About Merritt Community Capital
Investing in affordable housing and people, building stronger communities.
Focus Areas
Affordable housingCommunity developmentHousing preservationHousing development financeWorkforce developmentLeadership developmentPolicy advocacy
Who They Fund
scholarship recipients / studentsrural communitiesaffordable housing developers and practitionerslow-income / housing-insecure communities
Funding Style
scholarship support (direct individual assistance)
About Merritt Community Capital
Merritt Community Capital Corporation’s recent giving shows a clear commitment to the housing field itself: it backed the Housing Development Training Institute in three consecutive years, providing $250,000 in 2023, 2024, and 2025 to LISC LA for program implementation. That same pattern of sustained support appears across several California housing intermediaries and training organizations, suggesting a funder that invests in the infrastructure behind affordable housing as well as in projects and people. The foundation also supported the California Coalition for Rural Housing Project with $35,000 in both 2024 and 2025 for rural fellowship funding, and it made scholarships a recurring part of its portfolio through grants to university-based recipients and Housing California Inc. Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a mission-driven affordable housing investor and lender, and the grant list reflects that identity: it supports education, fellowships, policy research, and development capacity alongside direct housing work. Grants also reached a mix of statewide associations, local nonprofits, and universities, indicating attention to both practitioner training and the broader housing ecosystem.
What Merritt Community Capital Funds
A central theme is workforce and field-building for affordable housing practitioners. Merritt Community Capital Corporation gave $250,000 in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025 to LISC LA for HDTI program implementation, and it also supported the California Housing Consortium twice with $40,000 grants for affordable housing education. Scholarship support is another visible line of giving: Housing California Inc received $60,000 in 2025 and $57,563 in 2024 for scholarships, while several University of California and California State University recipients also appear in the recent grants list. The foundation also funds rural capacity building, including $35,000 grants in both 2024 and 2025 to the California Coalition for Rural Housing Project for rural fellowship funding. Policy and research show up as well, including a $40,000 grant to the California Housing Partnership Corporation for equity policy research fellowship.
How Merritt Community Capital Gives
Typical grant sizes cluster in the $10,000 to $30,000 range, with a median of $20,000 and a p75 of $30,000. The recent record also shows a few larger operating-style awards at $250,000 and $100,000, alongside repeated mid-sized grants to the same organizations over multiple years. Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a regular funder rather than a DAF, and the pattern suggests ongoing institutional support rather than one-off giving. Its grants are concentrated in California, with most recipients located in the state and several appearing in consecutive years.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$885K
Total Assets
$39.4M
Total Revenue
$8.5M
Total Expenses
$6.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $30K, with a median of $20K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$20K
75th Percentile
$30K
Geographic Reach
Local5 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
NEDRAH BARNES
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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