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Mercy for Animals Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Mercy for Animals Inc

Mercy for animals' mission is to construct a compassionate food system that is not just kind to animals but essential for the future of our planet and all who share it.

$7.0M
Granted FY2024still arriving
9
Grants FY2024still arriving
8
States reached
$65k
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 2024.

Food & Nutrition$613kAnimals$520kArts & Culture$180kCivil Rights$33kScience & Tech$20kEnvironment$16kEmployment$6k
02FY2024 · 9 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 9 grants below total $232,800, the rows itemized in this filing. The $7,018,515 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $6,785,715 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $10k–50k8 grants · $168k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $65k
$20,600
Median grant
8
States reached
$30M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
A WELL-FED WORLD$64,800
BETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC$30,600
GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT$20,600
BLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND$20,600
VEGGIE MIJAS$20,600
PLANT THE POWER$20,600
RETHINK YOUR FOOD INC$20,000
APEX ADVOCACY$20,000
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE$15,000
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 94% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%STOCKHOLM ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE US INC: $10k → 8%NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE COALITION: $6k → 12%VEGGIE MIJAS: $21k → 12%FIVE POINTS YOUTH FOUNDATION INC: $7k → 14%CHILIS ON WHEELS: $10k → 17%GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $50k → 20%LET LOVE LIVE: $15k → 16%ALL RELATIONS UNITED: $20k → 23%A TABLE IN THE WILDERNESS: $10k → 16%A WELL-FED WORLD: $147k → 13%RETHINK YOUR FOOD INC: $20k → 13%WOMEN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE NETWORK: $6k → 17%BETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC: $31k → 12%OPERATION SPRING PLANT: $15k → 11%VEGAN MEALS THAT HEAL INC: $8k → 8%APEX ADVOCACY: $35k → 14%PLANT THE POWER: $21k → 15%NORTHWEST ANIMAL RIGHTS NETWORK (NARN): $14k → 9%LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND A&M COLLEGE: $15k → 19%AFRO-VEGAN SOCIETY: $43k → 11%THE PLANTATION PARK HEIGHTS URBAN FARM: $7k → 19%SUPRSEED INC: $10k → 14%GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $21k → 17%GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $20k → 20%A WELL-FED WORLD: $111k → 13%RETHINK YOUR FOOD INC: $20k → 13%APEX ADVOCACY: $21k → 14%PLANT THE POWER: $20k → 15%BLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $33k → 19%SUPRSEED: $8k → 14%OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE: $6k → 17%GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $15k → 20%A WELL-FED WORLD: $90k → 13%RETHINK YOUR FOOD INC: $20k → 13%APEX ADVOCACY: $20k → 14%PLANT THE POWER: $20k → 15%BLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $21k → 19%INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION: $150k → 14%GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $10k → 20%A WELL-FED WORLD: $65k → 13%GEORGIA ANIMAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION INC: $16k → 14%BLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $20k → 19%FOOD CHAIN WORKERS INC: $6k → 14%A WELL-FED WORLD: $40k → 13%BLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $6k → 19%BLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESS: $25k → 14%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
NY
MA
OR
IA
OH
CA
NE
MD
NM
NC
DC
OK
LA
GA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $6.8M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 3 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

South America$4.7M · 69% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: OPERATING EXPENSES

North America (Canada and Mexico)$1.9M · 28% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: OPERATING EXPENSES

South Asia$197k · 3% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: OPERATING EXPENSES

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

67%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$925k · 7 repeat orgs$463k to everyone else

7 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2024, 0 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

7
22

Total granted

$925k
$428k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-20%
+10%

Still filing today

71%
64%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 85% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $36k 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
Food & NutritionAnimalsArts & CultureHealthCivil RightsScience & TechOther
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

  • AW
    A Well-Fed World
    5× · 2020–2024 · $453k · revenue +3%
  • GA
    GRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT
    5× · 2020–2024 · $116k
  • BF
    BETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $81k · revenue -20%

Funded once

  • INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2021 · $150k · revenue -17%
  • BH
    BETTER HEALTH BETTER LIFE INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $43k · revenue ×233
  • BLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESSgraduated
    one grant, 2022 · $25k · revenue +49%
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
Black Urban Farmers Association
Food & Nutrition
2
Animal Alliance Asia

Our mission is to build and mobilize a community of local animal justice and vegan advocates across Asia to create waves of impactful actions for a better world for farmed animals.

Animals
3
A Greener World

A Greener World empowers sustainable solutions in agriculture, promoting and supporting real-life farming models to the public and offering farmers and ranchers practical guidance, resources and support on achieving truly sustainable…

Food & Nutrition
4
A Just World

Our mission is to promote a world where all beings live a just life of dignity and respect. To this end, we engage in practical actions, raise funds, spread understanding and foster compassion.

