Skip to content
Meritage Cares Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Meritage Cares 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.

$1.9M
Granted FY2025still arriving
70
Grants FY2025still arriving
17
States reached
$300k
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, FY2019 to 2025.

Environment$1.5MFood & Nutrition$1.4MEducation$1.2MEmployment$842kHuman Services$450kPhilanthropy$394kPublic Safety & Disaster$333kReligion$266kOther$0
02FY2025 · 70 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k50 grants · $146k
  • $10k–50k11 grants · $244k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $423k
  • $250k+4 grants · $1.1M
$2,500
Median grant
17
States reached
$1.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION$300,000
NO CHILD HUNGRY$250,275
CONVOY OF HOPE$250,000
CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION$250,000
BUILDING TALENT FOUNDATION$160,000
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE TEXAS HILL COUNTY$112,500
FERGUSON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION$50,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GREATER SCOTTSDALE$50,000
SHE BUILT FOUNDATION$50,000
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION$30,000
C4 FOUNDATION$25,000
AMERICAN RED CROSS$25,000
NORTH CAROLINA A&T REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION$25,000
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION$25,000
NAWIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION$23,000
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 (FY19–25, $311k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 68% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%FOR MARICOPA: $3k → 11%HUTTO RESOURCE CENTER: $3k → 6%ANGEL REACH INC: $3k → 9%BIKES FOR GOODNESS SAKE LLC: $8k → 10%INCARNATION HOUSE: $3k → 14%EAST COOPER COMMUNITY OUTREACH: $5k → 12%JESUS HOUSE OF HOPE INC: $5k → 10%BOYS TOWN CENTRAL FLORIDA INC: $13k → 11%LIVE LIKE JAKE: $3k → 11%ECHO OF BRANDON INC: $3k → 13%ALABAMA SHERIFFS YOUTH RANCHES: $3k → 18%YOUTH VILLAGES: $3k → 17%NOTE IN THE POCKET INC: $5k → 8%HOPE'S PATH: $5k → 9%HOSPICE AUSTIN: $5k → 10%SERVANTS WITH A HEART: $3k → 8%EAST COOPER COMMUNITY OUTREACH: $3k → 12%JESUS HOUSE OF HOPE INC: $5k → 10%BOYS TOWN CENTRAL FLORIDA INC: $8k → 11%EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION INC: $62k → 11%SAINT JOHN'S PROGRAM FOR REAL CHANGE: $3k → 12%JESUS HOUSE OF HOPE INC: $3k → 10%BOYS TOWN CENTRAL FLORIDA INC: $5k → 11%EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION INC: $14k → 11%READ AND FEED: $3k → 8%FAMILY TREE INC: $3k → 7%AUSTIN DIAPER BANK: $3k → 10%CITYSQUARE: $3k → 14%JESUS HOUSE OF HOPE INC: $3k → 10%BOYS TOWN CENTRAL FLORIDA INC: $3k → 11%HOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $20k → 7%BOYS TOWN CENTRAL FLORIDA INC: $3k → 11%NOURISH UP: $5k → 10%HOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $5k → 7%MEALS ON WHEELS COLLIN COUNTY: $3k → 5%WONDERS AND WORRIES INC: $3k → 10%SYLVIA THOMAS CENTER FOR ADOPTIVE AND FOSTER FAMILIES: $3k → 13%AUTISM AFTER 18 INC: $3k → 10%HOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $3k → 7%PENDLETON PLACE: $3k → 10%PLACE OF HOPE INC: $3k → 11%JOURNEY LEAGUE: $3k → 8%HOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $3k → 7%EPIPHANY COMMUNITY HEALTH OUTREACH SERV ICES: $5k → 16%HOPE IMPACTS: $5k → 16%HOPE IMPACTS: $5k → 16%CIRCLE THE CITY: $5k → 11%FRESH START WOMEN'S FOUNDATION: $5k → 11%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
MI
NY
OH
PA
CT
CA
UT
CO
NE
MO
KY
VA
AZ
TN
NC
SC
DC
MS
AL
GA
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 grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.4M · 82 repeat orgs$1.6M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +20% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

82 repeat relationships: 35 still active in FY2025, 47 since wound down; 32 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

82
153

Total granted

$5.4M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+20%
+11%

Still filing today

83%
76%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $354k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesEducationHealthFood & NutritionPhilanthropyHousing & ShelterOther
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

