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Meridian Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Meridian Foundation

Its FY2018 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$861k
Granted FY2018
18
Grants FY2018
13
States reached
$500k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its fieldRead

Read this first · the figures below need context

65% of Meridian Foundation’s FY2018 grant dollars went to Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, not to grantees.

Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2018 names 11 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it.

Organizations named directly on the return

1
’17
11
’18

Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.

01What it funds
0189% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2018.

Philanthropy$557kReligion$173kEducation$90kRecreation & Sports$33kScience & Tech$13kOther$0
02FY2018 · 18 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2018

  • Under $10k6 grants · $28k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $148k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $186k
  • $250k+1 grant · $500k
$10,000
Median grant
13
States reached
$25k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund$500,000
Christians at East Lansing$78,608
JPMorgan Charitable Giving Fund$57,158
Princeton Evangelical Fellowship$50,000
Calvin College$35,000
Southern California Equestrian Sports$28,000
Emmaus Bible College$25,000
His Mansion Ministries$20,000
Sim USA$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
Chicago Hope Academy$10,000
Adrian Dominian Sisters$10,000
New Life Ranch$9,000
The Brian Kennedy Foundation$5,000
Haslett Public Schools$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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–18) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 91% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%JPMorgan Charitable Giving Fund: $57k → 7%Southern California Equestrian Sports: $28k → 14%Institution for Creation Research: $3k → 14%New Life Ranch: $9k → 18%Cornerstone Magazine Inc: $5k → 11%Cru: $1k → 13%Emmaus Bible College: $25k → 11%Calvin College: $35k → 11%Adrian Dominian Sisters: $10k → 12%Christians at East Lansing: $79k → 16%Christian Workers Fellowship: $10k → 16%Sim USA: $10k → 10%Chicago Hope Academy: $10k → 14%Princeton Evangelical Fellowship: $50k → 11%His Mansion Ministries: $20k → 7%Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund: $500k → 11%Calvin College: $15k → 11%Haslett Public Schools: $5k → 16%The Brian Kennedy Foundation: $5k → 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

NH
IL
MI
IA
PA
NJ
CA
KY
KS
NC
OK
TX
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
California Baptist University

A private institution of higher education, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses to students.

Education
2
Evangel University

Evangel is a comprehensive christian university that is committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to become spirit empowered servants of god who will impact the church and society globally.

Education
3
Calvin Theological Seminary

Calvin theological seminary exists to serve the christian reformed church in north america and wider constituencies by preparing persons for biblically faithful and contextually effective ministry of the word and by offering reformed…

Education
4
Criswell College

The mission of criswell college is to provide ministerial and professional higher education for men and women preparing to serve as christian leaders throughout society, while maintaining an institutional commitment to biblical inerrancy.

Education
5
Trinity Christian College Association

Provide a biblically informed liberal arts education to undergraduate and graduate college students. we strive to offer the highest quality of instruction to prepare students for excellence in further study and careers beyond trinity. all…

Education
6
Calvary University

Calvary university is an independent non-denominational institution providing undergraduate and graduate education which prepares christians to live and serve in the church and the world according to a biblical worldview. this is…

—
7
Champion Christian College Inc

To develop christ-centered servant leaders through a challenging academic environment in order to impact the world for the kingdom of god.

Education
8
Barclay College

The mission of barclay college is to prepare students in a bible-centered environment for effective christian life, service, and leadership.

Education
9
North Greenville University

North greenville university exists to glorify god by cultivating graduates who are equipped to serve as transformational leaders for church and society.

Education
10
Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

To prepare students to serve christ and his church through biblical, experiential and practical ministry. prts provides theological training and instruction in accordance with the scriptures and the historic reformed creeds for promotion…

Education
11
Bethel University

We educate and equip students to lead lives of impact through transformative academics in a christ-centered community.

Education
12
Pacific School of Religion

Pacific school of religion prepares a diverse cadre of spiritually rooted leaders with the vision, resilience, and skill to create a world where all can thrive. grounded in the rigorous study and faithful practice of progressive christian…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Emmaus Bible College; the most unlike its peers is Southern California Equestrian Sports. 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

9 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. 9 of the 18 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
9/9
Grantees still filing
7/9
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $500,000 · Community ImprovementFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUNDChristians at East Lansing: $78,608 · OtherChristians at East LansingPRINCETON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: $50,000 · OtherPRINCETON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHI…EMMAUS BIBLE COLLEGE: $25,000 · OtherEMMAUS BIBLE COLLEGEHIS MANSION MINISTRIES INC: $20,000 · OtherHIS MANSION MINISTRIES INCSIM USA INCORPORATED: $10,000 · OtherADRIAN DOMINICAN SISTERS: $10,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $10,000 · OtherNEW LIFE RANCH INC: $9,000 · Other+4 more: $13,500 · Other+4 moreCALVIN UNIVERSITY: $50,000 · EducationCHICAGO HOPE ACADEMY: $10,000 · EducationNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST: $57,158 · PhilanthropySOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EQUESTRIAN SPORTS: $28,000 · Recreation & SportsCORNERSTONE MAGAZINE INC: $5,000 · Religion
Community Improvement$500,000Other$226,108Education$60,000Philanthropy$57,158Recreation & Sports$28,000Religion$5,000

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

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetFIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND: $500,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TRUST: $57,158 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCALVIN UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPRINCETON CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: $50,000 over 1y, 6.7% of budgetSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EQUESTRIAN SPORTS: $28,000 over 1y, 4.5% of budgetEMMAUS BIBLE COLLEGE: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCHICAGO HOPE ACADEMY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetNEW LIFE RANCH INC: $9,000 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

Natl Christian Charit…Donor Advised Charita…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
Natl Christian Charitable Fdn IncGA8.1× affinity4 shared granteesties to 4 of 4Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Natl Christian Charitable Fdn Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation 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 Meridian Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Meridian Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%5%10%15%20%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    4get no government money at all
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–20%
    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 18 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 2018, released 2018. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

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    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