The Merlo Foundation focuses on partnerships with non-profit organizations that serve in one of our sectors of giving.

We fund charitable organizations registered under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 501(c)(3) designation (or other qualified tax-exempt IRS status) must have been in place for at least three years at the time of application.

You must make contact with our Hillary Harrah at hillary.harrah@merlofoundation.org and receive an invitation to apply prior to submitting a grant application.

• Leadership stability and quality (both Board investment and the executive leadership of the organization)

• Demonstration of excellence/success in delivery of mission

• Financial sustainability, inclusive of balanced revenue sources

• Evidence of metrics for accountability

• Benchmarking for quality of delivery

The Merlo Foundation typically finds programs in three areas: program and staff grants; equipment and technology grants; capital grants; and scholarship grants. Learn more here.

• Average amounts for one-time grants range from $5,000-$50,000.

• Grants larger than $50,000 are most often structured as multiple year pledges.

  Visit each of the six different giving sector sections to see examples of past giving.

Visit our Eligibility section to see an outline of projects that the Merlo Foundation typically does and does not fund.

First, be assured, a denial of your grant (or Letter of Intent) request is in no way reflective of our appreciation of the good work your organization provides to our community! We receive many requests each year and pride ourselves in the thorough review we complete for each applicant, from the conversations with our Grants Director to the careful consideration in the board room. We appreciate the time and effort represented by each organization’s application.

If it was determined that your organization was not aligned with our sectors of giving, we will communicate that information directly, so as to inform subsequent applications. If that is the case, future applications would likely not be successful, as alignment with our sectors of giving is the first screen an organization must demonstrate to be invited to submit a full grant proposal.

• Only one grant request may be submitted to the Foundation for consideration in a twelve-month period.

• For grant recipients of multi-year grants, the Foundation requests an organization refrain from submitting an additional funding request for the year following the final grant payment. (Example: If your organization received a final installment of a multi-year grant pledge in December of 2023, the organization qualifies to submit a new request, beginning with the Letter of Intent, in January of 2025.)

• A final report is required from all existing grantees before applying for a new grant. Contact hillary.harrah@merlofoundation.org or you can access the form here.

Following final payment and/or completion of the funded project, your organization is required to submit a final grant report. You can access the form here.