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Merlin Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Merlin Foundation Inc

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$363k
Granted FY2024still arriving
46
Grants FY2024still arriving
10
States reached
$33k
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, FY2017 to 2024.

Environment$482kEducation$278kAnimals$200kArts & Culture$93kHuman Services$91kFood & Nutrition$68kPhilanthropy$59kScience & Tech$51kOther$0
02FY2024 · 46 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k30 grants · $130k
  • $10k–50k16 grants · $234k
$5,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$7.0M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION$32,500
MISSOULA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$30,000
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL$25,000
HANA RETREAT -ALA KUKUI$20,000
BIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON$16,000
FAMILIES FIRST LEARNING LAB$10,000
HOMEWORD$10,000
THE SAFINA CENTER$10,000
YOUTH HOMES$10,000
MISSOULA FOOD BANK$10,000
MONTANA LAND RELIANCE$10,000
THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST$10,000
Individual grant recipient$10,000
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL - BRAZIL$10,000
THE ROXY THEATER$10,000
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 (FY17–24, $31k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%SEND IT FOUNDATION: $2k → 11%EXPLORATION WORKS: $5k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS: $5k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS: $4k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS: $4k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS INC: $4k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS INC: $3k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS INC: $2k → 9%EXPLORATION WORKS INC: $2k → 9%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

ME
WA
ID
MT
MI
NY
MA
OR
CA
CO
VA
MD
TN
HI
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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 8% of Merlin Foundation Inc’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Merlin Foundation Inclessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

87%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 56 repeat orgs$188k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +63% since the first grant, against +48% for those funded once.

56 repeat relationships: 38 still active in FY2024, 18 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

56
32

Total granted

$1.2M
$142k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+63%
+48%

Still filing today

84%
59%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $46k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentAnimalsHuman ServicesArts & CultureEducationFood & NutritionOther
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

  • TU
    THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION
    6× · 2018–2024 · $105k · revenue +41%
  • HR
    HANA RETREAT
    8× · 2017–2024 · $100k · revenue +74%
  • CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $95k · revenue +94%

Funded once

  • ME
    Montana Environmental Information Centergraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $12k · revenue +150%
  • TD
    THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE T
    one grant, 2021 · $10k
  • MI
    MISSOULA INTERFAITH COLLABORATIVE
    one grant, 2023 · $10k · revenue +15%
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
Montana Wildlife Federation

The montana wildlife federation is a statewide conservation organization dedicated to protecting wildlife, wildlife habitat, and public access for outdoor recreation.

Animals
2
Cascadia Wildlands

Cascadia wildlands defends and restores cacasia's wild ecosystems in the forests,in the courts, and in the streets. we envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and…

Environment
3
Idaho Conservation League Inc

Icl's mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.

—
4
Montanas Outdoor Legacy Foundation

To collectively serve as a catalyst for engagement and bonding of people to our wildlife and public lands in montana through a sense of place, education, access, research and stewardship.

Environment
5
Rocky Mountain Wild

Rocky mountain wild works to protect, connect, and restore wildlife and wild lands in the southern rocky mountain region. we work to secure the biodiversity of the mountains, plains, and desert ecosystems of colorado, wyoming, utah, and…

Environment
6
Washington Wild

Washington wild protects and restores wild lands and waters in washington state through advocacy, education and civic engagement.

Animals
7
Wyoming Outdoor Council

The wyoming outdoor council's mission is to protect wyoming's environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

Environment
8
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
9
Wallowa Land Trust

Our mission is to protect the rural nature of Wallowa County by working cooperatively with private landowners,indigenous people, local communities and governmental entities to conserve land.

Environment
10
Wildcoast

The mission of wildcoast is to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems and address climate change through natural solutions. our staff is dedicated to conserving threatened and endangered coastlines and wildlife in california and mexico.…

Environment
11
Land Conservancy of West Michigan

Our mission is conserving West Michigans ecologically critical land. We protect land by creating public nature preserves, providing support to communities and local governments in creating natural areas, and helping private landowners…

Environment
12
Western Rivers Conservancy

Western rivers conservancy's mission is to protect outstanding river ecosystems in the western united states. continued on schedule o.we acquire land to conserve critical habitat, provide public access for compatible use and enjoyment, and…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Wild Salmon Center; the most unlike its peers is Childrens Museum of Bozeman Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

70 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. 70 of the 96 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)
29
Early backer (in before they grew)
70/70
Grantees still filing
53/70
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $95,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOU…BIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INC: $45,000 · EnvironmentBIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INCBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $35,100 · EnvironmentBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INCTHE CARL SAFINA CENTER INC THE SAFINA CENTER: $21,500 · EnvironmentTHE CARL SAFINA CENTER INC THE…NESTUCCA NESKOWIN WATERSHED COUNCIL: $21,000 · EnvironmentTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $20,000 · EnvironmentECOLOGY PROJECT INTERNATIONAL: $17,500 · EnvironmentYELLOWSTONE FOREVER: $17,500 · Environment+17 more: $123,250 · Environment+17 moreTHE ROXY THEATER: $37,000 · OtherTHE ROXY THEATERMONTANA ENVIRONMENTAL INFO CEN: $37,000 · OtherMONTANA ENVIRONMENTAL INFO CENFAMILIES FIRST LEARNING LAB: $36,000 · OtherFAMILIES FIRST LEARNING LABOWL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $31,500 · OtherOWL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INCChildrens Museum of Bozeman Inc: $22,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipient: $20,000 · OtherMISSOULA BUTTERFLY HOUSE: $18,500 · OtherFRIENDSHIP CENTER OF HELENA INC: $23,100 · OtherMONTANA BICYCLE GUILD: $24,000 · OtherGirls Thrive Inc: $21,000 · Other+38 more: $231,500 · Other+38 moreTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $105,000 · EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF …HANA RETREAT: $100,100 · EducationHANA RETREATSUSSEX SCHOOL INC: $37,100 · EducationSUSSEX SCHOOL INCTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $42,000 · AnimalsWILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER INC: $15,000 · AnimalsWILD SALMON CENTER: $14,600 · AnimalsMISSOULA BUTTERFLY HOUSE AND INSECTARIUM: $13,000 · AnimalsSAVE OUR WILD SALMON: $10,500 · AnimalsMERCY FOR ANIMALS INC: $5,000 · Animals+3 more: $5,100 · AnimalsEXPLORATIONWORKS INC: $29,250 · Human ServicesYOUTH HOMES: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE PEOPLE'S FUND: $20,000 · Human ServicesUNION GOSPEL MISSION OF MISSOULA: $15,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER HELENA INC: $9,000 · Human Services+1 more: $2,000 · Human ServicesMISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER: $28,000 · Food & NutritionHELENA FOOD SHARE INC: $20,000 · Food & NutritionCOMMUNITY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COALITION: $19,500 · Food & NutritionMISSOULA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $59,000 · Community ImprovementNORTHERN PLAINS RESOURCE COUNCIL: $6,000 · Community Improvement
Environment$395,850Other$501,600Education$242,200Animals$105,200Human Services$100,250Food & Nutrition$67,500Community Improvement$65,000

