Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: ~$5.4 million (2024); ~$7.5 million (most recent fiscal year)
• Success Rate: Not publicly available (does not accept unsolicited applications)
• Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
• Grant Range: $10,000 - $7,223,000
• Typical Grant: $30,000 - $200,000 (excluding major outlier grants to Lenawee Christian Ministries)
• Geographic Focus: Michigan, Indiana, Colorado
• Total Assets: ~$45-48 million

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Contact Details

• Address: 555 Briarwood Cir, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1686
• Phone: (734) 761-2005
• Contact Person: George E. Borel, Treasurer/Secretary
• Website: No official public website identified
• EIN: 38-2476813

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Overview

The Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1983 in Michigan, rooted in the legacy of Orville D. Merillat (1916-1999) and his wife Ruth A. Merillat. Orville co-founded Merillat Industries in 1946 in Adrian, Michigan, growing it into the nation's largest cabinet manufacturer before its sale to Masco Corporation in 1985 for $144 million. Following that sale, the couple dedicated themselves to philanthropy driven by their deep Christian faith, with a stated life verse of Malachi 3:10.

The foundation holds approximately $45-48 million in total assets and distributes between $3.8 million and $7.5 million annually, focused principally on Christian agencies, churches, religious welfare, and elementary and secondary education. Grants are concentrated in Michigan, Indiana, and Colorado. The foundation operates as a lean, family-led entity with no officer compensation, and does not maintain a public website or accept unsolicited grant applications. It is currently led by Orville's son, Richard D. Merillat. The foundation has been active for more than four decades and is ranked among the top 230 Michigan foundations by assets.

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Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate named public grant programmes. Awards are made directly at trustee discretion. Based on 990-PF filings, recent grants include:

• Operations Support - Lenawee Christian Ministries: Up to $5,200,000 (the largest single recipient; Lenawee Christian is an organisation with direct historical ties to Orville Merillat, who was its founder and benefactor)
• Operations Support - Huntington University (IN): $200,000
• Operations Support - Adrian College (MI): $30,000
• Operations Support - Focus on the Family (CO): $30,000
• Operations Support - Father Gabriel Richard Catholic School (MI): $10,000

Grant totals by year (from 990-PF filings):

Year	Total Giving	Number of Grants
2025 (fiscal)	~$7,483,000	4
2024	$5,420,000	5
2023	$3,800,000	5
2022	$2,600,000	4
2021	(smaller)	2

Priority Areas

• Christian agencies and churches: The stated primary purpose of the foundation is "support primarily for churches and religious welfare"
• Religious welfare organisations: Faith-based service organisations, ministries, and mission work
• Elementary and secondary Christian education: The foundation has deep historical roots in supporting Lenawee Christian School and similar institutions
• Christian higher education: Historically, Huntington University (United Brethren denomination), Adrian College, and Siena Heights University have been significant recipients
• Family and community-focused Christian ministries: Organisations such as Focus on the Family reflect the founders' values

What They Don't Fund

Based on the foundation's profile and grant history, the following are unlikely to receive support:

• Secular organisations without faith-based components
• Public universities or non-faith-based educational institutions
• Unsolicited applicants or organisations without pre-existing relationship with trustees
• International organisations (geographic focus is primarily Michigan, Indiana, and Colorado)
• Individual scholarships directly (though they have supported institutional scholarship programmes via universities)

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Governance and Leadership

The foundation is led by Orville and Ruth Merillat's son and his associates, reflecting its continued status as a family-controlled private foundation. All officers serve without compensation.

• Richard D. Merillat - President. Son of Orville and Ruth Merillat, Richard served as Vice President of Manufacturing and later President of Merillat Industries. A deeply committed Christian and philanthropist, he is also President of the Christian Family Foundation in Naples, Florida, and a long-time supporter of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He and his wife Lynette established the Merillat Scholars programme at Huntington University for United Brethren students, Youth for Christ student leaders, and children of Huntington alumni. Richard Merillat himself maintains a separate foundation (Richard D. and Lynette S. Merillat) focused on similar Christian and educational causes.
• Tricia Lm McGuire - Vice President
• George E. Borel - Treasurer and Secretary (primary contact)

The founders, Orville and Ruth Merillat, left a philosophy of giving clearly articulated by Ruth: "We want to help our country, and we can only do it through young people. Our vision is Christian young people." Orville added: "I have seen the value of higher education in people who have worked for us."

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Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process and does not respond to unsolicited grant applications.

The foundation makes grants entirely at the discretion of its trustees and officers. There is no online portal, no published application form, and no publicly available guidelines for applicants. Grants are awarded based on pre-existing relationships and the trustees' personal knowledge of recipient organisations. The foundation's stated purpose on the Foundation Directory is "gifts, grants, or loans to other organizations," and its giving is guided by the family's longstanding faith-based philanthropic priorities.

Getting on Their Radar

The foundation's grant recipients share specific characteristics that make them relevant targets for relationship-building intelligence:

• Historical institutional ties: The foundation's most substantial grants consistently go to organisations with direct ties to Orville Merillat's personal legacy - namely Lenawee Christian School (which he founded), Huntington University (where multiple campus buildings bear the Merillat name), and Adrian College (where he was a major benefactor). Organisations connected to these institutions are likely within the trustees' existing networks.
• United Brethren in Christ connection: The Merillat family's deep involvement with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and Huntington University (the denomination's flagship institution), suggests that organisations within the UB church network have higher visibility to trustees.
• Richard Merillat's networks: As a board member or known supporter of organisations such as the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Lenawee Christian, and Huntington University, Richard Merillat is reachable through those institutional channels. Contact through George E. Borel (Treasurer) at (734) 761-2005 would be the most direct approach for a qualifying organisation.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. The foundation files its 990-PF on an annual basis (most recent filing December 2024), and the fiscal year runs to approximately February each year.

