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Merchants Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Merchants Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$450k
Granted FY2024still arriving
35
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$90k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead
04Through 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, FY2023 to 2024.

Housing & Shelter$149kEducation$127kCommunity Improvement$111kHuman Services$61kFood & Nutrition$29kHealth$24kYouth Development$23kRecreation & Sports$20kOther$0
02FY2024 · 35 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k22 grants · $50k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $135k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $265k
$5,000
Median grant
8
States reached
$500
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INDIANA UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC$90,000
RDOOR - FKA (MERCHANTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORP)$75,000
GREATER INDIANAPOLIS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY$50,000
COBURN PLACE$50,000
PROVIDENCE CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL$32,000
FIRST BAPTIST ATHLETICS$20,000
LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION (LISC) INDIANA$20,000
SECOND HELPINGS$13,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF RANDOLPH COUNTY$10,000
THE ARC MINNESOTA$10,000
CATCH THE STARS FOUNDATION$10,000
PARTNERS IN HOUSING$10,000
DOVE RECOVERY HOUSE FOR WOMEN$10,000
MILLION MEAL MOVEMENT$7,020
A KID AGAIN - INDIANA CHAPTER$5,000
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 (FY24–24, $61k) land where the poverty rate runs at 16%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%SAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $587 → 16%COBURN PLACE: $50k → 16%FOSTER SUCCESS: $5k → 16%A KID AGAIN - INDIANA CHAPTER: $5k → 16%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

MN
IL
NY
MA
IN
NJ
DC
FL
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 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
New Hope Services Inc

Provide services in response to individual need

Human Services
2
Feeding Indiana's Hungry Inc

By drawing on varied resources within public agencies and the private sector, we hope to provide hunger relief for those in need throughout Indiana.

Human Services
3
Second Harvest Heartland

Second harvest heartland's mission is to end hunger together. in partnership with more than 1,000 food shelves and hunger-relief programs in minnesota and western wisconsin, we provided 145 million meals to neighbors last year.

Food & Nutrition
4
San Francisco Food Bank

To end hunger in san francisco and marin counties by soliciting food donations nationally, distributing this food to qualifying public service agencies and neighborhood pantries, advocating for improved government food programs, and…

—
5
Society of St Vincent De Paul Archdiocesan Council of Indianapolis Inc

The society of st vincent de paul (archdiocesan council of indianapolis) provides support services and supplies to individuals and families in need, without discrimination. its operations rely heavily on volunteers, and donations come from…

Religion
6
Indiana County Community Action Program

Provide resources for low income clients.

Human Services
7
Nourishing Hope

Nourishing hope provides food, mental health support, and social services to help all our neighbors thrive.

—
8
Freestore Foodbank Inc

Improve lives by eliminating hunger in partnership with our community.

Food & Nutrition
9
Northern Illinois Food Bank

With the support of our community, we provide over 90 million meals annually through our network of over 900 member food pantries and programs across thirteen counties, currently reaching over a half million individuals each month with…

Food & Nutrition
10
Coralville Community Food Pantry

We believe that food is a human right and that food has the power to bring people together. Our vision is to build a stronger, healthier, and hunger-free Coralville community. Powered by community support, the Coralville Community Food…

Food & Nutrition
11
Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership Inc

to create affordable housing solutions for people with low and moderate incomes, and collaborate to enhance the quality of life in Indianapolis neighborhoods.

Housing & Shelter
12
The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri

The food bank for central & northeast missouri is a regional disaster and hunger relief network that acquires and distributes millions of meals each year to help neighbors get the food they need to thrive. (continued on schedule o)the…

Food & Nutrition
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana Inc; the most unlike its peers is Churches of Mercer Cty Food Pantry. 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

