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Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family Foundation

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.

$482k
Granted FY2024still arriving
29
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$77k
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, FY2020 to 2024.

Philanthropy$1.7MReligion$850kHuman Services$724kCommunity Improvement$209kInternational$208kCivil Rights$83kEducation$63kArts & Culture$56kOther$0
02FY2024 · 29 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k17 grants · $45k
  • $10k–50k8 grants · $177k
  • $50k–250k4 grants · $261k
$5,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$5.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S CENTER$76,640
EVELYN RUBENSTEIN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF HOUSTON$70,500
BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER$60,000
NEW LEADERS COUNCIL (NLC)$53,780
JEWISH FEDERATION-GREATER HOUSTON$27,000
HOUSTON JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION$25,000
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES$25,000
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS$25,000
PROMISE VILLAGE ACADEMY LLC$24,600
TARGET HUNGER$20,000
THE 19TH NEWS$15,000
PLANNED PARENTHOOD$15,000
HOUSTON ISD FOUNDATION$5,500
J-STREET EDUCATION FUND$5,000
TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT$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:

Its human-services grants (FY21–24, $314k) land where the poverty rate runs at 15%, against an area that typically sits at 12%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 12%BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $60k → 12%MANKIND PROJECT USA: $1k → 14%ALEXANDER JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $5k → 16%BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 12%BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $10k → 12%HOUSTON AREA WOMEN'S CENTER: $150k → 16%MALIA NIETA FOUNDATION: $50k → 16%MALIA NIETA FOUNDATION: $8k → 16%TARGET HUNGER: $20k → 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

IL
NY
MA
NJ
CO
DC
LA
AL
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.

77%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.8M · 19 repeat orgs$520k to everyone else

19 repeat relationships: 15 still active in FY2024, 4 since wound down; 12 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

19
14

Total granted

$1.8M
$452k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+3%
+34%

Still filing today

58%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 84% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $67k went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
Human ServicesReligionYouth DevelopmentHealthArts & CulturePhilanthropyOther
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

  • ER
    Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston
    4× · 2021–2024 · $719k · revenue +3%
  • PV
    PROMISE VILLAGE ACADEMY LLC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $139k · revenue +61%
  • TB
    THE BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
    3× · 2022–2024 · $80k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • JC
    JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF DALLASgraduated
    one grant, 2020 · $400k · revenue +27%
  • UF
    UNION FOR REFORM JUDAISM
    one grant, 2020 · $15k
  • LA
    LIBERATE AFRICAN CHILDREN FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2022 · $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
Houston Botanic Garden

To enrich life through discovery, education, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment.

Environment
2
Houston Museum of Natural Science

The mission of the Houston Museum of Natural Science shall be to preserve and advance the general knowledge of natural science; to enhance in individuals the knowledge of and delight in natural science and related subjects; and to maintain…

Arts & Culture
3
Trees for Houston

Plant, protect and promote trees all over the greater Houston area.

—
4
The Women's Resource of Greater Houston

See Schedule OThe Women's Resource of Greater Houston helps women and girls make choices toward becoming independent, productive, and financially stable. We fulfill our mission by recruiting volunteer instructors to deliver our programs in…

Philanthropy
5
Houston Local Information Initiative Inc

The Houston Local Information Initiative, Inc. provides public service journalism that reflects the civic needs of the diverse communities comprising Greater Houston.

Arts & Culture
6
Jewish Community Center Endowment Fund

The Jewish Community Center Endowment Fund was created to support the programs and operations of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston.

Religion
7
Good Reason Houston Inc

Good Reason Houston strives to grow and sustain great schools while advocating for families and communities.

