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Merkel Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Merkel Foundation Inc

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.

$2.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
47
Grants FY2025still arriving
9
States reached
$451k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$3.4MReligion$2.2MHealth$1.6MHuman Services$1.4MFood & Nutrition$480kArts & Culture$311kRecreation & Sports$305kCrime & Legal$160kOther$0
02FY2025 · 47 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k4 grants · $20k
  • $10k–50k33 grants · $705k
  • $50k–250k7 grants · $488k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.1M
$20,078
Median grant
9
States reached
$56M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GLOBAL BRIGADES INC$451,381
ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC (CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP APPEAL)$401,187
SIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS$250,726
HOLY APOSTLES CATHOLIC PARISH$99,822
SHEBOYGAN YOUTH SAILING CLUB INC$99,464
ST DOMINIC PARISH$84,898
COMMUNITY OF ST PAUL INC$53,610
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY$50,194
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES SEMINARY (THE SALESIANUM TRUST)$50,194
RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF EASTERN WI INC$50,194
NATIVITY JESUIT CATHOLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY$49,732
CATHOLIC MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL$49,732
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES SEMINARY$40,155
ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC (COMBINED COLLECTIONS)$30,117
WORLD CRANIOFACIAL FOUNDATION$30,117
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 (FY17–25, $515k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 56% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%DOGSINVESTS INC: $25k → 8%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%DOGSINVESTS INC: $25k → 8%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%SHERMAN PHOENIX FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 17%SHERMAN PHOENIX FOUNDATION INC: $10k → 17%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $20k → 9%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $15k → 9%ST JOSEPH'S TOOL CHEST: $10k → 5%ST JOSEPH'S TOOL CHEST: $10k → 5%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $10k → 9%PROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $10k → 9%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $51k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $50k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $30k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $30k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $29k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $20k → 17%CATHOLIC CHARITIES: $10k → 17%UNITED COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $10k → 17%UNITED COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $10k → 17%ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY OF MILWAUKEE: $5k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH: $10k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH: $5k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH: $5k → 17%MILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH: $5k → 17%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
WI
CA
CO
KY
VA
TN
NC
TX
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.

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.5M · 52 repeat orgs$180k to everyone else

52 repeat relationships: 40 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

52
5

Total granted

$8.5M
$40k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+36%
+41%

Still filing today

62%
40%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 92% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $140k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthFood & NutritionEducationInternationalAnimalsOther
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

  • MU
    Marquette University
    9× · 2017–2025 · $1.1M · revenue +46%
  • SIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC
    4× · 2022–2025 · $871k · revenue +20%
  • RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF EASTERN WISCONSIN INC
    9× · 2017–2025 · $286k · revenue +36%

Funded once

  • WO
    WORKS OF MERCY MINISTRY INC
    one grant, 2024 · $10k
  • U(
    UNISON (FKA SET MINISTRY INC)
    one grant, 2019 · $10k
  • HN
    HOLY NAME OF JESUS & ST CLEMENTS PARISH
    one grant, 2017 · $10k
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
Community Care Health Plan Inc

Community care health plan's mission is to develop and demonstrate innovative, flexible, community-based approaches to care for at-risk adults, in order to optimize their quality of life and optimize the allocation of community resources.

Health
2
Heartland Community Health Clinic D/B/a Heartland Health Services

Provide affordable, high-quality health services and remove inequities to improve the lives of all.

Health
3
Jewish Family and Children's Service Inc

Strengthening the community by providing behavioral health, healthcare and social services to all ages, faiths and backgrounds.

Human Services
4
Saint John's Communities Inc

Our mission is to enrich the lives of older adults through gracious retirement living, spiritual growth, cultural and educational opportunities and health care services.

Human Services
5
Burnett Medical Center Inc

The mission of burnett medical center is to provide compassionate, comprehensive, community healthcare that exceeds our customer's expectations. our mission, as well as our vision and values, serves as a guideline for daily decision making…

Health
6
Union Health System

To serve our communities by provding innovative and compassionate healthcare.

