering a challenging education that develops qualities of mind, spirit, & body necessary for a rewarding life of leadership & service…

Education
2
Portland State University Foundation

Portland state university foundation is responsible for raising and managing private resources to advance psu's priorities and mission to be a leading urban university.

—
3
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
4
University of Portland

The university of portland, an independently governed catholic university guided by the congregation of holy cross, addresses significant questions of human concern through interdisciplinary studies of the arts, sciences, and humanities…

Education
5
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
6
Ashland University

Ashland university, guided by our christian heritage, is a comprehensive, private university that provides a transformative learning experience, shaping graduates who work, serve and lead with integrity in their local, national, and global…

Education
7
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
9
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
10
Western University of Health Sciences

To produce, in a humanistic tradition, health care professionals and biomedical knowledge that will enhance and extend the quality of life in our communities.

—
11
Wilson College

Wilson college empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.

Education
12
Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & clark is a premier private higher education institution offering an exceptional education in an inclusive environment. by fostering critical thinking, innovation, creativity, civic engagement, and leadership, both inside and…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is University of Oregon Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Luis Palau Association. 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

26 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. 26 of the 43 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)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
26/26
Grantees still filing
19/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Victory Academy Inc: $75,000 · EducationVictory Academy IncHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $36,000 · EducationHILLSDALE COLLEGEClackamas Community College Foundation: $30,000 · EducationClackamas Community College Foundation+8 more: $9,000 · Education+8 moreYOUNG LIFE PORTLAND WEST: $43,500 · OtherYOUNG LIFE PORTLAND WESTPCC FOUNDATION WOMEN IN TRADE: $12,500 · OtherPCC FOUNDATION WOMEN IN TRADEOREGON FOOD BANK: $10,000 · OtherOREGON FOOD BANKHATCHERY & WILD COEXIST: $8,000 · OtherHATCHERY & WILD COEXISTAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $7,000 · OtherAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEAN…COMPREHENSIVE RISK REDUCTION FOUNDATION: $6,000 · OtherSUNSHINE PANTRY: $5,000 · OtherKHESED CHURCH: $5,000 · OtherOSU HALE ROCKET TEAM AIAA CO OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $5,000 · Other+13 more: $21,000 · Other+13 moreMEALS ON WHEELS PEOPLE INC: $47,000 · Food & NutritionMEALS ON WHEEL…ST MARY'S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE: $2,000 · Food & NutritionCOMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $18,000 · Human ServicesCOMMUNITY…FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $9,000 · Human ServicesFINANCIAL…WITH LOVE OREGON INC: $3,000 · Human ServicesWITH LOVE…Helping One Woman: $2,000 · Human ServicesHelping O…+1 more: $1,000 · Human ServicesPORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $17,500 · PhilanthropyMEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL: $13,000 · InternationalTILLAMOOK ESTUARIES PARTNERSHIP: $6,000 · Environment
Education$150,000Other$123,000Food & Nutrition$49,000Human Services$33,000Philanthropy$17,500International$13,000Environment$6,000

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 budgetVictory Academy Inc: $75,000 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS PEOPLE INC: $47,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetHILLSDALE COLLEGE: $36,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetClackamas Community College Foundation: $30,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetCOMMUNITY CANCER FUND: $18,000 over 5y, 0.4% of budgetPORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC: $17,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetMEDICAL TEAMS INTERNATIONAL: $13,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetOREGON FOOD BANK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFINANCIAL BEGINNINGS: $9,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE OCEAN CLEANUP FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTILLAMOOK ESTUARIES PARTNERSHIP: $6,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWITH LOVE OREGON INC: $3,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHelping One Woman: $2,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetST MARY'S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE: $2,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE HOWARD UNIVERSITY: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetGood Samaritan Ministries: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLinfield University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTrustees of Hamilton College: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetB-17 ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPACIFIC UNIVERSITY: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLuis Palau Association: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetIllinois Institute of Technology: $1,000 over 1y, 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.

The Oregon Community …Marie Lamfrom Charita…The Reser Family Foun…Gs Donor Advised Phil…The Blackbaud Giving …The Bank of America C…American Online Givin…Natl Christian Charit…Vanguard Charitable E…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
The Oregon Community FoundationOR21.7× affinity9 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Oregon Community Foundation · Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation Trust · The Reser Family Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · The Blackbaud Giving Fund · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile 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 Merchant Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Merchant Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • Tillamook Estuaries Partnership: 100% of income from government
  • Oregon Food Bank: 21% of income from government
  • With Love Oregon Inc: 16% of income from government
  • Medical Teams International: 14% of income from government
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • Portland Community College Foundation Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Linfield University: 4% of income from government
  • Pacific University: 2% of income from government
  • Financial Beginnings: 1% of income from government
  • Clackamas Community College Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely on government for over half their income
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 Merchant Family Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Merchant 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.

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 43 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 Merchant Family’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