Virginia · Private foundation
The Merrill Foundation Inc
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.
- $4.6M
- Granted FY2022
- 45
- Itemized grants FY2022
- 45
- Organizations funded FY2022
- 51%
- First-time grantees FY2022
- Itemized, FY2022
- $3.9M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2022
- $30,000
- Largest grant, FY2022
- $1,520,000
- Organizations funded a year
- 36 to 45
- FY2020 to FY2022
- States reached, FY2022
- 6
- Total assets, FY2022
- $42M
- Applications
- Preselected organizations only
- Per its most recent filing; check its own site
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2022, 51% of the organizations The Merrill Foundation Inc funded were first-time grantees, receiving 25% of its grant dollars.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022 | 45 | $3.9M | 51% |
| FY2020 | 36 | $3.0M | 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, FY2020 to FY2022, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | $2,037,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc | $600,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Ford's Theatre Society | $450,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Capital Area Food Bank Inc | $425,000 | 2 | 0% |
| University of Maryland Foundation Inc | $235,600 | 2 | 0% |
| Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center Inc | $205,000 | 1 | 17% |
| Chesapeake Bay Trust | $150,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Freedom House | $150,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Inc | $130,000 | 2 | 1% |
| The News Literacy Project Inc | $130,000 | 2 | 2% |
Show all 27 grantees
What it could do for these grantees
Plus 32 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 Merrill Foundation Inc 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: Greater Washington Community Foundation · The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc · Clark-Winchcole Foundation · Chesapeake Bay Trust · Community Foundation of Anne Arundel Co · Brown Advisory Charitable Foundation Inc · The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation · Give Back Foundation · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management Inc · Ibm International Foundation · T Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving Inc
How this is measured
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to The Merrill Foundation Inc?
Find your warmest path to The Merrill Foundation Inc 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 Merrill Foundation Inc
- How much does The Merrill Foundation Inc give?
- The Merrill Foundation Inc reported 45 itemized grants totaling $3,922,200, out of $4,622,900 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2022 IRS filing. It funded between 36 and 45 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2022.
- What does The Merrill Foundation Inc fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2022, its largest causes are Education (9%), Environment (4%), Arts & Culture (3%).
- Who are The Merrill Foundation Inc's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2020 to FY2022: Cornell University ($2.0M), Chesapeake Bay Foundation Inc ($600k), Ford's Theatre Society ($450k).
- Does The Merrill Foundation Inc fund new organizations?
- In FY2022, 51% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Does The Merrill Foundation Inc 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 Merrill Foundation Inc?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Greater Washington Community Foundation, The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment Inc, Clark-Winchcole Foundation.
- Where is The Merrill Foundation Inc based?
- The Merrill Foundation Inc is based in VA.
Play a game based on Merrill’s filings →