Education
8
John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science

The Health Museum is an innovative science center that provides an interactive and entertaining experience for all ages, promotes understanding and appreciation of the human body, mind, and spirit, and inspires a lifelong commitment to…

Arts & Culture
9
American Civil Liberties Union of Texas Inc

The ACLU of Texas works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

—
10
The Awty International School

See Schedule OThe purpose of Awty International School (Awty) is to create an environment where students experience excellence every day to make their mark on the world alongside their community, in a spirit of curiosity, courage and…

—
11
Aclu Foundation of Texas Inc

The ACLU Foundation of Texas is the unyielding guardian and promoter of freedom, justice, equality and dignity of all people, particularly for those who are still fighting to secure the full exercise of their civil rights and liberties.…

Civil Rights
12
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston Inc

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston's mission is to inspire and enable all youth, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

Youth Development
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Birthright Israel Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Planned Parenthood. 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

29 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. 29 of the 47 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)
2
Early backer (in before they grew)
28/29
Grantees still filing
14/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Jewish Federation of Greater Houston: $1,657,000 · OtherJewish Federation of Greater HoustonNEW LEADERS COUNCIL (NLC): $208,580 · OtherNEW LEADERS COUNCIL (NLC)CONGREGATION EMANU EL: $100,360 · Other+30 more: $261,899 · Other+30 moreEvelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston: $718,500 · ReligionEvelyn Rubenstein Je…+1 more: $5,000 · ReligionHouston Area Women's Center: $236,640 · Human ServicesHouston Are…THE BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $80,000 · Human ServicesTHE BOULDER…MALI NIETA FOUNDATION: $57,500 · Human ServicesMALI NIETA …Target Hunger Inc: $20,000 · Human Services+2 more: $6,000 · Human ServicesJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF DALLAS: $400,000 · Recreation & SportsJEWISH COMM…PROMISE VILLAGE ACADEMY LLC: $138,515 · Education+1 more: $500 · EducationTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $50,000 · Civil RightsTHE 19TH NEWS: $40,000 · Arts & CultureTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $10,000 · Arts & Culture
Other$2,227,839Religion$723,500Human Services$400,140Recreation & Sports$400,000Education$139,015Civil Rights$50,000Arts & Culture$50,000

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 budgetJewish Federation of Greater Houston: $1,657,000 over 5y, 9.3% of budgetEvelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston: $718,500 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetJEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF DALLAS: $400,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetHouston Area Women's Center: $236,640 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetPROMISE VILLAGE ACADEMY LLC: $138,515 over 3y, 24% of budgetTHE BOULDER JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER: $80,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetMALI NIETA FOUNDATION: $57,500 over 2y, 27% of budgetTHE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INC: $50,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD: $45,000 over 2y, 5.5% of budgetTHE 19TH NEWS: $40,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetHouston Independent School District Foundation: $26,500 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetHouston Jewish Community Foundation: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTarget Hunger Inc: $20,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetUnited Way of Greater Houston: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetSt John's School: $10,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSON OF A SAINT: $6,800 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetOFICINA LEGAL DEL PUEBLO UNIDO INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJEWISH FAMILY SERVICE: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetJ STREET EDUCATION FUND INC: $5,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetB'NAI B'RITH YOUTH ORGANIZATION: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetEvelyn's Park Conservancy: $2,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL FOUNDATION: $1,800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S DISEASE & RELATED DISORDERS ASSOCIATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThe Mankind Project USA: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetBreakthrough Houston: $500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNATIONAL BRAIN TUMOR SOCIETY INC: $180 over 1y, 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.

Greater Houston Commu…Albert & Ethel Herzst…Houston Jewish Commun…Shell USA Company Fou…American Endowment Fo…Meyer and Ida Gordon …Adler FoundationMechia FoundationGs Donor Advised Phil…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…National Philanthropi…The Blackbaud Giving …
Greater Houston Community FoundationTX18.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Greater Houston Community Foundation · Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation · Houston Jewish Community Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation · American Endowment Foundation · Meyer and Ida Gordon Foundation 2 · Adler Foundation · Mechia Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · The Blackbaud Giving Fund

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 Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%2%8%17%30%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    1get no government money at all
    5report 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 Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family 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 47 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 Sherry & Gerald Merfish Family’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