New York · Private foundation
The John Merck Fund
Its FY2022 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- $1.9M
- Granted FY2022
- 2
- Grants FY2022
- 2
- Organizations funded FY2022
- 0%
- First-time grantees FY2022
- Median grant, FY2022
- $1,862,165
- Largest grant, FY2022
- $1,862,165
- Organizations funded a year
- 2 to 87
- FY2019 to FY2022
- States reached, FY2022
- 1
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2022, 0% of the organizations The John Merck Fund funded were first-time grantees, receiving 0% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2022, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | 2 | $1.9M | 0% |
| FY2021 | 65 | $5.7M | 15% |
| FY2020 | 84 | $11M | 32% |
| FY2019 | 87 | $9.6M | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2022.
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2019 to FY2022, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Triangle Institute | $3,831,130 | 3 | 0% |
| Merck Family Fund | $1,872,165 | 2 | 32% |
| Third Sector New England Inc | $1,265,000 | 3 | 1% |
| Toxic-Free Future F/K/A Washington Toxics Coalition | $990,000 | 2 | 27% |
| Acadia Center | $870,000 | 3 | 18% |
| Conservation Law Foundation Inc | $852,000 | 4 | 3% |
| Coming Clean Inc | $805,600 | 3 | 17% |
| Clean Production Action Inc | $802,400 | 3 | 18% |
| New England Grassroots Environment Fund Inc | $703,000 | 2 | 15% |
| Voter Registration Project | $550,000 | 1 | 1% |
Show all 104 grantees
Plus 20 recipients with no EIN on record ($3.6M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
The John Merck Fund supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 5 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 99 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: Barr Foundation · United States Energy Foundation · Maine Community Foundation Inc · Patagoniaorg · Windward Fund · The Energy Foundation · Freedom Together Foundation · Merck Family Fund · The McKnight Foundation · The Marisla Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Resources Legacy Fund
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The John Merck Fund?
Find your warmest path to The John Merck Fund 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.
About The John Merck Fund
- How much does The John Merck Fund give?
- The John Merck Fund reported 2 grants totaling $1,888,165 in its FY2022 IRS filing. It funded between 2 and 87 organizations a year over FY2019 to FY2022.
- What does The John Merck Fund fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2019 to FY2022, its largest causes are Environment (46%), Science & Tech (14%), Health (13%).
- Who are The John Merck Fund's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2019 to FY2022: Research Triangle Institute ($3.8M), Merck Family Fund ($1.9M), Third Sector New England Inc ($1.3M).
- Does The John Merck Fund fund new organizations?
- In FY2022, 0% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The John Merck Fund 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 John Merck Fund?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Barr Foundation, United States Energy Foundation, Maine Community Foundation Inc.
- Where is The John Merck Fund based?
- The John Merck Fund is based in NY.
Play a game based on John Merck’s filings →