  • NA
    NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2025 · $1.5M · revenue +26%
  • NC
    No Child Hungry Inc
    4× · 2022–2025 · $687k · revenue +20%
  • II
    INROADS INC
    4× · 2020–2023 · $230k · revenue +8%

Funded once

  • VO
    VALLEY OF THE SUN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER INC
    one grant, 2023 · $250k · revenue -7%
  • Feeding Americagraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $142k · revenue +40%
  • AMERICARES FOUNDATION INCgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $100k · revenue +28%
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
Feeding San Diego

On a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. through direct service and community partnerships, feeding san diego provides more than 26 million meals each year to children, families,…

Food & Nutrition
2
Harvest Hope Food Bank

Harvest hope is on a mission to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in south carolina. we rescue nutritious food from stores throughout the state and distribute it to food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens. we operate programs that…

Food & Nutrition
3
Hope Helps Inc

To prevent and reduce hunger and homelessness in central florida by equipping individuals and families to become self-sufficient through housing, outreach, prevention, and education.

Human Services
4
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
5
Nourishing Hope

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

—
6
Foundation for the Homeless Inc

Empowering families and individuals experiencing homelessness to build a future filled with dignity, opportunity, and lasting solutions.

—
7
Food Forward Inc

Food forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same.

Food & Nutrition
8
Regional East Texas Food Bank

Etfb's mission is to fight hunger and feed hope in east texas.

—
9
Feeding Texas

To lead a unified effort for a hunger-free texas.

Community Improvement
10
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank

Our mission is to solve hunger in central pennsylvania by ensuring that everyone struggling with hunger has access to enough wholesome food every day. we will achieve this bold goal with the help of our generous donors, volunteers and…

Food & Nutrition
11
The Food Bank for Larimer County

To provide food to all in need through community partnerships and hunger relief programs. Our vision is a hunger-free Larimer County.

Food & Nutrition
12
Family Assistance Ministries

Family assistance ministries is a faith-based charitable non-profit organization assisting those in need in southern orange county with resources for food, shelter, and personalized counsel and aid, helping clients bridge the gap from…

Philanthropy
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Feed My Starving Children Inc; the most unlike its peers is Rotary Club of Winters Community Foundation. 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

221 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 221 of the 276 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.

3
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
44
Early backer (in before they grew)
217/221
Grantees still filing
127/221
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 · EnvironmentNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOU…INROADS INC: $230,000 · EducationINROADS INCUNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND INC: $150,000 · EducationUNITED NEGRO COLLEG…The North Carolina A&T Real Estate Foundation Inc: $125,000 · EducationThe North Carolina …ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $105,000 · EducationARIZONA STATE UNIVE…FERGUSON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationFERGUSON CHARITABLE…SHE BUILT FOUNDATION: $100,000 · EducationSHE BUILT FOUNDATIO…UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $90,000 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF CENTR…Texas A&M Foundation: $90,000 · EducationTexas A&M Foundatio…University of Arizona Foundation: $90,000 · EducationUniversity of Arizo…PRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOUNDATION: $75,000 · EducationPRAIRIE VIEW A&M FO…+12 more: $91,250 · Education+12 moreVALLEY OF THE SUN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $250,000 · OtherVALLEY OF THE SUN JEWISH COMMUNI…CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION: $250,000 · OtherCALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATIONNAWIC Education Foundation Incorporated: $117,000 · OtherNAWIC Education Foundation Incor…EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION INC: $75,900 · OtherSOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS: $113,000 · OtherSOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERSBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SCOTTSDALE INC: $174,400 · OtherBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SCO…+136 more: $1,114,750 · Other+136 moreNo Child Hungry Inc: $686,675 · Food & NutritionNo Child Hungr…Feeding America: $141,996 · Food & NutritionFeeding Americ…Central Texas Food Bank Inc: $42,500 · Food & Nutrition+9 more: $64,500 · Food & Nutrition+9 moreBuilding Talent Foundation: $705,000 · EmploymentBuilding Ta…HOMEAID GEORGIA INC: $55,000 · EmploymentHOMEAID GEO…+3 more: $17,000 · EmploymentCONVOY OF HOPE: $250,000 · InternationalAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 · InternationalInternational Rescue Committee INC: $100,000 · International+1 more: $5,000 · InternationalTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY INC: $112,500 · PhilanthropyARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $75,000 · PhilanthropyVOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropySOUTHWEST FLORIDA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 · PhilanthropyHEARTHSTONE BUILDER AWARD FOUNDATION: $20,000 · Philanthropy+8 more: $39,000 · Philanthropy
Environment$1,500,000Education$1,246,250Other$2,095,050Food & Nutrition$935,671Employment$777,000International$455,000Philanthropy$396,500

