Louisiana · Private foundation
The Jess Merkle 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.
- $395k
- Granted FY2025(still arriving)
- 7
- Grants FY2025
- 12
- Organizations funded FY2024
- 0%
- First-time grantees FY2024
- Median grant, FY2025
- $10,000
- Largest grant, FY2025
- $220,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 8 to 13
- FY2018 to FY2024
- States reached, FY2025
- 1
- Total assets, FY2025
- $2.5M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2024, 0% of the organizations The Jess Merkle Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 0% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2024, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 went to new ones.
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
How this is measured
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025still arriving | 7 | $395k | 14% |
| FY2024 | 12 | $390k | 0% |
| FY2023 | 10 | $400k | 0% |
| FY2022 | 13 | $386k | 23% |
| FY2021 | 10 | $280k | 10% |
| FY2020 | 10 | $203k | 10% |
| FY2019 | 8 | $185k | 0% |
| FY2018 | 9 | $262k | 44% |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2025, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Highway Christian Church | $220,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Oakwood Home for Women Inc | $130,000 | 6 | 21% |
| Community Renewal International Inc | $110,000 | 7 | 1% |
| Stoner Avenue Bridge House Inc | $95,750 | 8 | 26% |
| Martin Luther King Health Center Dba Mlk Health Center & Pharmacy | $90,404 | 8 | 1% |
| Highland Club | $50,000 | 5 | 14% |
| Louisiana United Methodist Children & Family Services Inc | $40,000 | 4 | 0% |
| St Lukes Episcopal Mobile Medical Ministry Inc | $10,000 | 1 | 6% |
| Samaritan Counseling Center | $2,000 | 1 | 1% |
Plus 7 recipients with no EIN on record ($2.0M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
The Jess Merkle Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 1 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 8 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
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.
Open a dossier: Community Foundation of North Louisiana · Grayson Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
About The Jess Merkle Foundation
- How much does The Jess Merkle Foundation give?
- The Jess Merkle Foundation reported 7 grants totaling $395,000 in its FY2025 IRS filing. It funded between 8 and 13 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2024.
- What does The Jess Merkle Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2025, its largest causes are Religion (49%), Housing & Shelter (29%), Health (9%).
- Who are The Jess Merkle Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2025: Kings Highway Christian Church ($220k), Oakwood Home for Women Inc ($130k), Community Renewal International Inc ($110k).
- Does The Jess Merkle Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2024, 0% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Jess Merkle Foundation accept unsolicited applications?
- Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- Which funders back the same organizations as The Jess Merkle Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Community Foundation of North Louisiana, Grayson Foundation Inc, Amazonsmile Foundation.
- Where is The Jess Merkle Foundation based?
- The Jess Merkle Foundation is based in LA.
Play a game based on Jess Merkle’s filings →