Health
7
Willamette Vital Health

We provide comprehensive hospice care services, supportive care for pain & symptom management for those with serious illness, and grief support. through our mission, willamette vital health supports adults and children living with a…

Human Services
8
Florida Community Health Centers Inc

Florida community health centers, inc. (fchc) is a federally qualified health center serving medically needy populations in south florida, with an emphasis on serving rural and farm worker communities.

—
9
The Medical College of Wisconsin Inc

The medical college of wisconsin (mcw) is a distinguished leader and innovator in the education and development of the next generation of physicians, (continued in schedule o)

Education
10
Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest dairy works with others to give consumers an excellent dairy experience increasing sales, fostering innovation, and inspiring consumer confidence of dairy products and practices.

—
11
Community Medical Centers Inc

The organization provides primary medical, behavior health, and dental care to the population of san joaquin, and solano counties without regard to patients' ability to pay.

Health
12
Wisconsin Medical Society Inc

To improve the health of the people of wisconsin by supporting and strengthening physicians' ability to practice high quality patient care in a changing environment.

—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Make-a-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin Inc; the most unlike its peers is New Berlin Food Pantry Inc. 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

36 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. 36 of the 63 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.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
35/36
Grantees still filing
27/36
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CURSILLO IN CHRISTIANITY OF THE ARC HDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE: $986,851 · OtherCURSILLO IN CHRISTIANITY OF THE ARC HDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEESIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC: $870,785 · OtherSIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INCST DOMINIC PARISH: $479,898 · OtherST DOMINIC PARISHSHEBOYGAN YOUTH SAILING CLUB INC: $305,111 · OtherSHEBOYGAN YOUTH SAILING CLUB INCHOLY APOSTLES CATHOLIC PARISH: $249,822 · OtherNATIVITY JESUIT CATHOLIC SCHOOL ACADEMY: $249,763 · OtherCATHOLIC MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL OF WAUKESHA INC: $249,763 · Other+26 more: $1,819,641 · Other+26 moreGLOBAL BRIGADES INC: $1,478,808 · EducationGLOBAL BRIGADES INCMarquette University: $1,144,881 · EducationMarquette UniversityFAMILY RESOURCE CENTER OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY INC: $150,000 · EducationFAMILY RESOURCE CENTER OF SHEBO…+1 more: $20,000 · EducationRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF EASTERN WISCONSIN INC: $286,124 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $225,000 · HealthSHARON S RICHARDSON COMMUNITY HOSPICE INC: $90,000 · HealthAmerican Heart Association Inc: $55,000 · HealthLAKESHORE COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE INC: $40,000 · Health+3 more: $70,000 · HealthPROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $155,000 · Human ServicesCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC DIOCESE OF MADISON: $119,710 · Human ServicesCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $100,235 · Human ServicesDOGSINVESTS INC: $50,000 · Human ServicesMILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $25,000 · Human ServicesUNITED COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesST JOSEPH TOOL CHEST INC: $20,000 · Human ServicesSherman Phoenix Foundation: $20,000 · Human Services+1 more: $5,000 · Human ServicesWORLD CRANIOFACIAL FOUNDATION: $215,516 · InternationalCOMMON HOPE: $151,122 · InternationalNOURISH FARMS INC: $225,000 · Food & NutritionFOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $85,000 · Food & Nutrition+2 more: $15,000 · Food & NutritionWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $80,000 · AnimalsELMBROOK HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $40,000 · AnimalsJohn C Campbell Folk School Inc: $60,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$5,211,634Education$2,793,689Health$766,124Human Services$514,945International$366,638Food & Nutrition$325,000Animals$120,000Arts & Culture$60,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetGLOBAL BRIGADES INC: $1,478,808 over 4y, 5.1% of budgetMarquette University: $1,144,881 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetSIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC: $870,785 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetSHEBOYGAN YOUTH SAILING CLUB INC: $305,111 over 3y, 25% of budgetRONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF EASTERN WISCONSIN INC: $286,124 over 9y, 0.8% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $225,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetNOURISH FARMS INC: $225,000 over 9y, 6.9% of budgetWORLD CRANIOFACIAL FOUNDATION: $215,516 over 9y, 8.6% of budgetPROJECT ANGEL HUGS: $155,000 over 9y, 17% of budgetCOMMON HOPE: $151,122 over 9y, 0.5% of budgetFAMILY RESOURCE CENTER OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY INC: $150,000 over 9y, 3.4% of budgetMEALS ON WHEELS OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY INC: $145,000 over 9y, 1.2% of budgetDisabled American Veterans: $120,000 over 9y, 0.0% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES INC DIOCESE OF MADISON: $119,710 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetCATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC: $100,235 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSHEBOYGAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: $90,000 over 9y, 2.9% of budgetSHARON S RICHARDSON COMMUNITY HOSPICE INC: $90,000 over 9y, 0.2% of budgetFOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC: $85,000 over 9y, 0.1% of budgetWISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY: $80,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetJohn C Campbell Folk School Inc: $60,000 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $55,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDOGSINVESTS INC: $50,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetLAKESHORE COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE INC: $40,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetELMBROOK HUMANE SOCIETY INC: $40,000 over 4y, 1.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $25,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMILWAUKEE CENTER FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH INC: $25,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $25,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetUNITED COMMUNITY CENTER INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSherman Phoenix Foundation: $20,000 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetTHE MILWAUKEE SCIENCE EDUCATION CONSORTIUM INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetMAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION OF WISCONSIN INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetFEEDING AMERICA EASTERN WISCONSIN INC: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNEW BERLIN FOOD PANTRY INC: $10,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY PROJECTS COMMITTEE INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY OF MILWAUKEE: $5,000 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.