Animals
5
Seed Peace

To grow the local food supply by supporting farmers, preparing food plants for climate change and increasing health giving food availability for people in need

—
6
Food and Planet

The mission of Food & Planet is to empower nutrition professionals to advance sustainable food systems through our programs and resources. Over the past year, we have engaged with partners to develop several key resources and learning…

Food & Nutrition
7
Planted Society

The mission of Planted Society is to connect empower and support communities working to improve life for all living beings.

Environment
8
Zero Foodprint

Zero foodprint is mobilizing the food world around agricultural climate solutions. our work aims to create a circular economy that incentivizes practices that actively draw down carbon dioxide and offer our best hope of addressing the…

Food & Nutrition
9
Food Action

Our mission is to educate, organize and advocate for food and farming systems to become economically prosperous, ecologically sound and socially equitable.

—
10
Animal Outlook Inc

Animal outlook is a national animal protection organization working to end the abuse of farmed animals using a variety of strategies, including investigations, legal advocacy, corporate and food system reform, and vegan outreach.

Animals
11
Sustainable Growers
—
12
Thrive Philanthropy Incorporated

Thrive Philanthropy accelerates alternatives to industrial animal agriculture and creates just, plant-based food systems by expanding the size, sophistication, and impact of frontline organizations through equitable grantmaking and…

Public Benefit
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Better Food Foundation Inc; the most unlike its peers is All Relations United. 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

20 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. 20 of the 31 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.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
4
Early backer (in before they grew)
19/20
Grantees still filing
11/20
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

A Well-Fed World: $452,800 · Food & NutritionA Well-Fed WorldBETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC: $80,600 · Food & NutritionBETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INCBLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $79,400 · Food & NutritionBLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLANDRETHINK YOUR FOOD INC: $60,000 · Food & NutritionRETHINK YOUR FOOD INCBETTER HEALTH BETTER LIFE INC: $43,250 · Food & NutritionBETTER HEALTH BETTER LIFE INC+5 more: $48,217 · Food & Nutrition+5 moreGRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEMENT: $115,625 · OtherGRASSROOTS ARTISTS MOVEM…PLANT THE POWER: $60,600 · OtherPLANT THE POWERVEGGIE MIJAS: $20,600 · OtherVEGGIE MIJASSTANFORD UNIVERSITY: $20,000 · OtherSTANFORD UNIVERSITYGEORGIA ANIMAL RIGHTS AND PROTECTION INC: $16,200 · OtherGEORGIA ANIMAL RIGHTS AN…LOUISIANA BOARD OF REGENTS: $15,000 · OtherCHILIS ON WHEELS VIA A WELL-FED WORLD: $10,000 · Other+6 more: $41,200 · Other+6 moreINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 · Arts & CultureINTERNATIONAL…ALL RELATIONS UNITED: $20,000 · Arts & CultureALL RELATIONS…APEX ADVOCACY INC: $76,000 · Civil RightsBLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESS: $25,000 · HealthHIP HOP IS GREEN: $15,000 · HealthLET LOVE LIVE: $15,000 · AnimalsNorthwest Animal Rights Network: $14,000 · AnimalsSTOCKHOLM ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE US INC: $10,000 · Science & Tech
Food & Nutrition$764,267Other$299,225Arts & Culture$170,000Civil Rights$76,000Health$40,000Animals$29,000Science & Tech$10,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetA Well-Fed World: $452,800 over 5y, 5.1% of budgetINTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FOUNDATION INC: $150,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetBETTER FOOD FOUNDATION INC: $80,600 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetBLACK VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND: $79,400 over 4y, 12% of budgetAPEX ADVOCACY INC: $76,000 over 3y, 25% of budgetRETHINK YOUR FOOD INC: $60,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetBLACK WOMEN FOR WELLNESS: $25,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetOperation Spring Plant: $15,217 over 1y, 2.2% of budgetLET LOVE LIVE: $15,000 over 1y, 2.3% of budgetHIP HOP IS GREEN: $15,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetNorthwest Animal Rights Network: $14,000 over 1y, 5.1% of budgetA TABLE IN THE WILDERNESS: $10,000 over 1y, 44% of budgetSTOCKHOLM ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE US INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSUPRSEED Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetPlantation Park Heights Urban Farming: $7,000 over 1y, 8.3% of budgetFOOD CHAIN WORKERS ALLIANCE: $6,200 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetCENTER FOR RURAL AFFAIRS: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $6,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetWOMEN FOOD & AGRICULTURE NETWORK: $6,000 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.

The Quinn FoundationVegfund IncAnimal Charity Evalua…ImpactassetsincA Well-Fed WorldKaruna FoundationSeattle FoundationThe Schmidt Family Fo…Rsf Social Finance IncSilicon Valley Commun…Vanguard Charitable E…Paypal Charitable Giv…
The Quinn FoundationKS26.2× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Quinn Foundation · Vegfund Inc · Animal Charity Evaluators · Impactassetsinc · A Well-Fed World · Karuna Foundation · Seattle Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Rsf Social Finance Inc · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund

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 Mercy for Animals Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Mercy for Animals Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    5get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely 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 Mercy for Animals Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Mercy for Animals 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 31 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 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 Mercy for Animals’ 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