Wisconsin · Private foundation
The Merle S Cahn Foundation
Its FY2026 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
- $675k
- Granted FY2026(still arriving)
- 17
- Grants FY2026
- 16
- Organizations funded FY2025
- 56%
- First-time grantees FY2025
- Median grant, FY2026
- $20,000
- Largest grant, FY2026
- $125,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 14 to 17
- FY2021 to FY2025
- States reached, FY2026
- 7
- Total assets, FY2026
- $7.0M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2025, 56% of the organizations The Merle S Cahn Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 62% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2025, 38% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $405k 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026still arriving | 16 | $650k | 19% |
| FY2025 | 16 | $650k | 56% |
| FY2024 | 14 | $614k | 0% |
| FY2023 | 14 | $610k | 0% |
| FY2022 | 17 | $619k | 12% |
| FY2021 | 17 | $621k | n/a |
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.
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, FY2021 to FY2026, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Research Institute Inc | $750,000 | 6 | 1% |
| American Friends of Hebrew University Inc | $625,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Inc | $250,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Hias Inc | $120,000 | 6 | 0% |
| T'Ruah | $97,000 | 6 | 1% |
| American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc | $85,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Npr Foundation | $60,000 | 6 | 0% |
| Jewish Community Association of Greater Phoenix | $50,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Friends of Roots | $30,000 | 6 | 7% |
| The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
Show all 18 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Research Institute Inc | $750,000 | 6 | 1% |
| American Friends of Hebrew University Inc | $625,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Inc | $250,000 | 5 | 0% |
| Hias Inc | $120,000 | 6 | 0% |
| T'Ruah | $97,000 | 6 | 1% |
| American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc | $85,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Npr Foundation | $60,000 | 6 | 0% |
| Jewish Community Association of Greater Phoenix | $50,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Friends of Roots | $30,000 | 6 | 7% |
| The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Inc | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| New Jewish Narrative Inc | $20,000 | 4 | 0% |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Inc | $20,000 | 4 | 0% |
| The Good People Fund Inc | $10,000 | 2 | 0% |
| American Macular Degeneration Goehring | $10,000 | 2 | 0% |
| If Not Now Education Fund | $10,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Encounter Programs Inc | $10,000 | 2 | 0% |
| American Society for Yad Vashem Inc | $10,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Reut USA | $5,000 | 1 | 0% |
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 13 recipients with no EIN on record ($1.6M), not named here.
Where it is load-bearing
Each grantee by its size and the share of its budget The Merle S Cahn 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: Jewish Communal Fund · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Raymond James Charitable Endowment Fund · American Endowment Foundation · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation
How this is measured
About The Merle S Cahn Foundation
- How much does The Merle S Cahn Foundation give?
- The Merle S Cahn Foundation reported 17 grants totaling $675,000 in its FY2026 IRS filing. It funded between 14 and 17 organizations a year over FY2021 to FY2025.
- What does The Merle S Cahn Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2021 to FY2026, its largest causes are Health (40%), Religion (25%), Education (15%).
- Who are The Merle S Cahn Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2021 to FY2026: Cancer Research Institute Inc ($750k), American Friends of Hebrew University Inc ($625k), Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Inc ($250k).
- Does The Merle S Cahn Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2025, 56% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Merle S Cahn 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 Merle S Cahn Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Jewish Communal Fund, Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc, National Philanthropic Trust.
- Where is The Merle S Cahn Foundation based?
- The Merle S Cahn Foundation is based in WI.
Play a game based on Merle S Cahn’s filings →