27 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. 27 of the 40 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)
26/27
Grantees still filing
8/27
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Fields Market Garden: $81,273 · OtherFields Market GardenRDOOR - FKA (MERCHANTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORP): $75,000 · OtherRDOOR - FKA (MERCHANTS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORP)GREATER INDIANAPOLIS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $50,000 · OtherGREATER INDIANAPOLIS HABITAT FOR HUMANITYPROVIDENCE CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL INC: $32,000 · OtherPROVIDENCE CRISTO REY HIGH SCHOOL INCLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION (LISC) INDIANA: $20,000 · OtherLOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION (LISC) INDIANAINDIANAPOLIS FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: $20,000 · OtherINDIANAPOLIS FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH+12 more: $29,080 · Other+12 moreIndiana University Foundation: $90,000 · EducationIndiana University Fo…CATCH THE STARS FOUNDATION: $10,000 · EducationCATCH THE STARS FOUND…BRIGHTLANE LEARNING CORP: $5,000 · EducationCOBURN PLACE SAFEHAVEN II INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesCOBURN PLACE…FOSTER SUCCESS: $5,000 · Human ServicesFOSTER SUCCE…A KID AGAIN INC: $5,000 · Human ServicesA KID AGAIN …+1 more: $587 · Human ServicesSECOND HELPINGS INC: $13,000 · Food & NutritionMILLION MEAL MOVEMENT INC: $7,020 · Food & NutritionTHE OPEN DOOR: $984 · Food & Nutrition+3 more: $1,849 · Food & NutritionPARTNERS IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $10,000 · Housing & ShelterCOALITION FOR HOMELESSNESS INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION OF GREATER INDPLS INC: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterNEIGHBORLINK INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 · Housing & ShelterVILLAGE OF MERICI INC: $2,500 · Housing & ShelterDOVE RECOVERY HOUSE FOR WOMEN INC: $10,000 · HealthSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $5,000 · HealthGENNESARET FREE CLINIC INC: $5,000 · HealthTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF RANDOLPH COUNTY: $10,000 · Community ImprovementDREAM ALIVE INC: $5,000 · Youth Development
Other$307,353Education$105,000Human Services$60,587Food & Nutrition$22,853Housing & Shelter$22,500Health$20,000Community Improvement$10,000Youth Development$5,000

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 budgetIndiana University Foundation: $90,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOBURN PLACE SAFEHAVEN II INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetSECOND HELPINGS INC: $13,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCATCH THE STARS FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 1y, 4.4% of budgetPARTNERS IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetDOVE RECOVERY HOUSE FOR WOMEN INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ARC MINNESOTA INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMILLION MEAL MOVEMENT INC: $7,020 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetSEEDS OF HOPE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDREAM ALIVE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetBRIGHTLANE LEARNING CORP: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetGENNESARET FREE CLINIC INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCOALITION FOR HOMELESSNESS INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION OF GREATER INDPLS INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEIGHBORLINK INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDATION INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetFOSTER SUCCESS: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetA KID AGAIN INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTWIN CITIES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: $3,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVILLAGE OF MERICI INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGLEANERS FOOD BANK OF INDIANA INC: $2,340 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE OPEN DOOR: $984 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetFOOD BANK OF SOUTH JERSEY INC: $900 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCHURCHES OF MERCER CTY FOOD PANTRY: $648 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetSt Petersburg Free Clinic Inc: $644 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK INC: $638 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAINT FRANCIS HOUSE INC: $587 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNEW YORK COMMON PANTRY: $563 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.

United Way of Central…The Indianapolis Foun…Central Indiana Commu…Nicholas H Noyes Jr M…Lilly Endowment IncHoover Family Foundat…Nina Mason Pulliam Ch…Indiana University He…The Brave Heart Found…Pacers Foundation IncMaurer Family Foundat…Eugene & Marilyn Glic…
United Way of Central Indiana IncIN31.9× affinity13 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Central Indiana Inc · The Indianapolis Foundation Inc · Central Indiana Community Foundation Inc · Nicholas H Noyes Jr Memorial Foundation · Lilly Endowment Inc · Hoover Family Foundation · Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust · Indiana University Health Inc · The Brave Heart Foundation Inc · Pacers Foundation Inc · Maurer Family Foundation Inc · Eugene & Marilyn Glick 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 Merchants Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Merchants Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • Food Bank of South Jersey Inc: 30% of income from government
  • Saint Francis House Inc: 18% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
11report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–40%
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.
04Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Merchants Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Merchants Foundation Inc 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 40 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 Merchants’ 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