Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit
MERIT AMERICA
MERIT AMERICA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 47 organizations whose IRS filings report $120,627,688 to it, the largest being BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC ($32,700,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $61M
- Funders on record
- 47
- Grants received
- $121M
- Net assets
- $31M
What Merit America does
Mission
To provide a path to skilled careers for the millions of americans without college degrees.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Program
In 2024, Merit America focused on refining our proven "tech+ touch" model, blending flexible online learning with world-class coaching to deliver transformative results at scale. Fueled by our mission to build a pathway to the middle class for the 53 million americans stuck in low-wage work, we also expanded into new fields beyond technology, proving that our approach works across multiple in-demand careers while laying the groundwork for our next chapter of growth.since our first 15-person pilot in 2018, Merit America has scaled dramatically. In april 2024, the organization surpassed 10,000 learners served and closed the year with more than 14,000, reflecting both strong demand for our program and our ability to scale responsibly.our longitudinal research partnership with the university of virginia confirms that our model continues to deliver strong results at scale. On average, alumni experience an annual wage increase of $24,000 three or more months post-program completion, nearly doubling pre-program earnings of $26,000. Our 80% completion rate far outpaces the six-year national community college completion rate of 42%, further underscoring the effectiveness of our model.in…
$47,296,713 spentof which $530,624 as grants$14,347,102 earned by the program100% of program spending
The program described on its FY2024 Form 990. Program spending in total: $47,296,713.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $30M to $43M (+41%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
75% of MERIT AMERICA’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (21% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 of the last 6 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Norman Atkins
Director/ board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 20 funders, grant income rose $675k → $25M.
13 of 47 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 32% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of MERIT AMERICA’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 47 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
MERIT AMERICA has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 27% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
81% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund MERIT AMERICA.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 74% · 2020 48% · 2021 27% · 2022 30% · 2023 60% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
40% of MERIT AMERICA's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 51% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
MERIT AMERICA draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 16 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $38M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
MERIT AMERICA runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 3,289 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,289 human services nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Organizations like MERIT AMERICA
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington, D.C.
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
93% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 51 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for MERIT AMERICA: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds MERIT AMERICA?
- MERIT AMERICA (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 47 organizations whose IRS filings report $120,627,688 to it, the largest being BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC ($32,700,000). 24 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does MERIT AMERICA have?
- IRS filings report 47 organizations giving $120,627,688 in grants to MERIT AMERICA, 24 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of MERIT AMERICA?
- BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS INC is the largest funder on record, with $32,700,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like MERIT AMERICA find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Merit America →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2019–2024), and the filings of 47 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing