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Merus Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Merus 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.

$376k
Granted FY2025still arriving
56
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0198% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2022 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$247kEducation$143kCommunity Improvement$106kHuman Services$82kPhilanthropy$77kEnvironment$60kFood & Nutrition$55kYouth Development$53kOther$0
02FY2025 · 56 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k41 grants · $26k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $200k
  • $50k–250k3 grants · $150k
$645
Median grant
10
States reached
$10M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
KEEP CINCINNATI BEAUTIFUL$50,000
CORPORATION OF FINDLAY MARKET$50,000
AMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS' FESTIVAL$50,000
BRIGHTON CENTER INC$30,250
PROJECT DESTINED$30,000
TENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER$25,000
ARTWORKS$25,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER CINCINNATI$19,685
CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK$10,250
YWCA GREATER CINCINNATI$10,000
PITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY$10,000
CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER$10,000
WALK BIKE NASHVILLE$10,000
URBAN GREEN LAB$10,000
CIVIC DESIGN CENTER$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 (FY22–25, $17k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%WELCOME HOUSE INC: $300 → 17%THE CARE CENTER OF LOVELAND: $250 → 9%FAIRFIELD FOOD PANTRY: $350 → 12%STEPUP MINISTRY: $100 → 8%TALBERT HOUSE: $2k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $1k → 16%TALBERT HOUSE: $1k → 16%BE CONCERNED INC: $100 → 11%TALBERT HOUSE: $750 → 16%PREGNANCY CENTER PLUS: $250 → 16%INNER CITY YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES: $250 → 16%YWCA GREATER CINCINNATI: $10k → 16%THE HEALING CENTER: $250 → 16%THE HEALING CENTER: $250 → 16%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

MT
MN
NY
MA
IN
OH
PA
CO
KY
VA
AZ
TN
NC
DC
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.

49%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$450k · 29 repeat orgs$462k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +11% since the first grant, against +6% for those funded once.

29 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2025, 6 since wound down; 33 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

29
39

Total granted

$450k
$232k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+11%
+6%

Still filing today

83%
56%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 39% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $230k went to new ones.

50%100%’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesHealthCommunity ImprovementPhilanthropyEducationOther
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

  • AO
    ART OPPORTUNITIES INC
    3× · 2022–2025 · $100k · revenue +46%
  • UW
    United Way of Greater Cincinnati
    3× · 2023–2025 · $65k · revenue +16%
  • CU
    CINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER FOUNDATION
    2× · 2022–2024 · $55k · revenue +11%

Funded once

  • BS
    BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD
    one grant, 2024 · $50k · revenue 0%
  • C3
    CITYLINK 3CDC
    one grant, 2024 · $40k
  • ES
    Easter Seals Tristate
    one grant, 2024 · $25k · revenue 0%
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
United Way of Cleveland County Inc

The United Way of Cleveland County helps people by uniting resources and programs to responsibly meet the needs of our community.

Philanthropy
2
Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati

To resolve serious legal problems of low income people, to promote economic and family stability, and reduce poverty through effective legal assistance.

—
3
Strategies to End Homelessness Inc

Strategies to End Homelessness leads a coordinated community effort to end homelessness in Greater Cincinnati.

Human Services
4
World Affairs Council - Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky

The World Affairs Council, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is the bridge that connects the world to one of America's most vibrant regions. Through Global education, International exchange, and cultural awareness initiatives, the council strengthens…

—
5
Central Ohio Workers Center Inc

The Central Ohio Worker Center is a non-profit organization that educates, empowers, and advocates for and with low-wage and immigrant workers in Central Ohio.

Civil Rights
6
Ohio United Way

To strengthen the capacity of United Ways across Ohio and to advance the common good for Ohioans.

Philanthropy
7
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber

To grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the cincinnati region.

—
8
Cincinnati Union Bethel

Empowering women to break the cycles of poverty, addiction, and human trafficking.

Human Services
9
Greater Cleveland Volunteers

Greater cleveland volunteers enriches the community and indivuduals through volunteer service. volunteers age 18 and older are recruited and placed in the agency's programs or referred to local nonprofit or public organizations to help…

Philanthropy
10
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
11
The Women's Clinic of Columbus

Women's health clinic focusing on helping at-risk parents deal with issues related to prenancy and parenting.

Health
12
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky Inc

Goodwill's mission is to help people with disabilities or other disadvantages achieve and maintain employment to gain a better quality of life.

Employment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Welcome House Inc; the most unlike its peers is Rock Solid Families. 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

72 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. 72 of the 101 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)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
72/72
Grantees still filing
36/72
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Brighton Center Inc: $60,250 · OtherBrighton Center IncAMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS' FESTIVAL: $50,000 · OtherAMERICA'S RIVER ROOTS' FESTIVALCORPORATION OF FINDLAY MARKET: $50,000 · OtherCORPORATION OF FINDLAY MARKETBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD: $50,000 · OtherBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARDCITYLINK 3CDC: $40,000 · OtherCITYLINK 3CDCWAKE TECH COMM COLLEGE FOUND: $25,000 · OtherWAKE TECH COMM COLLEGE FOUND+71 more: $104,756 · Other+71 moreART OPPORTUNITIES INC: $100,000 · Arts & CultureART OPPORTUNITIES INCTENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (TPAC) MANAGEMENT CORPORATION: $25,050 · Arts & CultureTENNESSEE PERFORMING ART…Clifton Cultural Arts Center: $25,000 · Arts & CultureClifton Cultural Arts Ce…Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $24,058 · Arts & CultureCincinnati Institute of …Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: $10,250 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $10,000 · Arts & Culture+4 more: $1,325 · Arts & CulturePROJECT DESTINED INC: $90,000 · EducationPROJECT DESTIN…WAKE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $25,000 · EducationWAKE TECHNICAL…+1 more: $2,000 · EducationUnited Way of Greater Cincinnati: $65,433 · Philanthropy+3 more: $3,890 · PhilanthropyCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $55,000 · Community ImprovementCIVIC DESIGN CENTER: $10,000 · Community Improvement+2 more: $600 · Community ImprovementKeep Cincinnati Beautiful Inc: $50,000 · EnvironmentURBAN GREEN LAB: $10,000 · EnvironmentEaster Seals Tristate: $25,000 · Employment
Other$380,006Arts & Culture$195,683Education$117,000Philanthropy$69,323Community Improvement$65,600Environment$60,000Employment$25,000

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

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetART OPPORTUNITIES INC: $100,000 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetPROJECT DESTINED INC: $90,000 over 3y, 2.1% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Cincinnati: $65,433 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetBrighton Center Inc: $60,250 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI USA REGIONAL CHAMBER FOUNDATION: $55,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetKeep Cincinnati Beautiful Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetBOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA COUNCIL 438 DAN BEARD: $50,000 over 1y, 0.8% of budgetTENNESSEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (TPAC) MANAGEMENT CORPORATION: $25,050 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetEaster Seals Tristate: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetClifton Cultural Arts Center: $25,000 over 1y, 1.9% of budgetWAKE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $24,058 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetCincinnati Playhouse in the Park: $10,250 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetCIVIC DESIGN CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPITTSBURGH PARKS CONSERVANCY: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetURBAN GREEN LAB: $10,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetTALBERT HOUSE: $4,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $3,695 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetProKids: $3,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetMatthew 25 Ministries Inc: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetI AM NEXT INC: $2,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetBLOOD CANCER UNITED INC: $2,200 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetXAVIER UNIVERSITY: $2,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetVanderbilt University Medical Center: $1,860 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHABITAT FOR HUMANITY OF WAKE COUNTY INC: $1,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $1,400 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNORTHERN KENTUCKY CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER INC: $1,090 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCORNERSTONE RENTER EQUITY INC: $1,018 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetSowa Goat Sanctuary Inc: $1,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetFAIRHAVEN RESCUE MISSION: $1,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OKI PARTNERS: $1,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetROCK SOLID FAMILIES: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCINCINNATI OBSERVATORY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 1.3% of budgetBest Buddies International Inc: $850 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF GREATER CINCINNATI INC: $750 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BROTHERSBIG SISTERS OF MIDDLE TN: $710 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCenter for Great Neighborhoods of Covington: $640 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetHAVEN HOUSE INC: $529 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPRO BONO PARTNERSHIP OF OHIO: $511 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPATHWAY TO HOPE PREGNANCY CARE CENTER: $500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCOLLEGE HILL COMMUNITY URBAN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Healing Center: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetREACH OUT LAKOTA INC: $500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetOhio Alleycat Resource & SpayNeuter Clinic Inc: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY INC: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEmergency Shelter of Northern KY Inc: $340 over 2y, 0.0% 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 Greater Cincinnat…Carol Ann and Ralph V…Duke Energy FoundationThe Thomas J Emery Me…John a Schroth Family…Elsa M Heisel Sule Ch…Ge Aerospace Foundati…The Scripps Howard Fo…Johnson Charitable Gi…Charles H Dater Found…Robert H & Susan F Ca…L & L Nippert Charita…
The Greater Cincinnati FoundationOH49.4× affinity27 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · Duke Energy Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Elsa M Heisel Sule Charitable Trust 2005 · Ge Aerospace Foundation · The Scripps Howard Foundation · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Charles H Dater Foundation Inc · Robert H & Susan F Castellini Foundation · L & L Nippert Charitable Foundation Inc Attn Carter F Randolph Phd

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 4%
  • Best Buddies International Inc: 4% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
29report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 Merus Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Merus 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 101 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 Merus’ 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