Success Rates

Not publicly available. The foundation makes a very small number of grants per year (4-5 awards annually), all to organisations within the trustees' personal networks.

Reapplication Policy

Not publicly stated. Given the nature of repeat grantees (Lenawee Christian Ministries, Huntington University, and Adrian College appear to be consistent recipients across multiple years), the foundation clearly supports ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards.

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Application Success Factors

Given the closed nature of this foundation, the following insights are drawn from the documented grant history and the founders' publicly stated philosophy:

• Faith alignment is essential: Every documented grant recipient is a Christian or faith-aligned organisation. The foundation's stated mission is "support primarily for churches and religious welfare." There is no evidence of secular grantees.

• Christian education is a core pillar: The Merillats' belief that "Christian young people are the future of our country" is reflected in consistent grantmaking to Christian schools, colleges, and universities. Organisations involved in K-12 or higher Christian education are the best-positioned candidates.

• Institutional continuity matters above all: The same organisations (Lenawee Christian Ministries, Huntington University, Adrian College) recur year after year. The foundation appears to view itself as a sustaining partner to specific institutions rather than a broad grant-maker.

• Lenawee County/Adrian Michigan nexus: Orville Merillat's personal history in Adrian, Michigan, is deeply reflected in the grant portfolio. Organisations physically or institutionally connected to the Adrian/Lenawee County area have a strong historical advantage.

• Operations support is the norm: All documented grants are described as "Operations Support" - this foundation is not focused on capital projects or restricted programmes. Unrestricted operating support requests are most aligned with their giving pattern.

• Scale expectations: Most grants outside of Lenawee Christian Ministries range from $10,000 to $200,000. Organisations should calibrate asks accordingly.

• No cold outreach: Attempting to approach this foundation without a warm introduction or pre-existing relationship with Richard Merillat, Tricia McGuire, or George Borel is unlikely to be productive. The foundation explicitly does not respond to unsolicited applications.

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Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• This is a private, family-controlled foundation with no public application process. Unsolicited applications are explicitly not accepted or responded to.
• The foundation's giving is almost exclusively directed to Christian faith-based organisations - alignment with Christian values is a non-negotiable prerequisite.
• Christian education - particularly at K-12 and university level - is a consistent and major funding priority, reflecting the founders' stated belief in Christian young people as the future of the country.
• The Lenawee County/Adrian, Michigan area (where Orville Merillat built his business and legacy) continues to receive disproportionate grant support, particularly through Lenawee Christian Ministries.
• Huntington University (Indiana) - home to the Merillat Centre for the Arts and the RichLyn Library - represents the foundation's most prominent higher education relationship; organisations connected to Huntington University or the United Brethren church network have an inherent advantage.
• Grants are operations support grants, not project or capital grants. Multi-year, sustaining relationships appear to be the norm.
• The most productive route to this foundation is through existing relationships with Richard D. Merillat or George E. Borel, reachable at (734) 761-2005.
• With only 4-5 grants per year and assets of ~$45-48 million, the foundation's giving rate is relatively low (~11% of assets), but individual awards can be very large (up to $7.2 million).

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References

1. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation profile and 990-PF filings (EIN: 382476813). Available at: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382476813. Accessed: February 2026.

2. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - Full 990-PF filing (2023). Available at: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382476813/202320519349100112/full. Accessed: February 2026.

3. Instrumentl 990 Report - Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation. Available at: https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/orville-d-ruth-a-merillat-foundation. Accessed: February 2026.

4. GrantExec Foundation Profile - Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation (EIN: 382476813). Available at: https://grantexec.com/foundations/382476813. Accessed: February 2026.

5. CauseIQ Organisation Profile - Orville D and Ruth A Merillat Foundation. Available at: https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/orville-d-and-ruth-a-merillat-foundation,382476813/. Accessed: February 2026.

6. Candid / Foundation Directory Online - Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation profile. Available at: https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile?key=MERI005. Accessed: February 2026. Mission quoted: "Support primarily for churches and religious welfare."

7. Charity Navigator - Orville D & Ruth A Merillat Foundation profile (EIN: 38-2476813). Available at: https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/382476813. Accessed: February 2026.

8. Wikipedia - Orville D. Merillat biography. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orville_D._Merillat. Accessed: February 2026.

9. Wikipedia - Richard Merillat biography. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Merillat. Accessed: February 2026.

10. UBCentral - "On This Day in UB History: May 1 (Orville Merillat)." Available at: https://ubcentral.org/2017/04/30/on-this-day-in-ub-history-may-1-orville-merillat/. Accessed: February 2026.

11. Stepping Stones / Greg Burdine - "Orville and Ruth Merillat - Their Story." Available at: https://gregburdine.com/orville-ruth-merillat-story/. Accessed: February 2026.

12. Huntington County Honors - Orville & Ruth Merillat honoree profile. Available at: https://www.huntingtoncountyhonors.org/Honorees/orville-&-ruth-merillat. Accessed: February 2026.

13. Lenawee Christian School - Variable Tuition / Merillat Foundation reference. Available at: https://www.lenawee.org/admissions/variable-tuition/. Accessed: February 2026.