  • Who funds GLOBAL BRIGADES INC ↗
  • Who funds Marquette University ↗
  • Who funds SIXTEENTH STREET COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC ↗
  • Who funds SHEBOYGAN YOUTH SAILING CLUB INC ↗
  • Who funds RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF EASTERN WISCONSIN INC ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds NOURISH FARMS INC ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CRANIOFACIAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds PROJECT ANGEL HUGS ↗
  • Who funds COMMON HOPE ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds MEALS ON WHEELS OF SHEBOYGAN COUNTY INC ↗
  • Who funds Disabled American Veterans ↗
  • Who funds CATHOLIC CHARITIES INC DIOCESE OF MADISON ↗
  • Who funds CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MILWAUKEE INC ↗
  • Who funds SHEBOYGAN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds SHARON S RICHARDSON COMMUNITY HOSPICE INC ↗
  • Who funds FOOD ALLERGY RESEARCH & EDUCATION INC ↗
  • Who funds WISCONSIN HUMANE SOCIETY ↗
  • Who funds John C Campbell Folk School Inc ↗
  • Who funds American Heart Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds DOGSINVESTS INC ↗
  • Who funds LAKESHORE COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE INC ↗
  • Who funds ELMBROOK HUMANE SOCIETY INC ↗

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.

Green Bay Packers Fou…Greater Milwaukee Fou…United Way of Greater…Baird Foundation IncArchdiocese of Milwau…Herbert H Kohl Charit…The Sartori Family Fo…Frank G & Frieda K Br…The Lynde and Harry B…Ge Aerospace Foundati…Alliant Energy Founda…Trusted Fraternal Life
Green Bay Packers FoundationWI35.6× affinity16 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Green Bay Packers Foundation · Greater Milwaukee Foundation Inc · United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Inc · Baird Foundation Inc · Archdiocese of Milwaukee Catholic Community Foundation Inc · Herbert H Kohl Charities Inc · The Sartori Family Foundation Inc · Frank G & Frieda K Brotz Family Foundation Inc · The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Inc · Ge Aerospace Foundation · Alliant Energy Foundation Inc · Trusted Fraternal Life

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%10%20%30%40%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    10report 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.

    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 63 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 Merkel’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