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The Merice Boo Johnston Grigsby Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

The Merice Boo Johnston Grigsby Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$481k
Granted FY2025still arriving
31
Grants FY2025still arriving
3
States reached
$85k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$2.0MHealth$1.2MCommunity Improvement$860kEmployment$634kYouth Development$343kHuman Services$292kHousing & Shelter$199kCrime & Legal$93kOther$0
02FY2025 · 31 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k14 grants · $67k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $269k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $145k
$10,000
Median grant
3
States reached
$4.5M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
GARDERE COMMUNITY CHRISITIAN SCHOOL$85,000
BATON ROUGE GENERAL FOUNDATION$60,000
ST LILLIAN'S ACADEMY$35,000
LA LAW ENFORCEMENT & CRIMINAL JUSTICE$25,000
LAUNCH THERAPY CENTER$25,000
TEACH FOR AMERICA - LOUISIANA$25,000
HOPE MINISTRIES OF BATON ROUGE$25,000
ALZHEIMER'S SERVICES OF THE CAPITAL AREA$20,000
THE EMERGE CENTER$18,281
SALVATION ARMY OF GREATER BR$16,000
ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITALALSAC$15,000
HOSPICE OF BATON ROUGE$15,000
ALS ASSOCIATION - LAMS CHAPTER$10,000
ISTROUMA AREA COUNCIL BOY SCOUTS$10,000
ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION$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 (FY17–25, $240k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, against an area that typically sits at 13%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 13%PINKNAILSENT: $5k → 15%GAITWAY THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP: $5k → 16%MADDIE'S FOOTPRINTS: $5k → 17%POINTE COUPEE EARLY CHILDHOOD COALITION: $5k → 17%BAYOU DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $50k → 23%GAITWAY THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP: $5k → 16%BAYOU DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $50k → 23%URBAN LEAGUE: $25k → 23%FAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICE CENTER: $25k → 19%FAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICE CENTER: $5k → 19%CAPITAL AREA AUTISM NETWORK: $15k → 19%CAPITAL AREA AUTISM NETWORK: $5k → 19%WOMAN'S NEW LIFE CENTER: $5k → 19%WOMAN'S NEW LIFE CENTER: $5k → 19%THE ARC BATON ROUGE: $5k → 19%LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM: $5k → 19%LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM: $5k → 19%ARC BATON ROUGE: $5k → 19%LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM: $5k → 19%REDSTICKS CARES: $5k → 19%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
MO
AZ
TN
DC
LA
AL
GA
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.

89%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$5.3M · 62 repeat orgs$675k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +1% for those funded once.

62 repeat relationships: 23 still active in FY2025, 39 since wound down; 8 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

62
56

Total granted

$5.3M
$594k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+1%

Still filing today

69%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 83% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $81k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
HealthHuman ServicesEducationYouth DevelopmentArts & 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

  • NS
    NEW SCHOOLS FOR BATON ROUGE
    6× · 2017–2022 · $600k · revenue ×12
  • CITY YEAR INC
    4× · 2017–2020 · $400k · revenue +15%
  • GC
    GARDERE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
    5× · 2017–2025 · $188k · revenue +99%

Funded once

  • BR
    Baton Rouge Youth Coalition Incgraduated
    one grant, 2017 · $100k · revenue +132%
  • TC
    THRIVE CHARTER SCHOOL
    one grant, 2017 · $75k
  • BR
    BATON ROUGE GENERAL HOSPITAL
    one grant, 2018 · $30k
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
Brain Institute of Louisiana Inc

The brain institute of louisiana is a private, non-profit research institute with a primary focus on enhancing brain science in louisiana.

Health
2
Lsu Research Foundation
Community Improvement
3
The Arc of Louisiana

The arc of louisiana advocates for and with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

—
4
The Bridge Center for Hope

The mission of the Bridge Center is to provide pathways to treatment for people experiencing behavioral health issues and to link providers to create an integrated continuum of care from prevention to rehabilitation.

Health
5
Invest in Louisiana

To provide sound analysis of state fiscal issues to promote economic prosperity, a rising standard of living, and the opportunity for all citizens to reach their highest potential.

Public Benefit
6
Louisiana Children's Research Center Development & Learning Inc

We advance literacy and learning through evidence-based practices in the classroom, home, and community.