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 budgetTHE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION: $105,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetHANA RETREAT: $100,100 over 8y, 4.8% of budgetCONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION: $95,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetMISSOULA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: $59,000 over 5y, 1.9% of budgetBIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INC: $45,000 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetTHE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC: $42,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetSUSSEX SCHOOL INC: $37,100 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetTHE ROXY THEATER: $37,000 over 6y, 0.7% of budgetBLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC: $35,100 over 7y, 0.5% of budgetOWL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC: $31,500 over 6y, 2.7% of budgetEXPLORATIONWORKS INC: $29,250 over 8y, 0.5% of budgetMISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER: $28,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetYOUTH HOMES: $25,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetMONTANA BICYCLE GUILD: $24,000 over 6y, 4.2% of budgetFRIENDSHIP CENTER OF HELENA INC: $23,100 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetChildrens Museum of Bozeman Inc: $22,000 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetTHE CARL SAFINA CENTER INC THE SAFINA CENTER: $21,500 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetNESTUCCA NESKOWIN WATERSHED COUNCIL: $21,000 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetGirls Thrive Inc: $21,000 over 6y, 7.9% of budgetTHE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetHELENA FOOD SHARE INC: $20,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetTHE PEOPLE'S FUND: $20,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COALITION: $19,500 over 5y, 0.8% of budgetECOLOGY PROJECT INTERNATIONAL: $17,500 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetYELLOWSTONE FOREVER: $17,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNION GOSPEL MISSION OF MISSOULA: $15,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetWILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER INC: $15,000 over 3y, 6.7% of budgetWILD SALMON CENTER: $14,600 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetMISSOULA BUTTERFLY HOUSE AND INSECTARIUM: $13,000 over 3y, 1.2% of budgetMontana Environmental Information Center: $12,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetMONTANA AUDUBON: $11,500 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetADVOCATES FOR THE WEST INC: $11,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSARARA INSTITUTE: $11,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTHE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $11,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetSAVE OUR WILD SALMON: $10,500 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetECOTRUST: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMISSOULA INTERFAITH COLLABORATIVE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetHOMEWORD INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE ORION SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTHE DOLLYWOOD FOUNDATION: $10,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOceanic Preservation Society: $9,000 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSeven Capes Bird Alliance: $9,000 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetFAMILY PROMISE OF GREATER HELENA INC: $9,000 over 2y, 1.3% of budgetCASTING FOR RECOVERY: $9,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetHAWAIIAN ISLANDS LAND TRUST: $8,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $7,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetWorking Dogs For Conservation Found: $7,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetGREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION: $6,000 over 2y, 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 THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HANA RETREAT ↗
  • Who funds CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds MISSOULA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BIRD ALLIANCE OF OREGON INC ↗
  • Who funds THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST USA INC ↗
  • Who funds SUSSEX SCHOOL INC ↗
  • Who funds THE ROXY THEATER ↗
  • Who funds BLACKFOOT CHALLENGE INC ↗
  • Who funds OWL RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC ↗
  • Who funds EXPLORATIONWORKS INC ↗
  • Who funds MISSOULA FOOD BANK & COMMUNITY CENTER ↗
  • Who funds YOUTH HOMES ↗
  • Who funds MONTANA BICYCLE GUILD ↗
  • Who funds FRIENDSHIP CENTER OF HELENA INC ↗
  • Who funds Childrens Museum of Bozeman Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE CARL SAFINA CENTER INC THE SAFINA CENTER ↗
  • Who funds NESTUCCA NESKOWIN WATERSHED COUNCIL ↗
  • Who funds Girls Thrive Inc ↗
  • Who funds THE MONTANA LAND RELIANCE ↗
  • Who funds HELENA FOOD SHARE INC ↗
  • Who funds THE PEOPLE'S FUND ↗
  • Who funds COMMUNITY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COALITION ↗
  • Who funds ECOLOGY PROJECT INTERNATIONAL ↗
  • Who funds YELLOWSTONE FOREVER ↗
  • Who funds UNION GOSPEL MISSION OF MISSOULA ↗
  • Who funds WILD SKIES RAPTOR CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds WILD SALMON CENTER ↗
  • Who funds MISSOULA BUTTERFLY HOUSE AND INSECTARIUM ↗
  • Who funds Montana Environmental Information Center ↗
  • Who funds MONTANA AUDUBON ↗
  • Who funds ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST INC ↗
  • Who funds SARARA INSTITUTE ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND ↗

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.

Dennis & Phyllis Wash…First Interstate Banc…The High Stakes Found…PatagoniaorgMontana Community Fou…The Llewellyn Foundat…Cross Charitable Foun…Treacy FoundationTown Pump Charitable …The Fanwood FoundationOtto Bremer TrustElizabeth Wakeman Hen…
Dennis & Phyllis Washington FoundationMT40.3× affinity18 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation · First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Inc · The High Stakes Foundation · Patagoniaorg · Montana Community Foundation Inc · The Llewellyn Foundation · Cross Charitable Foundation Attn John R Clark · Treacy Foundation · Town Pump Charitable Foundation · The Fanwood Foundation · Otto Bremer Trust · Elizabeth Wakeman Henderson Charitable Foundation Xxx-Xx-Xxxx

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 14%
  • Wild Salmon Center: 49% of income from government
  • Ecotrust: 14% of income from government
  • The Orion Society Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Bird Alliance of Oregon Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
14report 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 Merlin Foundation Inc?

Find your warmest path to Merlin 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 96 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 Merlin’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