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

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 budgetNATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION: $1,500,000 over 4y, 0.6% of budgetBuilding Talent Foundation: $705,000 over 5y, 7.0% of budgetNo Child Hungry Inc: $686,675 over 4y, 8.5% of budgetVALLEY OF THE SUN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $250,000 over 1y, 1.8% of budgetINROADS INC: $230,000 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GREATER SCOTTSDALE INC: $174,400 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetUNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFeeding America: $141,996 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe North Carolina A&T Real Estate Foundation Inc: $125,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetNAWIC Education Foundation Incorporated: $117,000 over 5y, 35% of budgetSOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS: $113,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY INC: $112,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION FOR A NEW AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $105,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFERGUSON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetAMERICARES FOUNDATION INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetInternational Rescue Committee INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSHE BUILT FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 35% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $90,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetTexas A&M Foundation: $90,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $90,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetEMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION INC: $75,900 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetARIZONA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetPRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOUNDATION: $75,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetHOMEAID GEORGIA INC: $55,000 over 7y, 1.1% of budgetVOLUNTEER FLORIDA FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 9.0% of budgetTHE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHWEST FLORIDA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetCentral Texas Food Bank Inc: $42,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREFLECTIONS OF TRINITY INC: $38,500 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetPhoenix Children's Hospital Foundation: $35,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHOPE HOUSE OF COLORADO: $32,500 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetSAN ANTONIO FOOD BANK: $32,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBoys Town Central Florida Inc: $31,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetNORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: $27,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Houston Food Bank: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBABCOCK RANCH FOUNDATION INC: $20,000 over 2y, 4.3% of budgetHOPE IMPACTS: $20,000 over 6y, 4.0% of budgetTOURETTE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA INC: $20,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetHEARTHSTONE BUILDER AWARD FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 2.5% of budgetFOOD BANK OF CENTRAL & EASTERN NC INC: $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJESUS HOUSE OF HOPE INC: $16,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetUnited Food Bank: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMARCH OF DIMES INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetEight Waves Corporation: $13,750 over 3y, 3.4% of budgetCOLORADO COMMUNITY SHELTER PROVIDERS INC: $12,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetLION GLOBAL FOUNDATION: $12,500 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetFEEDING SOUTH FLORIDA INC: $12,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREENVILLE INC: $12,500 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.

Arizona Community Fou…The Gap FoundationThe Moody FoundationThe Diane and Bruce H…Carl C Anderson Sr an…Jewish Community Foun…Charity Ball Board of…Scsymmes FoundationDebartolo Family Foun…Dabo's All in Team Fo…Publix Super Markets …McKesson Foundation I…
Arizona Community FoundationAZ24× affinity20 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Arizona Community Foundation · The Gap Foundation · The Moody Foundation · The Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation · Carl C Anderson Sr and Marie Jo Anderson Charitable Foundation · Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix · Charity Ball Board of Greenville · Scsymmes Foundation · Debartolo Family Foundation Inc · Dabo's All in Team Foundation · Publix Super Markets Charities Inc · McKesson Foundation Inc

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 Meritage Cares Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Meritage Cares Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 110%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 1%
  • Southwest Florida Community Foundation Inc: 69% of income from government
  • Feeding South Florida Inc: 5% of income from government
  • Jesus House of Hope Inc: 3% of income from government
  • Feeding America Tampa Bay Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Cohen Veterans Network Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Treasure Coast Food Bank Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Volunteer Florida Foundation Inc: 2% of income from government
  • United Way Suncoast Inc: 1% of income from government
  • Americares Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Everyday Blessings Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Metropolitan Ministries Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Basca Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Help a Diabetic Child Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Matthew's Hope Ministries Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Hope for Her Florida Inc: 0% of income from government
  • Place of Hope Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
11get no government money at all
69report 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 Meritage Cares Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Meritage Cares 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 276 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 Meritage Cares’ 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