Human Services
7
Future Athletes of Louisiana

Future Athletes of Louisiana, Inc. is focused on the personal growth of the youth of Louisiana through participation in athletics. By facilitating children?s participation in sports on both an individual and team basis, we will begin to…

Recreation & Sports
8
The Louisiana Superintendents Academy Co James Meza

Mission of the louisiana superintendent's academy is to respond to the need for strong leadership in louisiana school districts by creating a selective and rigorous professional learning experience to increase the pool of qualified…

Education
9
The Arc of Greater New Orleans

Arc of Greater New Orleans is committed to securing for all people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to develop, function, and live to their fullest potential

—
10
Baton Rouge Area Alcohol and Drug Center Inc

BRAADC offers a lifeline to adult men and women suffering with substance abuse/addiction through providing non-medical detoxification services to anyone entering voluntarily.

—
11
Orleans County Child Advocacy Center Inc
Health
12
For Providers by Providers Louisiana

Provides quality training for early education providers

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is New Schools for Baton Rouge; the most unlike its peers is Crossroads Recovery House. 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

79 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. 79 of the 127 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)
24
Early backer (in before they grew)
74/79
Grantees still filing
46/79
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY FOUNDATION: $800,000 · OtherLOUISIANA ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY FOUNDATIONCAREER COMPASS: $634,266 · OtherCAREER COMPASSCITY YEAR INC: $400,000 · OtherCITY YEAR INCTEACH FOR AMERICA - LOUISIANA: $220,000 · OtherTEACH FOR AMERICA - LOUISIANATEACH FOR AMERICA OF SOUTH LOUISIANA: $200,000 · OtherGENERAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION: $175,000 · OtherTHE HOSPICE FOUNDATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE: $135,000 · Other+70 more: $1,273,933 · Other+70 moreNEW SCHOOLS FOR BATON ROUGE: $600,000 · EducationNEW SCHOOLS FOR BAT…GARDERE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $187,500 · EducationGARDERE COMMUNITY C…ST LILLIAN ACADEMY: $87,000 · EducationST LILLIAN ACADEMYCAREER COMPASS OF LOUISIANA: $79,169 · EducationCAREER COMPASS OF L…+6 more: $93,000 · Education+6 moreHERITAGE RANCH: $105,000 · Youth DevelopmentBaton Rouge Youth Coalition Inc: $100,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUNG LIFE: $57,000 · Youth DevelopmentBIG BUDDY PROGRAM: $40,000 · Youth DevelopmentBATON ROUGE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $18,000 · Youth Development+2 more: $10,000 · Youth DevelopmentALZHEIMER'S SERVICES OF THE CAPITAL AREA: $100,000 · HealthCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $35,000 · HealthST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $30,000 · HealthARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $20,723 · HealthBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $20,000 · HealthMUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 · HealthMISSION HEART INC: $10,000 · Health+8 more: $40,000 · HealthBAYOU DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $100,000 · Human ServicesFAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICE CENTER: $30,000 · Human ServicesURBAN LEAGUE OF LOUISIANA: $25,000 · Human ServicesTHE LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM: $20,000 · Human ServicesCAPITAL AREA AUTISM NETWORK: $20,000 · Human ServicesMORNING STAR RISING: $10,000 · Human ServicesTHE ARC BATON ROUGE: $10,000 · Human ServicesGAITWAY THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP: $9,600 · Human Services+5 more: $22,500 · Human ServicesTHE EMERGE CENTER INC: $164,173 · PhilanthropyBATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION: $40,000 · PhilanthropyWest Feliciana Education Foundation Inc: $12,500 · Philanthropy+1 more: $5,000 · PhilanthropyHOPE MINISTRIES OF BATON ROUGE: $99,250 · Housing & Shelter
Other$3,838,199Education$1,046,669Youth Development$330,000Health$270,723Human Services$247,100Philanthropy$221,673Housing & Shelter$99,250

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 budgetNEW SCHOOLS FOR BATON ROUGE: $600,000 over 6y, 6.6% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $400,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetGARDERE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: $187,500 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetGENERAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION: $175,000 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetTHE EMERGE CENTER INC: $164,173 over 7y, 3.6% of budgetTHE HOSPICE FOUNDATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE: $135,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetHERITAGE RANCH: $105,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetBAYOU DISTRICT FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 2y, 2.0% of budgetALZHEIMER'S SERVICES OF THE CAPITAL AREA: $100,000 over 5y, 1.7% of budgetBaton Rouge Youth Coalition Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 6.8% of budgetHOPE MINISTRIES OF BATON ROUGE: $99,250 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetST LILLIAN ACADEMY: $87,000 over 5y, 1.4% of budgetCEREBRAL PALSY ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE INC: $85,000 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetCAREER COMPASS OF LOUISIANA: $79,169 over 3y, 1.3% of budgetYOUNG LIFE: $57,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetBIG BUDDY PROGRAM: $40,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetBIG RIVER ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE: $37,500 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetCYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: $35,000 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetDREAM TEACHERS: $30,000 over 3y, 9.8% of budgetST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC: $30,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICE CENTER: $30,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetLouisiana Leadership Institute: $25,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetLOUISIANA CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS: $25,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetSt Francisville Area Foundation Inc: $25,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetURBAN LEAGUE OF LOUISIANA: $25,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetJunior Achievement of Greater Baton Rouge Inc: $21,260 over 7y, 0.8% of budgetARTHRITIS FOUNDATION INC: $20,723 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE LIFE OF A SINGLE MOM: $20,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetBREAKTHROUGH T1D: $20,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCAPITAL AREA AUTISM NETWORK: $20,000 over 2y, 42% of budgetGREATER BATON ROUGE HOPE ACADEMY: $20,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetBATON ROUGE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER: $18,000 over 3y, 0.6% of budgetLOUISIANA ART & SCIENCE MUSEUMINC: $18,000 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetLINE 4 LINE: $17,500 over 4y, 1.9% of budgetLouisiana Resource Center for Educators: $15,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetMUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION INC: $15,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetLOUISIANA PAROLE PROJECT INC: $15,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetHAPPI LLANDIERS INC: $12,500 over 1y, 14% of budgetWest Feliciana Education Foundation Inc: $12,500 over 1y, 23% of budgetThrive Foundation: $11,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetMORNING STAR RISING: $10,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTHE ARC BATON ROUGE: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetMISSION HEART INC: $10,000 over 1y, 2.4% of budgetGAITWAY THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP: $9,600 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetLOUISIANA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $8,000 over 1y, 4.3% of budgetOPERA LOUISIANE INC: $7,500 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetNATIONAL MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY: $6,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetDYSLEXIA ASSOC OF GREATER BATON ROUGE THE BRIGHTON SCHOOL: $6,000 over 1y, 0.2% 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.

  • Who funds NEW SCHOOLS FOR BATON ROUGE ↗
  • Who funds CITY YEAR INC ↗
  • Who funds GARDERE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ↗
  • Who funds GENERAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds THE EMERGE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds THE HOSPICE FOUNDATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE ↗
  • Who funds HERITAGE RANCH ↗
  • Who funds BAYOU DISTRICT FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds ALZHEIMER'S SERVICES OF THE CAPITAL AREA ↗
  • Who funds Baton Rouge Youth Coalition Inc ↗
  • Who funds HOPE MINISTRIES OF BATON ROUGE ↗
  • Who funds ST LILLIAN ACADEMY ↗
  • Who funds CEREBRAL PALSY ASSOCIATION OF GREATER BATON ROUGE INC ↗
  • Who funds CAREER COMPASS OF LOUISIANA ↗
  • Who funds YOUNG LIFE ↗
  • Who funds BIG BUDDY PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds BIG RIVER ECONOMIC AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE ↗
  • Who funds CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DREAM TEACHERS ↗
  • Who funds ST JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL INC ↗
  • Who funds FAMILY AND YOUTH SERVICE CENTER ↗
  • Who funds Louisiana Leadership Institute ↗
  • Who funds LOUISIANA CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ↗

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 Huey & Angelina W…Baton Rouge Area Foun…The Credit Bureau of …Albemarle FoundationCapital Area United W…The Charles Lamar Fam…Blue Cross & Blue Shi…Irene W & Cb Penningt…Pennington Family Fou…Rotary Club of Baton …The Ej and Marjory B …Shell USA Company Fou…
The Huey & Angelina Wilson FoundationLA92.4× affinity42 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Huey & Angelina Wilson Foundation · Baton Rouge Area Foundation · The Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Foundation · Albemarle Foundation · Capital Area United Way · The Charles Lamar Family Foundation · Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation · Irene W & Cb Pennington Private Foundation · Pennington Family Foundation · Rotary Club of Baton Rouge Foundation · The Ej and Marjory B Ourso Family Foundation · Shell USA Company Foundation

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 The Merice Boo Johnston Grigsby Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Merice Boo Johnston Grigsby Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%13%28%50%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
21report 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.

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 127 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 Merice Boo Johnston Grigsby’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