MER Foundation focuses its giving on local Charlotte-area education and neighborhood support, especially through scholarships and school/classroom funding plus community-level services for youth and families. The foundation concentrates resources on a small set of repeat grantees, preferring unrestricted/general operating support that lets organizations apply funds where needed. Its awards blend need-based scholarship funding with place-based community development and K–12 classroom support.
Concentrated, repeat giving: a small number of relatively large grants directed to a handful of organizations (multiple grants to the same beneficiaries), primarily unrestricted/general support and focused on local impact rather than broad national funding.
Mer Foundation’s grantmaking is defined by repeat general-fund support for Charlotte organizations, with Roc Charlotte and Answer Scholarship each appearing in multiple recent awards. The foundation’s recent profile shows a strong preference for flexible funding rather than tightly restricted project grants, and its awards are sized for sustained local support rather than one-off large commitments. Across the recent grants list, education, youth development, and neighborhood-serving work are the clearest threads, especially when the recipient is based in Charlotte. The foundation also backs school and classroom support through Donor’s Choose, alongside community-facing organizations such as Wfae. In practice, that means the foundation’s giving combines scholarship aid, youth opportunity, and place-based civic and education support within a regional North Carolina footprint. The same organizations can appear more than once across years, suggesting an ongoing relationship with a small set of grantees rather than a broad, high-turnover portfolio. That pattern is especially visible in the Charlotte-based awards, where general operating support is used to reinforce established local programs and services.
Education is a major thread in Mer Foundation’s giving. In 2024, the foundation awarded $25,000 to Answer Scholarship for general fund support, and in 2023 it gave the same organization $15,500. Classroom-level support also appears in its work with Donor’s Choose, including a $15,500 grant in 2023 and a $7,250 grant in 2025, both designated as general fund support. Community and youth development are another consistent theme. Carolina Youth Coalition received $15,500 in 2023 for general fund support, placing youth leadership and access to opportunity within the foundation’s giving profile. Civic and community information work also shows up through Wfae, which received $3,625 in 2025 for general fund support.
Mer Foundation’s recent grants cluster around a median size of $15,500, with the middle half of grants ranging from $6,370 to $22,562. The pattern is more relational than transactional: several recipients reappear across multiple years, including Roc Charlotte, Answer Scholarship, and Donor’s Choose. Most awards are for general fund support, indicating a preference for flexible use rather than tightly specified projects. The foundation is a grantmaking foundation, not an individual-giving vehicle, and it does not make program-related investments. Its recent record suggests ongoing support for a small number of organizations rather than a high-volume open-call model.
$41K
$298K
$24K
$42K
Most grants fall between $6K and $23K, with a median of $16K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$16K
75th Percentile
$23K
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Notable grantees: ROC Charlotte, ANSWER Scholarship, DonorsChoose, Carolina Youth Coalition
Mer Foundation’s grants are overwhelmingly local: 75% of grants go to recipients in North Carolina, and all recent grants in the list went to U.S. organizations. Charlotte is the main recipient city, with multiple awards to Charlotte-based groups such as Roc Charlotte, Answer Scholarship, Carolina Youth Coalition, and Wfae. Outside Charlotte, the recent list includes Donor’s Choose in New York, NY. The giving pattern points to a regional North Carolina focus centered on the Charlotte area rather than a broad multistate footprint.
The recent grants point to education, youth development, scholarship aid, classroom support, and neighborhood-serving community work. Examples in the data include general fund support for Charlotte-based scholarship organizations, youth coalition work, and a classroom funding intermediary.
Yes. The recent grants are labeled mostly as general fund support, including awards to Charlotte organizations across multiple years. That indicates the foundation often gives flexible funding that recipients can use where needed most.
Yes. North Carolina receives 75% of the foundation’s grants by recipient location, and the recent grants list is entirely U.S.-based. Charlotte is the most visible city in the recipient list, with multiple awards going to organizations there.
Yes. Roc Charlotte appears in both 2024 and 2025, Answer Scholarship appears in 2023 and 2024, and Donor’s Choose appears in 2023 and 2025. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships with a small set of grantees.
The typical grant size sits at a median of $15,500, with the middle range running from $6,370 at the 25th percentile to $22,562 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards in the list include both mid-sized general fund grants and smaller support grants.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROC CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $26,000 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND SOUTHERN R | CHICAGO, IL | $8,250 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| DONOR'S CHOOSE | NEW YORK, NY | $4,696 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| WFAE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $2,304 | 2026 | GENERAL FUND |
| ROC CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $25,375 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP | CHARLOTTE, NC | $21,750 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| DONOR'S CHOOSE | NEW YORK, NY | $7,250 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| WFAE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $3,625 | 2025 | GENERAL FUND |
| ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP | CHARLOTTE, NC | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| ROC CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $25,000 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| DONOR'S CHOOSE | NEW YORK, NY | $3,729 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| WFAE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $3,500 | 2024 | GENERAL FUND |
| DONOR'S CHOOSE | NEW YORK, NY | $15,500 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| ROC CHARLOTTE | CHARLOTTE, NC | $15,500 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| CAROLINA YOUTH COALITION | CHARLOTTE, NC | $15,500 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
| ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP | CHARLOTTE, NC | $15,500 | 2023 | GENERAL FUND |
DONOR'S CHOOSE
$4,696GENERAL FUND
WFAE
$2,304GENERAL FUND
ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP
$21,750GENERAL FUND
DONOR'S CHOOSE
$7,250GENERAL FUND
ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP
$25,000GENERAL FUND
DONOR'S CHOOSE
$3,729GENERAL FUND
DONOR'S CHOOSE
$15,500GENERAL FUND
ANSWER SCHOLARSHIP
$15,500GENERAL FUND