California · Private foundation
The Louise Merage 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.
- $239k
- Granted FY2021
- 10
- Grants FY2021
- 10
- Organizations funded FY2021
- 30%
- First-time grantees FY2021
Read this first · the figures below need context
84% of The Louise Merage Family Foundation’s FY2024 grant dollars went to Orange County Community Foundation, not to grantees.
Its money now reaches organizations through that sponsor, which does not report who recommended each grant. FY2024 names 3 organizations directly, so a portfolio cannot be read from it. Everything below is therefore FY2021, the last year The Louise Merage Family Foundation named its own grantees at scale: 9 organizations, $239k. It is dated, not current.
Organizations named directly on the return
Amber years are those where most dollars went to a sponsor.
- Median grant, FY2021
- $5,000
- Largest grant, FY2021
- $111,401
- Organizations funded a year
- 10 to 17
- FY2017 to FY2021
- States reached, FY2021
- 2
- Total assets, FY2021
- $4.6M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2021, 30% of the organizations The Louise Merage Family Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 1% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2021, 99% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $2k 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 10 | $239k | 30% |
| FY2020 | 15 | $247k | 13% |
| FY2019 | 16 | $205k | 25% |
| FY2018 | 17 | $211k | 35% |
| FY2017 | 17 | $188k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2017 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Israel Education Foundation Inc | $450,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Pacific Symphony | $349,201 | 8 | 1% |
| Segerstrom Center for the Arts | $138,423 | 7 | 0% |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | $57,750 | 5 | 0% |
| Hoag Hospital Foundation | $50,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Redline | $25,000 | 4 | 1% |
| Mountain Village Montessori Charter School | $20,200 | 2 | 1% |
| Moishe House | $20,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Girls Incorporated of Orange County | $20,000 | 4 | 0% |
| The American Film Institute | $18,758 | 1 | 0% |
Show all 26 grantees
Plus 7 recipients with no EIN on record ($84k), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Louise Merage Family Foundation supplied at peak.
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: Orange County Community Foundation · The Devto Support Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · The Bank of America Charitable Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
Compare The Louise Merage Family Foundation with peer funders
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Louise Merage Family Foundation?
Find your warmest path to The Louise Merage 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.
About The Louise Merage Family Foundation
- How much does The Louise Merage Family Foundation give?
- The Louise Merage Family Foundation reported 10 grants totaling $238,651 in its FY2021 IRS filing. It funded between 10 and 17 organizations a year over FY2017 to FY2021.
- What does The Louise Merage Family Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2017 to FY2024, its largest causes are Arts & Culture (31%), International (28%), Philanthropy (23%).
- Who are The Louise Merage Family Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2017 to FY2024: American Israel Education Foundation Inc ($450k), Pacific Symphony ($349k), Segerstrom Center for the Arts ($138k).
- Does The Louise Merage Family Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2021, 30% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Louise Merage Family 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 Louise Merage Family Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Orange County Community Foundation, The Devto Support Foundation, National Philanthropic Trust.
- Where is The Louise Merage Family Foundation based?
- The Louise Merage Family Foundation is based in CA.
Play a game based on Louise Merage Family’s filings →